News in the Pharma Landscape
Jinfo Blog

By Ashish Shukla

Abstract

Ashish Shukla outlines the four major categories of information needs in the pharmaceutical industry and debates the value of general news sources vs specialist.

Item

The pharmaceutical sector is a knowledge-driven industry and every company operating in this sector invests a substantial amount in keeping its executives well informed. However, owing to the varied stakeholders it represents, the information needs of the pharmaceutical sector are diverse.

There are four major information categories in the pharmaceutical sector. 

Below is the tabular listing of each category and the potential consumers:

General News Sources are of Limited Use

Every reputable newspaper has a dedicated science/business/health column where they cover news related to the pharmaceutical sector. They are good for general reading but not for learning in-depth about key events.

Also, most of the time, the focus of the news is the commercial implications (like company financial reports, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory approval). This means that consumers who are mainly interested in scientific and early clinical events will not find these sources useful.

Are There Dedicated News Sources That Are Reliable and Up To Date?

I've aimed to answer the question "Which news sources could pharma executives reliably use?" in my article "Specialist News Offerings - Pharma Sector". 

In this article have zeroed in on three news sources that not only provide information but also analyse events from multiple angles and present "insights": FirstWord Pharma, Oncology Business Review (OBR) and Pharma & MedTech Business Intelligence. 

This Blog Item is part of the FreePint Topic Series: News, and Beyond.

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