Title: Logo
1 2Statin Market History 19872006
- Jim Kirk, Eidetics
- Richard Zucker, Emron
3Disclaimer
- Our personal observations, impressions, and
hypotheses only - Does not represent the views of Emron or
Eidetics, former employers, or clients
4US Statin Sales
Zocor,Pravacol LOE
Vytorin approved
Crestor approved
Baycol withdrawn,Mevacor LOE
Baycol approved
FDA DTC rule change
Lipitor approved
4S Study Results
Lescol approved
Pravachol, Zocor approved
NCEP ATP I
NCEP ATP II
NCEP ATP III
ATP III Update
Mevacor approved
NCEP Formed
Multiple sources, approximate values for
discussion only
5US Statin Sales
Phase I
Phase IIa
Phase IIb
Phase III
Zocor,Pravacol LOE
Vytorin
Crestor
Baycol pulled, Mevacor LOE
Baycol
Lipitor
Lescol
Pravachol, Zocor
Mevacor
Multiple sources, approximate values for
discussion only
6Building the largest drug class
- 20-25 billion market based on a single
molecular target HMG-CoA - First-in-class, Mevacor, launched by Merck in
1987 despite setbacks - Potential toxicity concerns raised by Sankyo
predecessor statin, compactin - Clinical trials were highly successful, Mevacor
approved 1987 - Initial label monitor for lens opacities and
liver function tests - The statin market has evolved over three broad
phases - Phase I The Lipid Hypothesis (1987-1993)
- Phase II Validation, Broad Adoption, Category
Competition (1994-2004) - Phase III Commodity Status versus Novel Entrants
(2005-onward) - With acknowledgement to J.A.Tobert in Nature July
2003
7Phase I The Lipid Hypothesis Emerges
- The NIH Consensus Conference (1984) lowering LDL
cholesterol reduces CHD - The National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)
created in 1985 to raise public and professional
awareness, and to establish goals and treatment
guidelines - Yet, until the mid-1990s, the lipid hypothesis
remained controversial. Many clinicians still
questioned if lowering cholesterol - Would actually decrease cardiac mortality
- Might paradoxically increase non-cardiovascular
mortality - Would benefit women, the elderly, and those with
existing CHD versus middle aged males studied to
date
8Phase IIa Validation, Adoption, and Growth
- NCEP ATP II and the presence of four approved
statins signaled the arrival of statins as a
major category - The 1994 Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study
(4S) marked a definitive turning point. 4S (5
years, n4,444 CHD subjects) showed - 42 reduction in coronary mortality
- 30 reduction in all-cause mortality
- 34 reduction in major coronary events
- Multiple subsequent primary and secondary
prevention trials further validated the efficacy
and essential safety of statins across a broad
range of patients - Liberalized DTC rules (1997) fostered greater
consumer awareness - Yet prescribers still harbored lingering concerns
about safety, especially at higher doses
9Phase IIb Broad Adoption and Rapid Growth
- Lipitors success was shaped by three key
dimensions - Efficacy / Safety head-to-head comparative Phase
III trial data - Superior at equal doses
- Equal or better at lower doses
- Superior at the highest dose
- Offered novel advantages re triglycerides and
HDL - Because it had not yet launched, only Lipitor
could perform such trials - 10mg starting dose ( 1/8th of max dose) appealed
to nagging MD safety concerns - Price Lipitor was priced at a discount to
category leader, Zocor (1997) - Awareness Favorable 1997 DTC rule changes
permitted Lipitor to motivate consumers via a
simple message - The dangers of high cholesterol arent visible,
so know your number - Despite reawakened safety concerns raised by
withdrawal of Baycol, and introduction of generic
lovastatin, category continued to grow - Between 1994-2000, US statin revenues grew
roughly 10-fold - Crestor launched in 2003 against four remaining
brand competitors
10Phase III Commodity Status and Novel Entrants
- The statin-monotherapy market is now likely
mature - simvastatin or pravastatin (about 40 of the
market) will both be multi-source before yearend
2006 - Many predict category revenues have now peaked
- Zocor, Lipitor, and Crestor are pursuing
lifecycle management approaches via novel
combinations with non-statins - Vytorin (Zocor ezetimibe) ezetimibe inhibits
dietary cholesterol uptake - (Lipitor torcetrapib) torcetrapib elevates HDL
levels - (Crestor TriCor or ABT-335) fenofibrates
elevate HDL levels and lower triglycerides
11Case Study The MCO Market
- Specific brand efforts in MCO market
- The evolution of MCO decision criteria
- Past and future roles for market research
12Payers Focus on CholesterolImpact of NCQA and
HEDIS
