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Customer Choice Plays More Significant Role in Drug Selection, Says Opinion Research Corporation

Posted on: Friday, 8 June 2007, 18:00 CDT

Opinion Research Corporation, an infoUSA company (NASDAQ:IUSA), a leading provider of insightful consumer, market and employee research, today announced, the US pharmaceutical industry should brace itself for change as Americans become more involved in choosing their own medication, according to a new survey from Opinion Research Corporation. Over two thirds of respondents said they are "very comfortable" about making the decision on the name of the drug they receive, and one in ten even asks their physician to prescribe a specific brand name.

"The wealth of information easily available and frequently promoted to consumers is making customers more comfortable when it comes to selecting their own prescription drugs," said Linda Shea, Senior Vice President at Opinion Research Corporation. "This transformation is largely attributed to the changes in advertising regulations and the mass exposure that these demographics have to drug commercials."

While nearly half of those polled said they rely on the Internet and television to learn about health-related ailments and potential treatments, only 56 percent who responded this way thought pharmaceutical companies should be allowed to promote drugs directly to customers. Physicians remain consumers' top resource (71 percent), with pharmacists playing a much smaller role in a patient's drug research -- a function that was previously an integral part of their daily role.

"With the rapid growth in the number of prescription transactions and a shortage of pharmacists, the role of the pharmacist had to become more operational," says Shea. "As technology evolves, I believe pharmacists will see their role becoming more influential and returning to a more advisory position. As a result, pharmacists may end up being one of the greatest influencers in the drug selection process."

As drug costs increase, insurers are also taking more steps to intervene in the drug selection process. Seven percent of respondents reported that their health insurer specified which brand of drug they could receive. The intervention of insurers is not popular with the majority of respondents, with 72 percent saying that insurance companies should not be able to dictate the brand of drug they are ultimately prescribed.

For more information, please call:

CAROLYN WERBLER

CAROLINE HARRIS

ORC USA

CJP COMMUNICATIONS

Phone: (609) 452-5258

Phone: (212) 279-3115 ext. 222

About Opinion Research

Opinion Research, an infoUSA company, has offered innovative solutions to the toughest market research challenges of clients worldwide since 1938. The firm has been conducting national, speech reaction, state and flash/overnight polls for CNN since April 2006. To learn more, visit www.opinionresearch.com.

About infoUSA

infoUSA (www.infoUSA.com), founded in 1972, is the leading provider of business and consumer databases for sales leads & mailing lists, database marketing services, data processing services and sales and marketing solutions. Content is the essential ingredient in every marketing program, and infoUSA has the most comprehensive data in the industry, and is the only company to own 12 proprietary databases under one roof. The infoUSA database powers the directory services of the top Internet traffic-generating sites. Nearly 4 million customers use infoUSA's products and services to find new customers, grow their sales, and for other direct marketing, telemarketing, customer analysis and credit reference purposes. infoUSA headquarters are located at 5711 S. 86th Circle, Omaha, NE 68127 and can be contacted at (402) 593-4500. To know more about Sales Leads, click www.infousa.com. To get a 7-day free trial and 100 free sales leads, click www.salesgenie.com.

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, recent changes in senior management, the successful integration of recent and future acquisitions, fluctuations in operating results, failure to successfully carry out our Internet strategy or to grow our Internet revenue, effects of leverage, changes in technology and increased competition. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Source: Business Wire

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