With the growing cost of developing novel drugs combined with the fact that from year-to-year fewer such drugs are gaining regulatory approval, the use by pharmaceutical companies of lifecycle management (LCM) techniques is playing an ever-more important role in the increasingly cost-conscious pharma industry.

During 2002–06, three times as many reformulated products were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration FDA than novel entities. The advantages of LCM strategies are manifold, but are ultimately employed to either increase or prolong the revenues of a given brand. With reformulated products taking less time and therefore less money to develop (with clinical trials typically beginning in Phase III), LCM strategies have become an important tool used by Pharma, a new report finds.

The present declining of sales volume in the over-the-counter medicines (OTC) market is attributed to the rising prices of OTC medicine.

This is likely driven by the fact that on average, the mean prices of commonly used OTC medicines are cheaper than the co-pay (prescription charge) for similar prescription medicines. However, in the remaining markets it appears that strategies employed to improve the awareness of, confidence in, and uptake of OTC products, at least before the end of 2007, have been largely unsuccessful.

While prescription medicines (Rx)-to-OTC switching is a useful tool for pharmaceutical manufacturers to squeeze revenue out of a declining drug or franchise, switching patients from Rx-to-OTC products is a practical cost-containment tool used by governments and payers to transfer the cost of a therapy to the patient.

Unless the benefits of OTC medicines can be justified to these audiences, the rising prices of OTC medicines as compared to Rx products could conceivably become the single most important factor limiting the growth potential of the OTC market, and will counteract awareness campaigns to promote OTC usage as a cost-saving initiative.

Related Research: Rx-to-Otc Strategies: Maximizing The Commercial Potential of An Rx-to-Otc Switch