US and 5 EU Oncologists Rate Roche/Genentech #1 on Customer Retention

NEW YORK, NY, Apr 22 (MARKET WIRE) --
New research from Kantar Health, a leading healthcare-focused global
consultancy and marketing insights company, shows that oncologists in the
U.S. and the major five European markets give Roche/Genentech top marks
for customer retention. Oncologists rate Novartis second, with
Sanofi-Aventis and Celgene tied for third.

"Customer retention and trust have been found to be key metrics for
successful business models," says Mark Sales, Head of Global Brand and
Stakeholder Management for Kantar Health. "They are even more important
in the new economic reality."

Oncologists in five of the survey countries -- the U.S., the UK, Germany,
France and Spain -- rank Roche/Genentech first in customer retention,
while Novartis scores slightly higher in Italy.

"Considering the number of reported visits to oncologists, the level of
activity and the perceived uniqueness or value of products, one can
understand how Roche and Novartis have the dominant position in terms of
customer retention," says Ian Hicks, Senior Vice President for Kantar
Health. "The impact of a sustained investment in their oncology business
units becomes evident when noting their relative rankings. Their business
models are easier to maintain and invest in given the number of products
commercialized and the apparent richness of their product pipelines."

Kantar Health results are based on an Internet survey with nearly 250
oncologists across the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. It
evaluated the strength of physician/representative relationships for each
measured company using Kantar's proprietary TRI*M(TM) Index.

Oncologists Rank Representatives' Conduct, Knowledge Most Important

Kantar Health's survey also measures the performance of 16 top companies
across eight attributes, including representative conduct; representative
knowledge and expertise; quality and value of visit; patient management,
education and support programs; physician education and information
services; practice and staff support services; web-based information
services for physicians; and web-based information services for patients.

Of the eight attributes oncologists rank a sales representative's
personal and professional conduct and a sales representative's knowledge
and expertise as most important, followed by quality and value of a sales
representative's visits and physician education and information services.
At the country level, however, some countries show differences in the
attributes oncologists rank highest:

-- U.S.: Practice and staff support services ties for third but does not
rank in the top three in the other countries.
-- Italy: Oncologists in Italy are the only ones who rate physician
education services as the most important attribute.
-- Germany: German oncologists are the only ones who do not rank a sales
representative's conduct among the top three attributes.

While oncologists note increasing services for patients and
decreasing services for physicians and their staff, they rate support
programs that target practitioners as more important than those
supporting patients and staff.

Kantar Health to Present Results at Sales Force Effectiveness Europe

Mark Sales, Head of Kantar Health's Global Brand and Stakeholder
Management practice, and other members of Kantar Health's Brand and
Stakeholder Management team will present results from the 2010 survey and
run an interactive workshop at Sales Force Effectiveness Europe April
27-29 in Barcelona. Kantar Health is a Global Sponsor of Sales Force
Effectiveness Europe 2010. For more information, visit the conference
website.

About TRI*M
TRI*M is a strategic management information index designed
to measure, monitor and manage multi-channel relationships. It monitors
company performance in stakeholder relations over time relative to
industry, country and region. TRI*M has extensive benchmarking
capabilities, drawing on over 16,000 studies across industries worldwide
among more than 1,600 clients globally including eight of the world's 10
largest pharmaceutical companies.

About Kantar Health (www.kantarhealth.com)
Kantar Health is a leading
healthcare-focused global consultancy, specializing in portfolio
optimization, market access, safety and outcomes, and brand and customer
insights. Formed by uniting Consumer Health Sciences, MattsonJack, TNS
Healthcare and Ziment, it is the next-generation decision support partner
to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, delivering evidence-based
guidance to support clients' global and local success.

With 40+ offices throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the
Middle East and Africa, Kantar Health provides the broadest global
footprint, coupled with the strongest local knowledge to help drive
clients' maximum performance in every geography. Market-leading solutions
ensure optimal decisions and actions across the brand life cycle, from
assessing opportunities and sizing markets...to developing products and
building access strategies...to positioning brands and creating
messaging...to managing stakeholder relationships and monitoring
treatment outcomes.

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Contact Information
For more information on Kantar Health, please contact:
Paula Paradise
Vice President of Global Marketing
paula.paradise@kantarhealth.com
+1-484-442-1431

For press inquiries, please contact:
Nicole Mudloff
Peppercom Inc.
nmudloff@peppercom.com
+1-212-931-6168

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