Osteoporosis is another big focus of research. This insidious disease afflicts around 20 percent of post-menopausal women, causing significant loss of bone mass and increasing the risk of serious fractures. Up to a further 50 percent of the post-menopausal population suffers a less severe form of the condition.

Jenny Coe, an independent pharmaceutical industry analyst, highlights Johnson & Johnson as an example. “J&J has a lot of brands targeted at women -- mainly their babycare range. Since women would be the major purchaser of these products they will have loyalty through trust in the product for their children. As J&J also offer oral contraception, there must be some brand awareness to leverage here. When women see DTC (direct to consumer) advertising or are searching the web for information and find a contraceptive product belongs to J&J, they’ll trust it and know it is safe.”

“You’ve got a population that actively seeks information on health needs,” says Williams. “Women are more likely to go to a physician and look up information, especially on the web. It is sources of information that are key to targeting women. There is great potential for subtle female-specific marketing through disease awareness and patient information.”

Coe agrees that more companies should consider a concerted female focus. “Women are the providers of healthcare in families and they are more aware of their own health because their natural cycles will cause them to visit the physician more than men. Companies can build a lifelong relationship with women.”

It could begin when a young woman starts on the pill or chooses another form of contraception. If it works, with minimal side effects, then why not take a product from the same range for PMS? Loss of libido? The company could offer a female sexual dysfunction drug. And so it goes, through the whole lifecycle, perhaps even touching on childhood vaccines and children’s treatments.

“Companies are missing out, not just on female specific disorders,” warns Williams, “but missing out in general, because there is usually a women’s health angle that companies are not picking up on. There’s evidence coming out of female specific aspects in cardiovascular disease and diabetes, for example.”

While it continues to test Viagra in women, Pfizer has taken a slightly different approach. It may not yet have much in the way of treatments for gynecological conditions, but it is already marketing to the female population. Pfizer’s website homepage has a link to a specific site for women that presents the company’s entire range of products with women in mind.

“This is a hint of where things are going,” says Jenny Coe. “Women are looking for information more than men, and Pfizer is tapping into this. As far as the women are concerned, they don’t have to know the products are all the same.”

The web offers an obvious channel for pharmaceutical companies to communicate directly with patients. But they also need to find ways to exploit the well developed patient-physician relationship too. This may come through offering a range of patient support services that doctors and women will both find useful.

Perhaps the largest major obstacle the drug firms will confront is question of size. The most effective franchise must provide a full range of products and services under a single brand. This is too much even for the industry giants, but Jenny Coe suggests a way forward. “Companies need to adapt to the changing environment. They need to become a one-stop shop for women’s health. They don’t have to necessarily produce everything in house, but be the provider and the brand. There could be a virtual network (through distribution and licensing agreements) of companies expert in their own fields. As far as the woman is concerned they only need to know one company -- the franchise brand. This is to women’s health management -- looking after the person and all her needs.”

“I can’t point to anyone doing this at the moment,” says Coe, “but in the long term it will happen. This is definitely something new that pharma companies will have to tackle.” Those companies that already have a reputation in women’s health perhaps have the head start, but with so many competitors entering into the market, it is more a question of who takes the franchise initiative first.    

[20-Oct-2003]