Ο ρόλος του ίντερνετ και των ψηφιακών κοινωνικών μέσων στην προώθηση των ΜΗ.ΣΥ.ΦΑ στην Ελλάδα, ως ένας παράγοντας που οδηγεί στην απόκτηση ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος

Η φαρμακευτική βιομηχανία βασίζεται στη γνώση, γεγονός που ορίζει τα τμήματα έρευνας και ανάπτυξης (RnD) και πωλήσεων & μάρκετινγκ (S&M) ως τα σημαντικότερα ώστε να διασφαλίσει το ανταγωνιστικό της πλεονέκτημα. Τα τελευταία χρόνια, οι ψηφιακές τεχνολογίες και τα μέσα κοινωνικής δικτύωσης έχουν αποκτήσει ενεργό ρόλο στην διαμόρφωση της στρατηγικής των εταιρειών και οι οργανισμοί φαρμάκων κάνουν συνεχείς οργανωτικές αλλαγές, χρησιμοποιώντας διαδραστικά συστήματα που προσαρμόζονται στη συμπεριφορά των καταναλωτών και τις καταναλωτικές ανάγκες, ώστε να γίνουν πιο ανταγωνιστικές στην αγορά (Roblek, 2015). Οι τεχνολογικές καινοτομίες, που αφορούν κυρίως στη διείσδυση του διαδικτύου και των ψηφιακών κοινωνικών μέσων στην καθημερινότητα, εμπλέκονται ολοένα και περισσότερο στη δημιουργία νέων εφαρμογών που έχουν στόχο την ορθότερη διαχείριση του φαρμακευτικού μάρκετινγκ και την επιδίωξη απόκτησης διατηρήσιμου ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος (Roblek, 2015). Στην παρούσα μελέτη πραγματοποιήθηκε εκτενής βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση τόσο σχετικά με την έννοια του ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος και τους τρόπους επίτευξής του, όσο και σχετικά με το φαρμακευτικό μάρκετινγκ των ΜΗ.ΣΥ.ΦΑ και τις μέχρι τώρα προσεγγίσεις προωθητικών ενεργειών που περιλαμβάνουν χρήση του διαδικτύου και των ψηφιακών κοινωνικών μέσων, προσφέροντας υψηλές προοπτικές και ευκαιρίες προσέγγισης καταναλωτών στην ελληνική αγορά φαρμάκου. Αναλύθηκε, επιπλέον, η σημασία του στρατηγικού σχεδιασμού μάρκετινγκ και η ένταξη των κατάλληλων ψηφιακών προωθητικών ενεργειών μέσα σ’ αυτό, προκειμένου να δημιουργείται ισχυρά ανταγωνιστικό κλίμα μεταξύ των φαρμακευτικών επιχειρήσεων. Στη συνέχεια, σχεδιάστηκαν τριών ειδών ερωτηματολόγια, απευθυνόμενα σε διαφορετικές ομάδες ανθρώπων ανάλογα με την ιδιότητα τους ως καταναλωτών, φαρμακοποιών ή στελεχών τμήματος μάρκετινγκ φαρμακευτικών επιχειρήσεων και τα δεδομένα τους χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για ποιοτική ανάλυση. Σκοπός της έρευνας ήταν να διερευνηθούν οι παράγοντες που επηρεάζουν την καταναλωτική συμπεριφορά κατά την αγορά ΜΗ.ΣΥ.ΦΑ, με εστίαση στο ρόλο του διαδικτύου και των ψηφιακών κοινωνικών μέσων και να εξετασθούν οι τακτικές που εφαρμόζονται από τις ελληνικές φαρμακευτικές επιχειρήσεις για την προώθησή τους, με απώτερο στόχο να προταθούν νέοι τρόποι διαχείρισης των μέσων αυτών για την επιδίωξη και απόκτηση ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος. Τα αποτελέσματα υποδεικνύουν πως βασικότερο κριτήριο για την απόκτηση ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος είναι η εις βάθος κατανόηση της καταναλωτικής συμπεριφοράς και η χρήση του διαδικτύου και των ψηφιακών κοινωνικών μέσων με τρόπους που να προσεγγίζουν τις καταναλωτικές συνήθειες. Αντίθετα, η ισχυροποίηση του brand name των φαρμακευτικών επιχειρήσεων ή συγκεκριμένων προϊόντων τους δεν φαίνεται να αποτελεί ιδιαίτερα σημαντικό παράγοντα προς την κατεύθυνση αυτή, γεγονός μη αναμενόμενο βάσει βιβλιογραφίας, επομένως κρίνεται σκόπιμη η περαιτέρω διερεύνηση της συνεισφοράς του branding στην καταναλωτική συμπεριφορά, προκειμένου να δημιουργηθεί σύνδεση μεταξύ των δύο παραγόντων και συνέργειά τους κατά τη χάραξη σχεδιασμού ψηφιακού μάρκετινγκ των ΜΗ.ΣΥ.ΦΑ, προς την επίτευξη ανταγωνιστικού πλεονεκτήματος.Pharmaceutical industry is based on knowledge, something that defines Research and Development (RnD) and Sales&Marketing (S&M) as the most important sectors in order to achieve competitive advantage. For the last few years digital technologies and social media have played an active role in forming a company’s strategic plan and pharmaceutical companies make continuous organizational changes towards this direction by using interactive methods which adapt to consumers’ behavior and their need, so that the become more competitive. All these technological innovations that are basically related to the penetration of the internet and social media in everyday life, are increasingly used in the creation of new applications that aim at better managing of pharmaceutical marketing and the acquisition of sustainable competitive advantage. In the present study, what was initially analyzed through extensive literature was the meaning of competitive advantage and the ways that it can be achieved and retained, as well as pharmaceutical marketing of OTC that includes promotional actions with the use of the internet and social media that offer high prospects and opportunities of approaching consumers in the Greek drug market. Moreover, the importance of strategic marketing planning was discussed and, more specifically, the ways of digital promotional actions’ integration in this procedure, towards the creation of a competitive pharmaceutical market. Subsequently, three different types of questionnaires were designed, addressed to different groups of people regarding their position as consumers, pharmacists or members of marketing departments of pharmaceutical companies and the data that was collected was used for qualitative analysis. The aim of the research was to detect the factors that influence consumers’ behavior when purchasing OTC drugs, focusing on the role of the internet and social media and to investigate which techniques Greek pharmaceutical companies apply for their promotion. Through the study, our goal was to propose new ways of using these digital technologies for the acquisition of competitive advantage. The results indicate that the most important action for obtaining competitive advantage is the deep understanding of consumer behavior and the appropriate use of the internet and social media in ways that approach their continuously changing habits. Contrary to this, the strengthening of the brand name of pharmaceutical companies or specific OTC products does not seem to represent a particularly important factor during this effort of competitive advantage acquisition. This result was slightly unexpected according to literature, therefore further investigation of the contribution of branding to consumer behavior is suggested, in order for these two factors to be linked and used efficiently during digital strategic marketing planning