- National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
established in 1990 - Driven by employers/healthcare purchasers
- Original focus Standardized RFP process for
Health Plans - NCQA takes responsibility for HEDIS 1.0
- Establishes Performance Assessment Task Force in
1992 to work on HEDIS 2.0 - Objective to measure and improve quality of
healthcare delivered by Health Plans - First performance measures the following year
included cholesterol screening - As well as other measures such as pediatric
immunization, mammography and eye examinations
for diabetics - NCQA releases first HMO report cards in 1994
13Lescol Value-Based Pricing
- Sandoz introduces Lescol (fluvastatin) in 1994 as
most cost-effective monotherapy - Lowest cost per 1 reduction in LDL levels
- But also lower efficacy
- Lescol promoted as appropriate for most patients
with hypercholesterolemia - Priced to be preferred workhorse agent on most
MCO formularies
14Evidence-Based Indications MCOs Take Note, Push
Back
- Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) and
other large clinical trials paved the way for
widespread statin use and larger MCO budget
impact - 4S (1994) demonstrated significant outcomes
benefits for Zocor (both mortality and morbidity)
- Milestone in cardiology and evidence-based
medicine that Health Plans could not fully ignore - Some MCOs concerned mortality/morbidity claims
created legal exposure if they were to restrict
access - Claims fly Industry battle begins over unique
indications - Despite evidence, some MCOs push back on industry
- Show me this is not a class effect
- Why shouldnt I consider this a commodity market?
15Evidence-Based Indications Continued
- Example BMS and Pravachol (pravastatin)
- Primary Prevention of Coronary Events and
Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Events,
eg - Reduce MI risk
- Reduce the risk of revascularization procedures
- Reduce the risk of CV mortality
- Reduce the risk of total mortality
- By reducing coronary death
- Reduce the risk of stroke and TIA
- Slow the progression of coronary atherosclerosis
- Hyperlipidemia, eg
- Reduce elevated Total-C, LDL-C, Apo B and TG
levels - Increase HDL-C in patients with primary
hypercholesterolemia and mixed dyslipidemia - Partial list of current indications.
16Lipitor Bypasses MCOsChallenges Principle of MC
Control
- Parke-Davis, Pfizer say efficacy does
matterincluding HDL, TG - And, by the way, atorvastatin is now the best
value - Cost to get patients to goal
- And well make your HEDIS scores look great
- And, in case you havent noticed, we plan to
aggressively promote this product to providers - But more than anything else, it was provider
acceptance that drove rapid uptake - As share grew, even high control MCOs fell in
line - The rebate factor
17New Competitors Enter Market All Compete on
Efficacy
- Lipitor still dominates market
- But Crestor (rosuvastatin) and Vytorin
(simvastatin-ezetimibe) successfully play
Lipitors efficacy card - Baycol (cervistatin) withdrawal and safety
concerns slow Managed Care uptake of more
powerful agents initially - MCOs take note of new data, indications, outcomes
- But they continue to
- Claim class effect and play one brand against the
others - Be concerned about impact of any proposed changes
to benefit design on net cost and rebates - Promote generics, esp. new simvastatin generic
18Expanded Generic StrategiesPursued by Largest
MCOs
- PBM Express Scripts (ESI) prepares for Zocor
patent expiration one year early - Removes Lipitor from its formulary and promotes
brand Zocor - Merck undercuts single-source generic
manufacturer of Zocor to maintain Managed Care
business - United HealthCare signs on with Merck
- Other MCOs maintain mandatory generic
substitution policies
19Promoting Statins vs. DMIndustry Focuses on Core
Competencies
- Industry promotes Cholesterol Disease Management
programs to MCOs - Some MCOs consider manufacturer-sponsored
programs a conflict of interest - Some manufacturers assess value of promoting
lifestyle programs directly to physicians and/or
consumers - Concurrently with promoting their statins
- Industry moves back to primary focus product
promotion
20ImplicationsFor Future Managed Care Research
- Net cost and budget impact drive most MCO
decisions - Novel, meaningful outcomes/indicationssimilar to
a reduction in mortality or prevention of first
MImay help future products gain unrestricted
preferred access - Assuming price is not an issue
- Reversal of atherosclerosis, esp. with fewer
surgeries or stents, is one potential example of
such an outcome - But always need to guard against messaging in
