Viagra 's Popular, But Most Consumers Don't Remember Drug Names
01/18/99
Dow Jones Business News
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- U.S. consumers recognize the name of Pfizer Inc.'s Viagra more than any other drug, and Merck & Co. Inc. has the most-recognizable corporate name in the business, according to a survey released Monday. But for the most part, the names of drugs and drugmakers don't stick with Americans at all, the study shows.
Scott-Levin, a Newtown, Pa.-based market-research firm, surveyed 1,400 consumers in its annual study. Scott Levin is a unit of PMSI Scott-Levin Inc., which recently agreed to be acquired by Quintiles Transnational Corp. (QTRN).
Only 37% of the consumers could recall any product names from news stories, and only 23% were able to name a specific drug company. Consumers were more likely to be able to mention a product or company by name if they were chronic users of prescription drugs, 55 or older, college graduates, or medically educated.
The name Viagra , the blockbuster impotence drug that Pfizer (PFE) put on the market last year, was recognized by 34% of the respondents in Scott-Levin's survey.
Next was Pondimin, the brand name of fenfluramine, the diet drug sold by American Home Products Corp.'s (AHP) Wyeth-Ayerst. The drug, which was pulled off the market in 1997 after medical studies found a link to heart disease, was recognized by 8% of those surveyed.
Schering-Plough Corp.'s (SGP) antihistamine Claritin was recognized by 7%, while 5% said they had heard of Eli Lilly & Co.'s (LLY) antidepressant Prozac.
The most-recognized drug makers were Merck (MRK), at 13%; Pfizer, at 12%; Lilly, at 9%; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY), at 8%; Glaxo Wellcome PLC (GLX), at 6%; and American Home Products, at 5%.
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