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Solving Challenges Around Rare and Intractable Diseases Through Stakeholder Collaboration<br><span>Moving toward an era when patients, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical companies take action together</span>

Solving Challenges Around Rare and Intractable Diseases Through Stakeholder Collaboration
Moving toward an era when patients, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical companies take action together

2023年3月23日 ,

The Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act) defines “Rare Disease” as that with fewer than 50,000 patients in Japan. In recent years we have seen a rise in activities being held in Japan and around the world to raise awareness of rare and intractable diseases. These are largely driven by patient groups, but pharmaceutical companies are also starting to more actively provide information and develop new drugs. Steady progress is being made, but there remain many issues to be addressed when it comes to solving challenges around rare and intractable diseases.

In this newsletter, we sit down with Ms. Yukiko Nishimura, Founder and President of ASrid (Advisory Service for Rare and Intractable Diseases), a non-profit organization that seeks to provide services to all stakeholders in the field of rare and intractable diseases. The conversation explores the current state of these challenges in more depth, as well as the next steps we should be working toward. Read on to the end for Ms. Nishimura’s full profile.

岩下裕司Solving Challenges Around Rare and Intractable Diseases Through Stakeholder Collaboration
Moving toward an era when patients, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical companies take action together
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Online Seminar Co-sponsored by Welby and COSMO Public Relations

Online Seminar Co-sponsored by Welby and COSMO Public Relations

2021年6月29日 , ,

The impact of ePRO on patients’ cancer treatment experience

-Benefits and issues of ePRO as observed in real-word clinical settings-

 

Cosmo Public Relations (“COSMO”) and Welby, Inc. co-sponsored an online seminar on May 21, 2021 titled: “The impact of ePRO on patients’ cancer treatment experience: the benefits and issues of ePRO as observed in real-world clinical settings.”

The event brought together professionals committed to exploring the use of new digital solutions to improve the treatment experience of patients with cancer, as well as learning about the potential of such tools to strengthen communication between healthcare providers and patients. We learned that:

岩下裕司Online Seminar Co-sponsored by Welby and COSMO Public Relations
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Online Seminar Co-sponsored by Insights4 Pharma and Cosmo Public Relations

Online Seminar Co-sponsored by Insights4 Pharma and Cosmo Public Relations

2021年5月19日 , , ,

Aligning pharma business objectives with patients’ life goals

-Applying the patient insight approach of drug development to communications-

Healthcare in Japan is undergoing drastic change. To address these shifting trends, COSMO co-hosted an online seminar with global pharmaceutical news media Insights4 Pharma.

The seminar succeeded in spotlighting the crucial role of patient insights, particularly:
• The pursuit of patient insights leads to early detection of disease, prevention of serious illness, improved adherence, and improved healthcare outcomes.
• A solid understanding of patient insights enables the provision of appropriate information to patients, which leads to a positive cycle in which patients are satisfied with their treatment choices and continue their treatment.

岩下裕司Online Seminar Co-sponsored by Insights4 Pharma and Cosmo Public Relations
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HIV Prevention Focusing on Communities

HIV Prevention Focusing on Communities

2021年3月30日 ,

– Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta
– Understanding how akta became a NPO success story

Patient empowerment and greater patient participation in managing one’s own health care have gained attention in recent years. One area where this trend has made particular progress is that of HIV and AIDS. As president of akta, Kota Iwahashi has been at the forefront of anti-HIV efforts in Japan. In a sequel to our last newsletter issue, COSMO wanted to learn more about how akta came about, the activities it’s involved in, and what lessons may be learned as an organization that continues to successfully drive progressive initiatives within a challenging environment. (Read the previous newsletter ‘HIV today: Latest Information and Changing Mindsets here).

岩下裕司HIV Prevention Focusing on Communities
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＜HIV today＞ Latest Information and Changing Mindsets: Shifting to a community-based approach that puts people and the community at the center – Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta –

＜HIV today＞ Latest Information and Changing Mindsets: Shifting to a community-based approach that puts people and the community at the center – Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta –

2021年3月22日 ,

More than a year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Among the many consequences being felt by us all, one issue that stands out is the impact on operations at public health centers, a body that tended to garner little attention in the past. The past year has underscored the important role public health centers play, but has also shone a light on the difficulties created when such centers are forced to focus exclusively on one disease, in this case COVID-19.

For this issue of the COSMO Newsletter, we wanted to understand how this situation is particularly affecting HIV transmission and treatment. We sat down with guest contributor Kota Iwahashi, President of akta, a non-profit organization that offers education and support to those affected by HIV and AIDS, to gain insights into the latest developments when it comes to HIV transmission in and outside of Japan.

The following guest contribution is compiled from an interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta, conducted exclusively for COSMO Newsletter readers.

