Groundbreaking. Empathetic. Creative. These are just a few of the qualities that define the winners of our 9th Annual Pharma Choice Awards—the campaigns that you, our readers, chose as the very best, innovative, and forward-looking creative. This year, PM360 was again inundated with submissions. More than 7,000 votes were cast to select the 39 winners in 13 separate categories. We are excited to present the inventive work of those who broke the mold to create campaigns that truly connect with their audience. Our cover features the top three overall vote getters—but all of our winners should be lauded for their achievements.
Our winners are eager to meet the challenges ahead, even as uncertainty grips the industry under the Trump administration. As of now, our industry’s path is somewhat unpredictable. The very people marketers engage with—those with diabetes, heart disease, rare diseases, and even cancer—stand to be priced out of the healthcare market due to prescription and treatment costs. And that could cost the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries until an agreeable solution is found.
But the administration is not alone in its attacks on prescription and treatment pricing. Payers (see our cover story) are looking at a product’s value compared to other less costly drugs that they believe—as per usual—do the job just as well. Even innovative products that offer a cure or a better quality of life fall under the payer’s microscope and the pricing pushback is much more intense.
Yet the FDA’s emphasis on new technologies, science, and innovation could shift the industry in ways previously unimaginable. Author John Nosta offers hope and some good advice for marketers going forward. AI, for instance, is getting smarter and combined with human-like robots, could take the place of pharmacy personnel, while skilled use of data analytics will provide key insights not previously attainable. Anything is possible.
In closing, I applaud our Pharma Choice winners and look forward to the ideas they will bring to the fore in 2018. It’s going to be a challenging year for the pharmaceutical industry. I wish you all the best.
