RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC − The pharmaceutical industry’s spending on continuing medical education (CME) is set to increase yet again in 2007, according to new data published by business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information. The new study says that 70.6% of pharmaceutical companies will increase or at least maintain the same CME spending levels in 2007 (http://www.CMEPharma.com).

In 2006, CME budgets ranged from as low as $500,000 to $65 million, with an average of $15.1 million per company. 47.1% of companies increased CME spending in 2006 compared to 2005 investments. Despite the fact that 29.4% of pharma companies admitted that their CME budgets would decrease in 2007, many CME providers feared that funding would drop sharply in the coming year.

Cutting Edge Information’s latest study, “Pharmaceutical CME: Measuring Program Effectiveness in the Compliance Environment,” available at (http://www.CMEPharma.com) is designed to evaluate the current strategies, best practices, resource allocation trends and challenges faced by pharmaceutical CME departments on a day-to-day basis. The report uncovers key findings and innovative solutions from leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, TAP Pharmaceutical and Amgen.

“CME budgets do not appear to be going away any time soon,” said Elio Evangelista, senior analyst at Cutting Edge Information. “In fact, increased scrutiny around compliance issues may cause CME spending to increase, as companies allocate higher dedicated budgets for medical education to remove financial ties with commercial teams.”

The study shows that live events continue to dominate most companies’ spending. A majority of surveyed companies’ budgets – 78.5% – are allocated toward supporting live events. Live events not only garner the biggest budget portion, but they also consume the greatest portion of CME executives’ time.

“Pharmaceutical CME: Measuring Program Effectiveness in the Compliance Environment” is the most comprehensive study on the state of CME in the pharmaceutical industry today. The report provides solutions to the top challenges faced by CME departments on a daily basis, including:

• Performance measurement

• Grants process standardization and improvement

• The effect of compliance guidelines on CME strategy

• Structural separation between commercial and medical operations

To view a summary of this report, visit http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/cmepharma/index.htm. For more information or to learn about other Cutting Edge Information research, contact Elio Evangelista at elio_evangelista@cuttingedgeinfo.com or 1-919-433-0214.

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