When Good Products Are Killed by Lousy Design

When will pharma and other healthcare companies start paying attention to design? This question was brought to my attention by Amy Tenderich, who writes the Diabetes Mine blog. The question was inspired by the Exubera fiasco, in which Pfizer arguably managed to kill off a $1 billion franchise by not paying attention to product design. Put simply, the company launched its inhalable insulin franchise with a device that looks like a marijuana bong, is bulky, makes it difficult for users to calculate their doses. The idea for the product—an insulin delivery device that doesn’t require needles—is excellent. It’s just that the product looks so uncool that no one wants to learn how to use it.

So Amy has written an open letter to Steve Jobs, asking him to assign a design team to address medical contraptions—which so often are sold in grey industrial plastic or that awful pink flesh color.

A couple of companies have made some positive moves in medical design. Target famously redesigned its pill bottles so that they make sense. And GSK’s launch of diet drug Alli is heavy on the packaging collateral.

My suggestion—Jobs should start with hearing aids. Humans already wear an enormous amount of well designed stuff around their ears—headbands, spectacles, jewelry—there’s no reason a hearing aid needs to look so lousy. Perhaps the key is to start with a design that draws attention to itself, the same way mirrored shades draw attention to a person’s eyes.

If you know of a company launching a drug or medical device that features a great design element, let me know at jedwards@brandweek.com. I'd love to write about it.

Comments

[Dr. Black Kitty]

Jim, Great posting. I totally agree. Another example of bad design is Cymbalta. It is a SSNRI that needs to be titrated up to a tolerable dose, due to a very bad side effect profile. Its great new indication is PAIN, therefore it is the new Effexor.

This medication needs to be titrated VERY SLOWLY in order to make sure that patients don't go into breakthrough hypomania, if they have bipolar rather than unipolar depression or adjustment disorders. But alas, the BRILLIANT designers of this medication, make it a gelatin CAPSULE FULL OF SMALL TINY LITTLE BALL BEARINGS, RATHER THAN A PILL THAT COULD BE BROKEN EASILY. Better yet,providing varying dosages would allow providers options in dosing and medication management??

Additionally, in the time release version, they are tiny VERY BITTER BALLS are of different sizes. How does the MD expect patients to get any kind of consistent dosages?

Patients are told by the LABEL and the INFORMATION provided by the pharmacists to NOT OPEN THE PILLS however, hundreds of patients are being told by their providers to open the pill, and try to take a half or a quarter of the ball bearings at a time.

So here is the provider dilemma, how do I administer this NEW and GREAT FOR PAIN drug to make my rep happy, but not violate my ethics? I ASSUME that MDs KNOW that the pharmacists TELL patients NOT to open the pills, but, then again, who really knows?

I give a huge BOW to both Furious Seasons and Clinical Psychology BLOGS for starting to discuss Cymbalta. This is a good place for you to throw your hat into the ring, Jim. Cymbalta is being used very badly. Many people are getting hypomanic, and nothing is in the literature. It is my SINCERE wish, that you, Peter, and Health Care Renewal, along with the other bloggers CATCH UP to Clinical Psych and Furious Seasons on this issue.

Thank you so much for allowing me this opportunity.

Dr. BK

[Julie]

I like your hearing aid suggestion. Far from wanting to hide the fact that I wear hearing aids, I'd like them to be evident (yet attractive) so people will be alerted to speak clearly to me, not address me while turning their backs, etc.

[Khürt]

It's great that Amy got the discussion going. But as a person with Type 1 diabetes who has to carry around a bulky assortment of test strips, needles, lancets and meters, a hearing aid is one of the most discreet medical devices around. My blood glucose meter is larger than an iPod nano and is QUITE noticeable.

[pain relief]

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