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Pfizer is stepping out from the pharmacy aisle and into the living room with a new website called PfizerForAll.
The platform helps patients find information about migraines, Covid, flu, or other seasonal respiratory viruses, the pharma giant said in a Tuesday press release.
“People often experience information overload and encounter roadblocks when making decisions for themselves or their family in our complex and often overwhelming US healthcare system. This can be extremely time-consuming and lead to indecision or inaction—and as a result, poor health outcomes,” Aamir Malik, EVP and US chief commercial officer at Pfizer, said in the release.
Pfizer said it partnered with several providers for this effort. According to the company, the site directs patients to telehealth platform UpScript to make $35 virtual doctor appointments or to Instacart and prescription delivery service Alto Pharmacy to get treatments and diagnostic tests delivered.
The PfizerForAll platform also helps customers navigate insurance benefits, per the release, and it directs patients to its consumer-focused site VaxAssist, which was launched in December 2023 to provide respiratory vaccine information and help patients find appointments.
Product placement. Along with streamlining the patient experience, Pfizer promotes a number of its drugs, including Paxlovid for Covid, vaccines for respiratory viruses, and Nurtec for migraines.
Nurtec sales are currently soaring, with revenues at $356 million in Q2 2024 compared to $247 million in Q2 2023, according to Pfizer’s Q2 2024 earnings report. The company noted in its report that demand is down for Covid products, however.
The nitty-gritty. PfizerForAll follows rival Eli Lilly’s LillyDirect, launched in January. Targeting patients living with diabetes, migraines, and obesity, the platform offers patients a search tool, home delivery, and connects them with telehealth providers.
You could say Pfizer’s platform is sort of a “Can I copy your homework?” “Yeah, but change it a little so it’s not obvious” situation.
One difference, though, is that Lilly’s platform lets consumers order drugs directly from the drugmaker, whereas Pfizer’s gets patients’ drugs through existing pharmacy and insurance networks, Reuters reported.