Pfizer is approximately 10% of the way to its goal of enrolling 1 mil. participants in the "Share Card" program this year.

"Even with no targeted promotions, we have received over 165,000 calls to the help line in the first week since the announcement," Pfizer Exec VP Karen Katen told a Jan. 24 fourth quarter earnings call. The volume of calls is averaging over 2,500 an hour. "About 65% of those calls are from people who qualify for this program, so we're off to a great start," she added.

Pfizer's Share Card program, announced Jan. 15, offers eligible seniors a $15 price for Pfizer prescriptions (¹ Also see "Pfizer “Share Card” Follows Flat Fee Policy; Seniors Pay $15 Per Rx" - Pink Sheet, 21 January, 2002., p. 29).

Enrollment does not formally begin until Feb. 1, and the program will not take effect until March. Assuming all eligible callers sign up for the program, Pfizer has already collected more than 100,000 names.

The level of interest in Share Card is far higher in the early weeks than was reported by other manufacturers for their senior discount cards.

GlaxoSmithKline said it had received 36,000 calls about its Orange Card program five weeks after launch (² 'The Pink Sheet' Nov. 19, 2001, In Brief). The Novartis Care Card received 2,556 inquiries in its first five weeks (³ 'The Pink Sheet' Dec. 17, 2001, In Brief).

Pfizer has also signed up retail pharmacy chains representing more than 15,000 stores nationwide. Wal-Mart and CVS endorsed the program when it was launched; Target and Eckerd have also signed on.

Pfizer believes other manufacturers will sign up to join in the Share Card program. "I would hope in the next month or two we would see as many as three or four other companies join us," CEO Henry McKinnell said. "There was a meeting of the executive committee of PhRMA last week. People clearly saw this for what it was: a bold, innovative move."

McKinnell put the Share Card plan in the context of a broader effort to rehabilitate the image of the industry. When asked what issues "worry you the most" when planning for the next few years, the Pfizer CEO responded, "the public perception of the industry."

"If the public perceives us as a problem, we'll be dealt with as a problem," he said. "If we're perceived as part of the solution, I think we'll be able to work in partnership with others, both public and private, to help everybody succeed in their aims."

"I'm leading an effort within the industry - it's what I call a repositioning - which basically involves stopping some things we're currently doing which are annoying people and [getting] better [at] stating what it is we do."

Bristol-Myers Squibb is among companies considering offering a similar program.

"We think it makes sense for us to be looking for some way to provide a tangible bridge for seniors, because the probability of [Medicare] prescription drug coverage, I think, is very remote at this point," CEO Peter Dolan said during a Jan. 24 earnings call. Bristol is "evaluating all those programs. We have some ideas of our own."

Bristol has been one of the most aggressive companies in recent years in terms of price increases. In January, Bristol initiated another round of price increases, including Pravachol (5%-9%), Plavix (7%), Serzone (5%-8%), Sustiva (9.5%), Monopril (7%) and Paraplatin (8%).

Bristol's largest product, the antidiabetic Glucophage (metformin), is widely used by cash-paying seniors. As a result, the company may have been waiting for generics to enter the market before announcing a discount plan of its own. FDA cleared the first metformin generics on Jan. 24.

American Home Products, which also has been aggressive with price increases (particularly for Premarin ), was asked by investors for its thoughts on card plans.

"Individual companies are making efforts to show that they support drug coverage for seniors," Global Human Pharmaceuticals President Bernard Poussot noted Jan. 24. "We've given more than $100 mil. worth of our drugs in market value terms to patients in need, and most of them were seniors. And we are participating in virtually all state programs for seniors."

"We think that there's room for improvement here. We're working at it," Poussot added. However, "the real progress will come when comprehensive drug coverage will be realized which will incorporate not only pricing aspect but also access."

Pfizer “Share Card” Reaches 10% Of 1 Mil. Enrollee Goal In First Week

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