The U.K.'s struggling AstraZeneca ($AZN) is not only looking to media that is social to develop some kind of relationship with patients; it has gone local as well.
The company provided some resources as well as expertise for the My Medication Passport tracker, which was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) for use across the National Health System (NHS) in the U.K., according to PMLive. The tool can be used as an Android or iPhone app and also comes in a paper booklet for those who prefer the traditional form of documentation.
It allows patients or their caregivers to track some of the usual kinds of health data, like which drugs are to be taken in what doses and when. It also includes information on sensitivities, allergies and vaccinations, as well as some hospitals and other information. It was provided to more than 5,000 patients across Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust as it was being developed and is now being distributed more widely in the country, PMLive reported.
Any boost it can give AstraZeneca has got to be welcome. New CEO Pascal Soriot is trying to get the company on track after its R&D apparatus was unable to fill in behind a number of revenue-crushing patent losses. Last month he announced nearly 4,000 job cuts across the organization, and he is looking for some strategic M&A deals to provide a lift.
AZ sells lots of drugs for chronic illnesses for which the My Medication Passport is ideal, like Symbicort (asthma), Crestor (cholesterol) and Brilinta, the blood thinner which Soriot is putting a new effort behind in hopes it can still achieve the multibillion-dollar potential it has yet to reach.
- read the PMLive story