Communicating Clinical Trial Data: Timing Remains Key Challenge for Marke...( CHAPEL HILL N.C. Oct. 23 /- Coord...)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Coordinating and timing activities is a top challenge that pharmaceutical companies face when communicating the results of clinical trials. Marketers, who have the primary responsibility for communicating the results of clinical trials, need to "worry about competitors stealing your thunder, but also worry about physicians forgetting what your trial was about," states one interviewed executive.

According to a Best Practices, LLC benchmarking study, the marketing team creates preliminary communication plans to identify the target audiences, key messages and effective activities for disseminating the study results before the study even begins.

Planning and communication tactics along with other key strategies for optimizing the likelihood of a drug's market success are compiled in the benchmarking report, "From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: Best Practices in Communicating Clinical Trial Results."

The report is available online with a complimentary report excerpt at http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr871.htm.

The report presents the lessons learned and best practices gleaned from survey responses and interviews with pharmaceutical executives at world-class companies, including Abbott, AstraZeneca, Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Schering-Plough and Wyeth.

In the report, executives reflect upon the critical steps to communicating clinical trial results to diverse physician, managed care, investor and consumer audiences. Specifically the report examines the following areas:

-- Establishing a landmark clinical study

-- Choosing winning tactics for communicating study findings to

physicians, managed care organizations, investors and consumers

-- Avoiding the "class effect" in which study results favorably impact

other brands

-- Leveraging
'/>"/>