dsm-firmenich’s VITALITY survey: How do healthcare professionals perceive value-added medicines with vitamin APIs

Healthcare professionals (HCP) behaviors, attitudes and perceptions are a critical aspect of the patient care value chain. Through the VITALITY survey, dsm-firmenich recently sought to discover the role of value-added medicines from a healthcare provider perspective across various specialties, namely general practitioners (GPs), cardiologists and endocrinologists/diabetologists. 

The VITALITY survey, the first of its kind, explored current HCP attitudes, awareness and prescribing habits of drug/vitamin combinations, in addition to their willingness to prescribe various candidates for value-added medicines containing vitamins. In total, over 1,000 HCPs were surveyed across the US, Germany, France, Egypt and China.   

Overall, 80% of physicians report currently prescribing vitamins together with other medicines, with 89% indicating interest in the prospect of fixed dose combination therapies with drug plus vitamin API. The significant majority of physicians identified antidiabetic drugs + cobalamin (vitamin B12) as the most clinically meaningful combination, with cardiologists also noting tocopherol (vitamin E) + statins as a critical combination, followed by PPI inhibitors + cobalamin + ascorbic acid (vitamin C). 

While the evidence base supporting the use of drug/vitamin API combinations continues to grow, barriers remain. Across all surveyed specialties, additional clinical efficacy data was identified as the primary source of requested product information for future products. 

Overall, 72% of GPs indicated they would prescribe value-added combination therapies due to the perceived positive impact on patients’ quality-of-life. Ease of administration (i.e. the ability to combine drugs and vitamins into a single oral tablet) represented a key area of consideration across HCP specialties when evaluating potential future therapies. In fact, 82% of HCPs noted a willingness to prescribe combination value-added products, once available. This identifies the unmet needs of the current market and reinforces both the commercial and patient-oriented opportunities, moving forward.