-- Lipitor received the largest share of online discussion, although
Lipitor faces criticism from consumers for having strong side effects
causing muscle problems;
-- Zocor and Crestor closely followed Lipitor in online discussion, with
Zocor also facing high volumes of discussion on negative side effects;
-- Discussion share for Zocor has continued to rise since Q2 2006,
coinciding with Zocor's patent expiration;
-- While it has not generated levels of discussion on par with Lipitor or
Zocor, perceptions toward Crestor have been more positive;
-- Overall, side effects were the most addressed topic of consumer
discussion
"Though the statins market continues to be quite lucrative for
pharmaceuticals, the general feeling towards these drugs online is
negative. This is a trend that marketers in the life sciences industry
should be watching very closely," said Bradley Silver, president,
BrandIntel.
"Though Lipitor and Zocor continue to be the top brands discussed online,
the overall feeling of the majority of the discussions on statin drugs is
aimed at negative side effects," Silver continued. "One of the most
interesting pieces of data we found was that even though Crestor placed
third in terms overall discussions, positive consumer perception of Crestor
was high and Crestor bucked the trend of negative online discussions around
side effects."
Using patent-pending Internet technology combined with the power of human
analysis, BrandIntel detects, analyzes and generates intelligence on tens
of thousands of relevant comments about life sciences on a daily basis. The
company scans the entire scope of the Internet and analyzes the most
pertinent content to measure for assigned sentiment scores and share of
discussion, rating the physical and emotional value of the results
(positive or negative) to produce the relevant categorization records of
information in all its reports.
For information about the report or to receive a copy, please visit:
http://www.brandintel.com/brandintel.aspx?pageid=industries_lifesciences_reports.
About BrandIntel (www.brandintel.com)
BrandIntel, a Brandimensions Inc. company, translates consumer-created
content about brands, products and services into reliable data that helps
companies advance the science of decision making. BrandIntel's
patent-pending process combines award winning technology with human
insight, resulting in the most reliable data in the industry. BrandIntel
solutions help companies validate critical business decisions, uncover new
opportunities for value creation and get closer to their customers.
BrandIntel works with Fortune 1000 companies and is headquartered in
Toronto, Canada, with offices in the United States.
Contact Information: CONTACTS: Rachel Reed Lois Paul & Partners 781-782-5785 Rachel_reed@lpp.com Maxine Friedman BrandIntel 646-202-9387 mfriedman@brandintel.com