OTC bulletin 07 October 2016

OTC BUSINESS STRATEGY

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There is a strong appetitefor self-care in the UK,according to Bayer’sAlex Moscho,and it is

crucial that consumers aregiven the ingredients to

satisfy that desire,whetherthat be information,

products or technology.Matt Stewart reportson how Bayer intends

to deliver.

“We know from the recentBrexit debate that thereis a strong feeling thatmore money should go

into the UK’s National Health Service (NHS)to safeguard its current funding and deliverymodel,” points out Alex Moscho, chief execu-tive officer of Bayer UK and Ireland.

“What we also know is that people are awareof the role personal responsibility takes in re-maining healthy,” he adds. “So the effectiveempowerment of people to self-care for self-treatable conditions would not only serve in-dividual purposes, but also allow the NHS tofocus resources on areas and conditions wherethey can really make a difference.”

Speaking to OTC bulletin as Bayer makespublic its findings on public attitudes to health-care in the UK, Moscho points out that while47% of the 2,060 people questioned said theybelieved that free healthcare at the point of needwas too important a principle to change, thesame number felt it was inevitable that they mayhave to pay for some NHS services in the future.

However, the survey results also showedthat there still exists opportunities to take the

pressure off NHS resources by placing moreresponsibility on individuals to self-managetheir health.

“I was pleasantly surprised by the appetitefor self-care that emerged,” Moscho says, “pro-vided people were given the right tools at theright price.”

“Many people feel comfortable in manag-ing everyday self-treatable conditions like coughsand colds themselves,” he adds, “particularlywhen they are confident in recognising the symp-toms and have successfully treated them usingan OTC product before.”

57 million doctors visits“Yet, despite this apparent willingness to

self-care, each year an estimated 57 millionpeople visit their general practitioner (GP)and 3.7 million people visit the accident andemergency department of their local hospital,for symptoms that could be self-treated withproducts widely available in community phar-macies, large pharmacy chains and supermar-kets,” Moscho points out.

NHS resources are already stretched to thelimit, he says, but empowering people to self-

care for self-treatable conditions will not onlyenable individuals to get fast and effective relief,but also help the NHS to focus resources ontreating serious conditions.

The survey findings clearly show that doc-tors remained a key source of healthcare infor-mation, with 32% of those questioned saying adoctor was their first port of call for a health-related query (see Figure 1), beaten only bythe internet, which 44% of people said was theirfirst-choice information source.

There was a clear generational split in thepopularity of doctors and the internet, the surveyfound, with 56% of all 18-24 year olds listingthe internet as their first choice compared to just29% of those aged 65 and over.

By contrast, almost half – 49% – of thoseaged 65 and over said they would seek theadvice of a doctor first, compared to just 14%of 18-24 year olds.

More worryingly, only 9% of people ques-tioned selected the pharmacist as their firstchoice to get help or advice when experiencinga health problem.

“There is a clear need for more to be doneat a national level to help drive long-term be-

Bayer to drive self-care push

07 October 2016 OTC bulletin

BUSINESS STRATEGY OTC

havioural change,” Moscho insists, “and theOTC industry has a key role to play in makingthis cultural shift happen.”

One of the “biggest opportunities and chal-lenges”, he insists, is finding optimal ways tosupport education and confidence for betterlevels of self-care. Bayer intends to find thesolutions to these challenges, he adds, so thatit can exploit the opportunity.

Better and more readily accessible infor-mation for patients about minor conditions andabout the tools available to self-care needs tobe developed, he states. At the same time, so-lutions need to be provided that encourage allhealthcare professionals to support appropriateself-care behaviour at every point of contact.

“This will serve to build confidence in car-ing for yourself and your family,” Moscho claims,“and is a key area of focus for Bayer at a UKand global level.”

Looking at how best to drive more peopleinto pharmacy to ease pressure on doctors, Mos-cho says that pharmacy education and trainingis a “crucial part of Bayer’s strategy”.

“Pharmacy teams need fully to understandthe consumer benefits. They need to believe inOTC products or services, and drive positivechanges in consumer behaviour,” he states.

Only a small number of people see the phar-macy as the right destination whenthey are experiencing a symptom ofsome kind, Moscho maintains. Thisis despite 45% of people admitting thatthey had been prescribed somethingby their doctor which the pharmacisthad told them was available withouta prescription (see Figure 2).

“They could have saved themselves a visitto the surgery,” Moscho says, “and Bayer’sinvestment in this area aims to do just that.”

“We want to bring to life the insights thatwill not only give pharmacy professionals theconfidence to make appropriate recommend-ations,” Moscho insists, “but also to make phar-macy staff be seen by consumers as authoritiesand bearers of informed advice so consumersreturn again and again.”

Bayer is embracing the digital revolution toengage with all consumer age groups, Moschosays, not just the millennials that favour the in-ternet, but also the older generations who arebecoming more aware of how to get the bestout of new technologies.