岩下裕司＜HIV today＞ Latest Information and Changing Mindsets: Shifting to a community-based approach that puts people and the community at the center – Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta –
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COSMO publishes second Patient Insight Report, focusing on women’s cancer

COSMO publishes second Patient Insight Report, focusing on women’s cancer

2021年2月10日 , , , ,

– How patient empowerment affects gynecological and breast cancer patients
– The influence media and patient groups have over patients’ attitudes and behaviors toward treatment

COSMO’s Patient Insight Report series launched in July 2020. The second volume has now been published, this time focusing on women’s cancer.

The report offers quantitative and qualitative insights into how information affects the choices women’s cancer patients make.

It first analyzes attitudes and behaviors toward treatment selection, as observed among patients of the three main gynecological cancers – ovarian, cervical and endometrial, as well as breast cancer. Specifically, it examines how their physicians explain treatment options to them, how and what they research, and their willingness to participate in clinical trials and patient group activities, drawing data from a nationwide online survey conducted in March 2020 of 300 patients affected by ten primary cancer types.

Secondly, the report explores how patient empowerment affects women’s cancer patients and how media coverage and patient groups influence their attitudes and behaviors, based on separately conducted research into empowerment among patient groups and analysis of media coverage for women’s cancer.

岩下裕司COSMO publishes second Patient Insight Report, focusing on women’s cancer
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Medinew and COSMO Joint Webinar: What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies Today; Insights on Appropriate Information Provision

Medinew and COSMO Joint Webinar: What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies Today; Insights on Appropriate Information Provision

2020年12月9日 , , , ,

On October 28, COSMO co-hosted a joint webinar with Medinew, a leading medical marketing magazine with a large readership among the pharmaceutical industry. Highlights from the session have now been made available online as a Medinew seminar report (Japanese language only).

Setting out to establish answers to the event’s topic of “What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies on Appropriate Information Provision Today,” Mr. Yoshiaki Kaneko, CEO of Medinew’s operating company, Pharma Information Network, Inc., opened the webinar with a presentation on “Communication with Patients for Pharmaceuticals Marketing.”

“Promotion efforts have until now focused on improving disease awareness and patient education to increase sales, but due to changes in pharmaceutical companies’ business models and the impact of COVID-19, it is likely that we will see a shift toward more patient-centered promotion in the future. Business areas will also be required to broaden their scope from a focus on product offerings to information service offerings,” said Mr. Kaneko.
Findings and recommendations from COSMO’s “Patient Insight Report”

The next speaker, Tomomi Nagasawa, Managing Director of Cosmo Public Relations Corporation, spoke on the topic of “Patient Awareness and Behavior during Treatment Selection and Prescription: Results of a Survey of 300 Cancer Patients.”

In March this year, COSMO conducted a nationwide online survey of 300 male and female patients across ten major types of cancer in order to gain insights into how cancer patients select treatment options, as well as measuring the behavioral differences among patients with different types of cancers. Patient awareness and perceptions of 19 major pharmaceutical companies were also measured to understand how corporate reputation affects the selection of prescription drugs. The results were compiled and released in July this year under the title of “Patient Insight Report: Cancer.”

Speaking on the decision to undertake such a survey, Ms. Nagasawa explained, “In recent years, treatment options for cancer have increased. [New practices, including] informed consent, in which patients receive explanations from physicians and then decide whether or not to consent; or shared decision-making, where physicians and patients share information on evidence and decide treatment options together, are becoming mainstream. Healthcare is transitioning from a service that patients passively receive from their physician, to one that patients themselves understand and choose.”

Ms. Nagasawa then introduced key findings from the survey. For example, unmet needs when it comes to information may be inferred from the fact that while 80% of patients research treatment options, 30% cannot understand the information and still end up relying on physicians’ explanations.

When selecting prescription medicine, patients are concerned about negative news on drug manufacturers; they research manufacturers of any prescribed medication and assess the company’s reputation. This reveals patients’ desire to proactively select better treatment and implies that the reputation of pharmaceutical companies does affect to some degree patients’ evaluation of treatment options and effectiveness or safety of therapies.

Importantly pharmaceutical companies potentially stand to bridge the gap between healthcare and patients. Supporting patients’ understanding of medical information can help them to positively consent to treatments or actively decide on treatments and thus affect their level of satisfaction toward treatments.

The presentation then concluded with specific recommendations to help pharmaceutical companies fulfill their role of providing information to patients, divided into:

1. Two practical ways pharmaceutical companies can provide easy-to-understand medical information to patients.

2. Three essential elements expected of pharmaceutical companies at all times when developing corporate reputation and communicating messaging.

 

■ Interested readers who were unable to join the webinar or are interested in reviewing the information introduced may access the full Medinew seminar report available online here, which includes a selection of slides and graphs used during the presentation.

