New social media opportunities and challenges lay ahead for healthcare marketers in 2021
Social media is a key element of many healthcare marketing strategies. Many analytical models, usage reports and other sources of measurement profile the most popular trending topics and the times of peak volume when the highest level of traffic is present on specific social media platforms.
While these provide a glimpse into the wilderness of social media, they are not enough to guide a revenue-effective healthcare social media strategy. There are further strategies and methods to refine them and a 4-phase process enables healthcare marketing professionals to precisely zero in on and productively engage their target personas.
Business-to-business and consumer social media usage
The first phase focuses on understanding the timing of posts starting with the social media audience at large. …
Walgreens sells majority stake of its Alliance Healthcare business unit to AmerisourceBergen
Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ: WBA) is selling a majority stake of Alliance Healthcare to AmerisourceBergen for $6.275 billion in cash and two million shares of AmerisourceBergen common stock.
The deal benefits Walgreens and AmerisourceBergen in several ways. Walgreens streamlines its business model to focus its attention on retail, mail order and specialty pharmacy plus drive the expansion of its in-store primary care clinic initiative. The company gains a substantial amount of cash plus adds to its already substantial holdings of AmerisourceBergen stock.
By adding Alliance Healthcare to its organization, AmerisourceBergen fortifies its competitive position against Cardinal, Henry Schein, McKesson and Medline. …
Chicago healthcare marketplace competition heats up
NorthShore University HealthSystem has formally completed its acquisition of Northwest Community Healthcare. NorthShore University HealthSystem (NSUHS or “NorthShore”) is based in the Chicago suburb of Evanston Northwest Community Healthcare (NWCH or “Northwest Community”) is located in the Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.
Northwest Community Healthcare is now part of a much more competitive healthcare provider organization
NWCH was established in 1959 and has grown as the surrounding communities it supports became more densely populated. Its location and patient population made it very attractive for Chicago area health systems and others to consider buying them. Northwest Community attributes include:
- 509-bed hospital
- Approximately 4,000 employees
- 1,200 doctors on staff at more than 40 northwest suburban…
Urovant’s First FDA Approved Drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Urovant Sciences' new drug Gemtesa (vibegron) for the treatment of overactive bladder (OAB) with symptoms of urge urinary incontinence (UUI), urgency and urinary frequency in adults.
The approval of Gemtesa is a strategic corporate milestone for Urovant
Gemtesa is an oral pharmaceutical agent that is produced in pill form and available by prescription only. It is a beta-3 adrenergic receptor (β3) agonist. Founded in 2016, it is Urovant’s (NASDAQ: UROV) first new drug approval.
The last new OAB drug approved by the FDA is Astellas’ (OTCMKTS: ALPMY) Myrbetriq™ (mirabegron). Myrbetriq was launched in 2012 and like Gemtesa is available only by prescription and produced in oral tablet form. …
Philips expedites business strategy to advance in remote patient monitoring
Royal Philips NV or “Philips” (NYSE: PHG) is acquiring BioTelemetry (NASDAQ: BEAT) for $2.5 billion to accelerate its business plan to be a leader in home care patient monitoring. Philips recognizes the significant opportunities and escalating growth of telehealth (or telemedicine!) triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and advanced capabilities of new technology and cloud computing.
There has been a gold rush of mergers and acquisitions, new product development and large-scale business development deals throughout the remote patient monitoring technology sector during 2020. Amazon, Apple, Google and Teladoc are just some of the companies developing wearable and remote monitoring technology used by consumers, patients and healthcare provider organizations. …
NBE Therapeutics’ novel oncology clinical technology is sought by Boehringer Ingelheim to boost new cancer drug development pipeline
Privately-held global pharmaceutical leader Boehringer Ingelheim has announced it is acquiring NBE Therapeutics for $1.5 billion. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, NBE was founded in 2012 and specializes in the development of new, advanced oncology therapies based on highly differentiated antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) elements.
NBE-Therapeutics’ iADC platform is a significant clinical asset that Boehringer Ingelheim covets as it will fortify their ability to create new tumor-targeting therapies they can fully develop and commercialize. The strategic oncology-focused acquisition is the third in as many years for Boehringer Ingelheim as it follows these earlier deals:
- $398 million for AMAL Therapeutics (immunotherapies and oncology vaccines developed through its proprietary KISIMA platform) in…
A new cardiovascular agent treats Hereditary Angioedema (HAE)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued BioCryst Pharmaceuticals approval for its new drug, Orladeyo (berotralstat), with an indication to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema (HAE) in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older.
Orladeyo, a plasma kallikrein inhibitor, is available by prescription only and is produced in orally-administered 150mg capsules that are taken once daily. It works by decreasing the activity of plasma kallikrein in patients diagnosed with HAE.
Orladeyo’s oral formulation is a competitive advantage
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals may have an important brand and market access strategy over its rivals with Orladeyo as it can be taken orally. The HAE therapies of two competitors are administered by injection which could be considered by patients and prescribing physicians as less…
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) sells Chartwell pharmacy business unit
Chartwell is a unique specialty pharmacy organization
UPMC is selling their home infusion and specialty pharmacy company, Chartwell, to CarePathRx for about $400 million. As part of the deal, it is also committed to being a strategic investor in CarePathRx which is private equity owned.
Chartwell, located in Oakdale, Pennsylvania (a community near Pittsburgh), provides pharmacy and medication management support care in several states:
- Florida
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
Founded in 1991, Chartwell operates as a limited partnership between:
- UPMC
- Butler Health System
- Heritage Valley Health System
- Washington Health System
CarePathRx seeks to escalate its clinical and commercial growth trajectory
Founded in 2019 and owned by the Providence, Rhode Island private equity firm Nautic Partners, CarePathRx is located in Mercer Island, Washington. Like Chartwell, it has a specialized business model. They provide care for an array of patients that stem from health systems, home health agencies, medical group practices and various payors. Its particular focus on working with health system clients has positioned it to provide services for 15 of them that include 600 hospitals nationally. …
The first treatment for Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome and some progeroid laminopathies
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued approval to Eiger BioPharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: EIGR) for Zokinvy (lonafarnib) based on an indication to reduce the risk of death due to Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome and for the treatment of certain processing-deficient progeroid laminopathies in patients one year of age and older. Zokinvy was given a Priority Review to quicken the pace of its evaluation by the FDA and speed its availability to patients and healthcare professionals.
As a new therapy with no equal, Zokinvy is a go-to option where none existed before
Patients with Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome and progeroid laminopathies typically have accelerated cardiovascular disease from the buildup of defective progerin or progerin-like protein in cells. …
Lucira Health launches its COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit for consumer and medical professional use
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued emergency use authorization for Lucira Health’s at-home COVID-19 test. It is the first COVID-19 diagnostic resource that can be administered and completed entirely at home without requiring the resources of a laboratory. The well-designed and easy to use test produces accurate results in about 30 minutes.
Consumers and healthcare professionals can use the product
Lucira’s product, known as the Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit, is available as a single-use product. A household of 4 individuals would need to purchase 4 separate tests if they all wanted to know their COVID-19 status. …
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