Degradation of Group V Secretory Phospholipase A2 in Lung Endothelium is Mediated by Autophagy

Group V secretory phospholipase A2 (gVPLA2) is a potent inflammatory mediator in mammalian tissues that hydrolyzes phospholipids and initiates eicosanoid biosynthesis. Previous work has demonstrated that multiple inflammatory stimuli induce its expression and secretion in several cell types, including the lung endothelium. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) by which gVPLA2 inflammatory signaling is subsequently downregulated. Therefore, in this study we characterized potential clearance mechanisms for gVPLA2 in lung endothelial cells (EC). We observed that exogenous gVPLA2 is taken up rapidly by nutrient-starved human pulmonary artery EC (HPAEC) in vitro, and its cellular expression subsequently is reduced over several hours. In parallel experiments performed in pulmonary vascular EC isolated from mice genetically deficient in gVPLA2, the degradation of exogenously applied gVPLA2 occurs in a qualitatively similar fashion. This degradation is significantly attenuated in EC treated with ammonium chloride or chloroquine, which are lysosomal inhibitors that block autophagic flux. In contrast, the proteasomal inhibitor MG132 fails to prevent the clearance of gVPLA2. Both immunofluorescence microscopy and proximity ligation assay demonstrate the co-localization of LC3 and gVPLA2 during this process, indicating the association of gVPLA2 with autophagosomes. Nutrient starvation, a known inducer of autophagy, is sufficient to stimulate gVPLA2 degradation. These results suggest that a lysosome-mediated autophagy pathway contributes to gVPLA2 clearance from lung EC. These novel observations advance our understanding of the mechanism by which this key inflammatory enzyme is downregulated in the lung vasculature