■ Cosmo PR’s Patient Insight Report: Cancer is available for purchase in both Japanese and English language. “The report offers detailed survey results on corporate reputation according to cancer type. It can be used to understand patient perceptions of pharmaceutical companies, including awareness levels and corporate image as manufacturers and distributors of cancer therapies. The report also provides detailed analyses of cancer patients’ thoughts and behaviors that offer valuable reference material for pharmaceutical companies when planning and implementing promotional activities.” – Medinew Japan.
Click here for an overview of the survey and details on how to purchase the report.

We’d like to thank you for your continued interest in Cosmo PR and encourage all our readers to share these links with others who may also find value in them. It is our hope that the webinar discussion, cancer patient survey, and report benefit as many people as possible.

 

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COSMO announces Patient Insight Report at the 12th Japanese Association of Health Communication

The 12th annual conference of the Japanese Association of Health Communication was held online during September 26 – 27. Joining the “Communication with Patients and Families” segment, Cosmo PR offered a presentation on survey results from its Patient Insight Report, under a theme of “Search Behavior of Patients When Selecting Treatment Options and When Medication is Prescribed; Potential Effects of Corporate Reputation on Patients’ Selection Behavior.”

岩下裕司Medinew and COSMO Joint Webinar: What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies Today; Insights on Appropriate Information Provision
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What is the pathway to patient-centric ethical drug development?

What is the pathway to patient-centric ethical drug development?

2020年9月25日 ,

Pathway to patient-centric drug development

Shift from patient engagement to public engagement

Healthcare in Japan is transitioning from care that patients passively receive, to one that they independently choose.
This trend is becoming increasingly important, not only in terms of patients’ conducting their own research and openly discussing information with healthcare professionals, but also within drug research and development. Why is collaboration between pharmaceutical researchers and patients or citizens, which was minimal in the past, needed more now? How can this be achieved?
To answer this question and more, we interviewed Dr. Imamura, who is taking on the challenge of creating a place where researchers and patients can learn together.

MatsubaraWhat is the pathway to patient-centric ethical drug development?
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Online Survey of 300 Cancer Patients in Japan

2020年8月5日 , , ,

Online Survey of 300 Cancer Patients in Japan

Real Patient Experiences of Choosing Cancer Treatment Revealed

30% Followed Doctors’ Recommendation Without Sufficient Understanding

 

TOKYO – July 31, 2020 – In light of the growing number of cancer treatment options now available, COSMO HEALTHCARE has conducted a nationwide online survey of 300 patients across ten major types of cancer in order to gain insight into how informed cancer patients are when deciding on treatment options.

MatsubaraOnline Survey of 300 Cancer Patients in Japan
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EyeforPharma Patient Summit USA: Patient Engagement Insights

2019年11月8日 ,

Q&A with the Change Makers at the Forefront of Patient-Centricity

COSMO’s senior consultant in Washington DC, Emi Yasukawa, reports on the EyeforPharma Patient Summit USA held October 2 – 3. At the two-day summit in Philadelphia, pharmaceutical industry professionals and patient advocacy groups gathered to share their insights move the industry forward.

In this article, I am honored to share insights and takeaways from three change makers. The following are three key takeaways that will help us form our next moves regarding patient engagement:

  1. The industry is shifting from working for patients, to working with patients.
    Many patient groups voiced concerns that research conducted without their direct involvement was incongruent with patient needs. Involving patients throughout the development process will give profound insights into how the disease is understood. John Linnell, a COPD patient and director of the US COPD Coalition, aptly summed this up, “If it is without us [patients], it is not about us.”
    Read John’s interview on his involvement as a COPD patient »

  2. There is synergy between patient and employee engagement.
    EyeforPharma polled the audience about their beliefs about where patient centricity begins; 70% of attendees responded that patient centricity begins from a top down and then bottom-up approach.
    Dr. Lode Dewulf, Chief Patient Affairs Officer of Servier Group, says that it is important not to create a standardized approach to internally organize for patient engagement, noting that the first step is to understand the very specific needs and aspirations of the company.
    Read Dr. Dewulf’s perspectives as Chief Patient Officer »

  3. Patient engagement involves more than patients; it involves their families, patient groups, healthcare professionals, caretakers and the community.
    Kazuyoshi Hatanaka, Chairman of Japan Partners for Patient-Centric Care (JPPaC), strives to improve pharmaceuticals for patients. Historically, patients were seen as consumers of pharmaceuticals; however, Mr. Hatanaka’s NPO is expanding the circle of patient centricity in Japan and bridging dialogue between patients, patient advocacy groups, pharmaceutical companies, and HCPs.
    Read Mr. Hatanaka’s insights on patient engagement in Japan »
ObaEyeforPharma Patient Summit USA: Patient Engagement Insights
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COSMO is one of Japan’s leading independent strategic communication consultancies.

Established in 1960, COSMO was a pioneer in the field of public relations in Japan. Today, we continue to shape the communication landscape in the fields of Healthcare, Food & Food Science, and Consumer Goods & Services.

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