“We’re working hard to ensure our onlineplatforms are robust,” he explains, “and ableto give consumers confidence. Consumersneed to believe they are fully informed aboutOTC healthcare products when making their

purchasing decisions.”“Furthermore, Bayer is investing heavily

in emerging digital technologies,” Moscho pointsout. “Our global Grants4Apps initiative supportsinnovative healthcare start-ups and developerteams around the world,” he adds. “To date,more than 30 grants have been awarded via thisinitiative to a range of software, hardware, andsystems that improve health outcomes eitherindirectly – through the support of processes

at pharmacies – or directly.”One area of healthcare technology which

may play a crucial role in improving self-careadoption rates is self-testing kits and healthmonitors, Moscho points out.

The survey shows that 75% of people woulduse a self-testing kit or monitor (see Figure 3).

However, out of all those that would use aself-testing kit or monitor, only a third said theywould then source medication from a pharmacyrather than wait for a doctor’s appointment.

The remaining two-thirds saidthey would use a self-testing kit ormonitor and would only visit a doc-tor if the kit or monitor highlighteda problem or if they needed to geta prescription.

Only 15% of people would nev-er use a self-testing kit or monitor

and would prefer to wait for an appointmentwith a doctor.

Again there was a clear generational split,with 23% of over 65s saying they would nev-er use a self-testing kit or monitor, comparedto just 5% of 18-24 year olds.

Moscho says the “increasing willingness toself-diagnose” is driven by the “empowermentof consumers to do so via the availability ofresources and information that give them the

Figure 3: (Source – Bayer)

I would use a self-testing kit or monitor and source medication from 75%a pharmacy rather than wait for a doctor, or I would use a self-testingkit or monitor, and only see a doctor if it highlighted a problem or if Ineeded a prescription

I would use a self-testing kit or monitor, and only see a doctor if it 52%highlighted a problem or if I needed a prescription

I would use a self-testing kit or monitor and source medication from a 23%pharmacy, rather than wait for a doctor

I would never use a self-testing kit or monitor and would wait for a doctor 15%

Don’t know 10%

Imagine that some self-testingkits and monitors were available

at low costs or were free.Which of the following best

describes your opinion on usinga self-testing kit or monitor athome to diagnose symptoms?

Yes 45%

Yes, sometimes 39%

Yes, often 6%

No, never 48%

Don’t know 7%

Have you ever been prescribedsomething by the doctor, whichthe pharmacist has then told

you is available withouta prescription (OTC)?

Figure 2: (Source – Bayer)

Internet 44%

Doctor 32%

Pharmacist 9%

Friends/family 7%

National Health Service helplines 7%

None of the above 2%

Which of the following wouldyou go to first to find out

information about aparticular symptom thatyou were experiencing?

Figure 1: (Source – Bayer)

21

“ We want to bring to life theinsights that will give pharmacy

professionals the confidence to makeappropriate recommendations”

OTC bulletin 07 October 2016

OTC BUSINESS STRATEGY

22

required confidence”. “For Bayer, this goes much further than

the product offering,” he insists. “The focus is on providing support via in-store and online education and advice.”

“For example, the empowerment of women is, and will continue to be, a key focus for both the Canesten brand and Bayer,” Moscho adds.

“Canesten is the UK’s number-one brand in women’s intimate health and is so much more than just a treatment for thrush,” Moscho claims. “The brand covers the entire women’s intimate-health category – thrush, cystitis, feminine hygiene, vaginal dryness and bacterial vagi-nosis – including the Canestest self-testing kit to support diagnosis.”

This self-test kit – launched in 2015 (OTC bulletin, 11 September 2015, page 18) – was

the UK’s first OTC device to help consumers self-diagnose vaginal conditions such as bacte-rial vaginosis, trichomoniasis or thrush.

The test’s swab applicator indicates within 10 seconds the type of infection through a change in colour. It detects changes in vaginal pH levels with “more than 90% accuracy” so that consumers can “confidently select the right treatment”.

Canesten’s web presence also backs up the product offering, Moscho adds, with a web-site that enables women to self-diagnose by means of an online questionnaire. The brand website also offers a “knowledge hub” provid-ing advice and information on all aspects on women’s intimate health.

Bayer’s work making Canesten a trusted

source for women seeking advice on intimate health issues is an example, Moscho says, of how the company intends to continue to grow its consumer healthcare business in the UK.

“Although we don’t break down our sales by country, Bayer is the number-three OTC busi-ness in the UK, which is a consumer health market worth £2.7 billion (C3.0 billion),” he points out. “Globally, we are the second-biggest pro-vider of consumer health products.”

Driven by solutions – such as the ones Bayer provides with the Canesten brand – that “help consumers to lead better lives”, the business is performing ahead of market projections in the UK, Moscho says, and is “committed to continuing that growth trajectory”. OTC

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Canestest

Bayer UK and Ireland’s key OTC brands