Modern patients enjoy access to a wealth of information via the internet, leading them to request specific treatments from their healthcare practitioners. Many patients also now pay for their own healthcare and are more involved in the treatment purchase decision. For these reasons, medicines that appeal to a wide range of patient preferences, from treatment needs through to lifestyle requirements, are more likely to enjoy greater medical and commercial success.
These changes are also coming at a time when poor treatment adherence is still a significant problem, with more than 25% of patients complaining of difficulties when swallowing medication. There are also a number of regional-, cultural- and age-related considerations that are contributing to the issue, with different groups of patients preferring medicines with certain tastes and appearances.
Read about how the pharmaceutical industry could help reverse this trend through the development of new user-friendly medicines, specifically designed to simultaneously meet the medical, lifestyle and personal preferences of patients…
This article was written by Dr. Detlev Haack, Head of R&D, and Dr. Martin Koeberle, Senior Manager Analytical Development both HERMES PHARMA, and published in Innovation in Pharmaceutical Technology (IPT), Dec 2013, pp. 25-29.