Managed Care studies - Use experienced MC moderators, MC tradeoff
analyses, etc., or you may hear what you want to
hear, instead of what you need to hear - Consider the impact of other stakeholders on MCO
decision-making - Especially MCOs customers, the payers (employers
and CMS)
21ImplicationsFor Future Managed Care Research
- Factors that impact MCO decision-making, in
addition to direct savings/cost offsets, can
include - Marketability of Managed Care services to payers
- Eg, outcomes that result in improved HEDIS scores
- Avoidance of potential legal risk or damage to
their reputations - Eg., due to limitations on access to life-saving
drugs - Payers and plans do respond to providers
- Especially in specialty markets
22ImplicationsFor Future Managed Care Research
- If members dont see value in your product, dont
expect payers to see it either - As risk is shifted to consumerseg, through high
co-pays or consumer-directed, high-deductible
benefit designsmember price sensitivity rules - Pure statin efficacy claims may have reached a
point of diminishing returns with MCOs (TBD) - However, if payers, providers and/or members do
value a product attribute or benefit, consider
sharing their perceptions with MCOs as part of
your research
23Perspective on Market Research
- Summary of contributions by Phase
- What we should be proud of / what we could have
done better
24Phase I Market Research Challenge Find ways to
make people care
- Early MR sought to understand perception of
hypercholesterolemia as a condition requiring
medical treatment - Relationship of lipids to overall health and
risks - Total vs. LDL vs. HDL targets
- Treatment inertia (2551 rule)
- Adherence dynamics (persistency on treatment
averaged 3-4 months) - As new products entered, brands wrestled with
differentiation before having dealt with overall
category saliency - Zocor and Lescol offered performance and price
differentials, but all four brands still had to
provide reasons to care about lipids in the first
place
25Phase IIa Market Research ChallengeFind reasons
to choose among brands
- The era of outcomes studies fractionated the
market both by brand and by patient subtype - Different endpoints
- Different target patients (primary vs. secondary
prevention, etc.) - my data is bigger than your data
- Both Pravacol (outcomes) and Lescol (value story)
captured meaningful market share based on
targeting patient types - Zocor capitalized on both lower is better story
and Mercks marketing muscle
26Phase II b Market Research Challenge Find ways
to grow / fight the 700-pound gorilla
- Key market research insight for Lipitor was the
importance of prescriber comfort in starting low
dose of statin - Initial learning must have occurred years before
launch to shape clinical trials, but subsequent
research refined positioning and messaging - Other brands seemingly continued to focus on
market partitioning, now including both patient /
endpoint segment and lipid subfractions - LDL, HDL, triglycerides, VLDL, VVLDL, Apo-B,
exogenous vs. endogenous cholesterol - Several players began lifecycle management work
in earnest
27Phase III Market Research Challenge Find ways
to extend and expand utility
- Effort on combination products is strong,
bridging both commercial and therapeutic
interests - Dyslipidemia (rather than hypercholesterolemia)
is emerging as an important component of
cardiovascular risk management - Combination regimens to address lipids, HTN,
diabetes, etc. - Emerging importance of metabolic syndrome,
especially in aging, slothful US market - As disease processes continue to be clarified and
understood, new diagnostics and new treatments
will continue to emerge - Continued interest in statins for unrelated
conditions
28Recap The role of MR in the statin market
- Contributions
- Understanding how the market thinks about the
condition - Identifying drivers of increased comfort with
prescribing - Targeting segments of differentiation
- Integration of clinical management with lifecycle
management - Missed opportunities
- Failing to focus on category expansion before
switching to brand warfare - Sustaining focus on segment-based positionings in
the face of more broadly based shift in the value
proposition (though segment targeting has
recently become a more appropriate focus) - Continued focus on Rx starts rather than
long-term adherence
29Contact Information
- Richard Zucker
- Vice President
- Emron
- 502 Valley Road
- Wayne, NJ 07470
- 973-321-4428
- rzucker_at_emron.com
Jim Kirk Partner Eidetics 1200 Soldiers Field
Rd Boston, MA 02134 617-254-4100 jkirk_at_eidetics.co
m
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