• A Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Alpharmaxim has developed the world’s first evidence-based behaviour change tool to support the adoption of new drugs for rare and complex diseases.
• The approach promises to revolutionise drug launch campaigns, helping to drive better disease management for patients across Europe.
• Partnership legacy will position Alpharmaxim as a leader in behaviour change, opening new revenue streams and setting them apart from other agencies.

An advanced method for transforming attitudes and beliefs about how best to treat rare and complex diseases like Parkinson’s has been developed through close partnership between Aston University’s behavioural science experts and specialist healthcare communications agency Alpharmaxim.

The researchers, from the School of Psychology, used the latest behavioural science techniques to help develop the Healthcare Behaviour Insights Tool (H-BIT) through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with Alpharmaxim. This innovative evidence-based behaviour change tool, based on a validated behaviour change framework, is the world’s first model that can determine common key barriers to behaviour change in a given disease area across Europe.

New pharmaceuticals can take many years to develop, yet prescribing physicians’ reluctance to adopt them remains a significant challenge. This can be due to a range of deep-seated beliefs about preferred approaches to treatment or outdated prescribing habits. Drug-launch campaigns often fall short of informing new attitudes and beliefs because of limited insights about what drives clinical decision-making across different countries and cultures.

Transforming prescribing behaviours to this extent for rare and complex diseases is an entirely novel approach. Developed initially for Parkinson’s disease, H-BIT now equips Alpharmaxim to work with clients to target a range of complex and rare diseases where there is growing recognition of the need to change prescribing behaviours. The company has also created a library of commercially available guides about the common barriers that behaviour change campaigns need to overcome when launching a new drug.

This new knowledge will inform smarter, evidence-based communications campaigns with the potential to improve disease management for patients across Europe. Their transformative approach positions Alpharmaxim as both a champion and a leader in behaviour change for the pharmaceutical sector.

Will Hind, Founder and CEO at Alpharmaxim, said:

“Aston University’s expertise from the forefront of behavioural science and the team’s ability to drive this project through to an end point has given us statistically relevant data and a proprietary model that is ready to deploy commercially. Their unique understanding of how to apply robust qualitative methods and complex statistical tools has been vital to the project’s success.”

Dr Carl Senior, Reader in Psychology from the School of Psychology at Aston University, said:

“The opportunity to consolidate our methods into a coherent model for driving behaviour change in the field of medical communications is an academic achievement that would not have been possible without an industry partnership with Alpharmaxim. The University’s innovation ecosystem, which brings together a range of expert disciplines across one institution, was a key factor in our ability to deliver this work.”

Dr Jason Thomas, Senior Lecturer in Psychology from the School of Psychology at Aston University, said:

“This project allowed us to adopt a ‘big data’ approach to address some fundamental questions. It is only by working in partnership with Alpharmaxim that we could make such an impact.”

With its specialist focus on health psychology, Aston University’s School of Psychology brought a wealth of behavioural science and statistical expertise to this KTP. Highly ranked in the UK for its teaching, and with a culture of collaborating with NHS and industry, the School of Psychology forms part of an internationally excellent research environment for health and life sciences at Aston University.

Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, funded by Innovate UK, are collaborations between a business, a university and a highly qualified research associate. The UK-wide programme helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills. Aston University is a sector-leading KTP provider, ranked first for project quality, and joint first for the volume of active projects. The project with Alpharmaxim has been graded highly by Innovate UK, receiving a “Very Good” rating for its potential impact.

For more information on the KTP visit the webpage.