February 16, 2015
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
The “Corporate Reputation of Pharma in 2014–The Patient Perspective” study published by PatientView recently looked at how patients have changed their outlook on pharmaceutical companies.
ViiV Healthcare, the HIV/AIDS specialist, was named the top company in terms of corporate reputation. It beat out 37 other businesses, taking the honors for the second year in a row. Gilead Sciences, Inc. notably fell from second place to 14th place in this year’s study.
Some of the other companies that were examined as a part of the review included AstraZeneca PLC , Allergan Inc. , Amgen , Pfizer Inc. , Roche and Sanofi. Chicago-based AbbVie was in second place, moving up from its third place position. Novo Nordisk leaped from 10th place up to third place this year.
The study was based on a survey of 1,150 patient groups around the world, conducted in 12 different languages. Some of the questions that were asked covered topics such as the quality of information patients received and companies’ records on patient safety.
ViiV Continues Its Growth and Success
In June 2014, ViiV Healthcare announced a new partnership with Janssen R&D Ireland to develop and commercialize a single-tablet version of dolutegravir and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor rilpivirine. This marked the company’s first external collaboration to create a single-tablet regimen with another business’ branded product.
“New options that advance current therapies are increasingly important as patients and clinicians consider HIV care over the long term,” said John Pottage, chief medical officer of ViiV Healthcare. “Through this collaboration with Janssen we aim to develop a new combination therapy that meets the needs of patients, and adds to our scientific understanding of dolutegravir.”
As a part of the agreement, the two companies agreed to investigate the potential of combining dolutegravir and rilpivirine to offer more treatment options to individuals living with HIV. At the time, the new development program was slated to begin in the first quarter of 2015. The companies also agreed to look into further development of paediatric fixed-dose formulations, combining dolutegravir and rilpivirine.
“New options that advance current therapies are increasingly important as patients and clinicians consider HIV care over the long term,” Pottage continued. “Through this collaboration with Janssen we aim to develop a new combination therapy that meets the needs of patients, and adds to our scientific understanding of dolutegravir.”
Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with an HIV infection, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
BioSpace Temperature Poll
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