Antioxidant capacity and immunomodulatory effects of a crysolaminarinenriched extract in Senegalese sole

The microalgae are an important source of bioactive molecules including &beta;-glucans that can be used as immunostimulants in aquaculture. In the present study, the antioxidant capacity, cytotoxicity and immunomodulatory activity of a chrysolaminarin-enriched extract obtained from the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum was evaluated. The extract showed a higher total antioxidant activity as determined by ORAC and FRAP assays and a lower DPPH scavenging activity than particulate yeast-&beta;-glucan. The cytotoxicity test indicated that extract concentrations higher than 0.01% w/v could impair cell viability of human dermal fibroblasts. To evaluate the immunomodulatory activity, juvenile soles were intraperitoneally injected with the chrysolaminarin-enriched extract suspended in coconut oil (1 mg/fish) followed by a reinjection at 7 days. A sham group injected with the carrier solution was maintained as a negative control. Cumulated mortality of fish injected with the chrysolaminarin-enriched extract was 29.4% after six days and no mortality was recorded after extract reinjection. Expression analyses of fifteen genes related to the innate immune system in kidney, spleen and intestine showed temporal and organ-specific responses. A rapid (2 days post-injection; dpi) and strong induction of the pro-inflammatory il1b and the antimicrobial peptide hamp1 in the three immunological organs, the hsp90aa in kidney and spleen, irf3 in intestine and c3 in spleen was observed indicating a potent inflammatory response. The recovery of steady-state levels for all activated genes at 5 dpi, and the down-regulation of c-lectin receptor as well as some interferon-related genes (ifn1, irf1, irf3, irf8, irf9 and mx) in kidney and cxc10 in spleen indicated that the soles were able to activate a homeostatic response against the &beta;-glucan insult. The reinjection of the chrysolaminarin-enriched extract did not activate a new inflammatory response but reduced the mRNA levels of hsp90aa and irf3 indicating that soles developed some resistance to &beta;-glucans. Overall, these results reveal this enriched extract as a novel and potent source of &beta;-glucans with antioxidant and immunomodulatory capacity suitable for immunostimulation in aquaculture. </p

Oxylipin profiling for clinical research: Current status and future perspectives

16 pages, 2 tables, 3 figures.-- Under a Creative Commons licenseOxylipins are potent lipid mediators with increasing interest in clinical research. They are usually measured in systemic circulation and can provide a wealth of information regarding key biological processes such as inflammation, vascular tone, or blood coagulation. Although procedures still require harmonization to generate comparable oxylipin datasets, performing comprehensive profiling of circulating oxylipins in large studies is feasible and no longer restricted by technical barriers. However, it is essential to improve and facilitate the biological interpretation of complex oxylipin profiles to truly leverage their potential in clinical research. This requires regular updating of our knowledge about the metabolism and the mode of action of oxylipins, and consideration of all factors that may influence circulating oxylipin profiles independently of the studied disease or condition. This review aims to provide the readers with updated and necessary information regarding oxylipin metabolism, their different forms in systemic circulation, the current limitations in deducing oxylipin cellular effects from in vitro bioactivity studies, the biological and technical confounding factors needed to consider for a proper interpretation of oxylipin profilesThis research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectorsPeer reviewe