Definitions:
• Market Research:
- Determination and assessment of qualitative and quantitative حجمdimensions
of a market.
• Marketing Research:
- Analysis of the effects of various marketing activities of a company or its
competitors.
Market Research:
• Environmental scanning:
– Physicians.
– Pharmacists.
– Pharmacies.
– Hospitals.
• Data gathering and analysis.
• Influence of unique aspects of the pharmaceutical market on market
research:
– Known list of entities.
– Knowledge-based decisions.
– Similarities in education and thinking (professionalization).
– Availability of records for transactional activity.
• Significant use of outside vendors for market research.
– Syndicated services.
– Custom services.
Questions Answered by Market Research:
• Strategic Level:
– What diseases or product areas should be considered for long-
term investment?
– Short-term?
– Market size or potential?
– Availability and utilization of therapies?
– Next logical steps in therapy?
– Potential market segments to be exploited:
• Disease conditions (e.g., migraine sufferers)
• Dosing preferences (inhalants vs. injections vs. patches)
– Prevalence انتشارof disorder? اعتالل
– Shared conditions?
– Potential development partners?
– Potential acquisitions?
Questions answered by Market Research:
• Clinical trial Planning:
– Seasonality.
– Regionality.
– Specialty.
• Pre-marketing Planning:
– What physician specialties are important in a given therapy or
diagnosis?
– What patient characteristics are important?
– Who are our competitors in this market?
– How do our competitors promote their product?
– Are there unsatisfied portions of the market?
– How do physicians perceive a proposed product?
Questions Answered by Market Research:
• Post-marketing Monitoring:
– Adverse events
– Product sales
– Patient information (medical history
Types of Market Research:
Hospital
Retail Pharmacy Purchases
Warehouse
Purchases Withdrawals
Periodic
Promotional Retail Pharmacy
Surveys
Media Prescriptions
Retail Pharmacy Physician
Sales Panels
Types of Market Research:
1- Retail Pharmacy Purchases:
• Measures the “inflow” of products from the manufacturer to the
pharmacy
• OTC
• Prescription drugs
• Indirect (through wholesalers)
• Direct purchases from manufacturers
2- Hospital Purchases:
Growth of pharmaceutical purchases by hospitals has greatly exceeded
purchases from pharmacies on a proportional basis
In many communities, the hospital has become more important in routine care
• Measures the “inflow” of products from the manufacturer to the hospital
• OTC
• Prescription drugs
• Indirect (through wholesalers)
• Direct purchases from manufacturers
3- Warehouse Withdrawals:
Can be valuable in dealing with questions of individual territory performance
and potential or different selling techniques
• Measures the “outflow” of products from the warehouse to all
purchasers
– OTC
– Prescription drugs)
• Does not reflect direct purchases from manufacturers
• Provides ability to analyze small segments of the marketplace such as
zip code or territories
4- Retail Pharmacy Prescriptions:
• Measures the “outflow” of prescription drugs from the pharmacy to
consumers
• Most sensitive indicator of prescription product performance (factual)
• Reflects mindset of prescribers and consumer demand
• Best indicator of marketing or promotional effort effectiveness
• Data available at national and sub-national levels
5- Physician Panels:
• Specialized research services to identify patient product usage along
specific variables:
– Diagnosis
– Patient characteristics
– Location of visit
– Drugs used
– Action desired from drugs used
• Tracking of new prescriptions over time and monitors changes in doctor
prescribing habits
6- Retail Pharmacy Sales:
• Historically used for non-prescription pharmaceuticals
• Data typically collected for products of interest
• Collect unit and dollar information at the package size level
• Main use is to obtain prescription counts by product
• Used for pricing analysis and cross-tabulation analysis using data
warehouses
7- Promotional Media:
• Monitoring of detailing visits to physicians by sales representatives
• Monitoring of journal advertising
• Monitoring of direct mail advertising
• Physician sampling
Generic Stages of Market Research:
=
Marketing Problem
• Marketing Objectives
Reviewed Written marketing brief
• Problems Defined
• * Alternative
Exploratory research ResearchMarketing
objectives defined
Options
Considered
* Formulation of data requirements, sources
Research Design
Was this what Research Proposal
Costing
was requested?
Select Sample
Design Survey & Feedback
Design coding, analysis instructions
Interpret
Present Findings
Take Action and Monitor
Market Research Organizations:
• IMS Health
• Data monitor Healthcare Consulting
• Frost.com
• Reuters
• Also check out:
– Eyeforpharma.com
– FDA.gov
– Journal of the American Hospital Association
– AMA Drug Evaluations
Market Research Industry Associations:
• EphMRA – European Pharmaceutical Research Association
(www.ephmra.org)
• BHBIA – British Healthcare Business Intelligence Association
(www.bhbia.org.uk)
• PhRMA – Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association
(www.phrma.org)
Marketing and Sales Roles in the Pharmaceutical Industry
MARKETING
The “Marketing Concept” - Key Principles مفهوم التسويق
• It is easier to change the products and services of the individual
manufacturer to fit the needs of the market than it is to convince the
entire market to use the products and services as the individual
manufacturer prefers them.
– “You can have any color car you want as long as it’s black”
Henry Ford
• All the resources of the firm should be organized into a total system
aimed at meeting the needs of the consumer.
• The role of marketing is to influence or direct activities from the
manufacturer to the patient:
– The right products.
– In the right quantity.
– At the right place.
– For the right price.
– At the right time.
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Marketing as an “Actualizing Process”:
Markets can be viewed as “gaps” that separate parties interested in an
exchange.
Marketing removes the gaps between the parties through various
actualization processes.
MARKET EXCHANGE FLOWS MARKETING ACTIVITIES
SEPARATORS
PRODUCT FLOW:• Assembly, transportation
TIME• toward the consumer storage, packaging,
grading
SPACE•
INFORMATION • Advertising, personal
VALUE• FLOW: selling, publicity, labeling,
both ways sales promotions,
OWNERSHIP•
marketing research,
PAYMENT FLOW:• consumer complaints,
QUANTITY• toward the provider drug education programs
ASSORTMENT• USE RIGHT:• Credit and cash payments
toward the consumer post transactional rights
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It's Role in the “Actualizing Process”
• IT can assist marketing in closing the “gaps” that separate parties
interested in an exchange.
• IT can make some of the “gaps” irrelevant ( غير متصل بالموضوعe.g., space
and time).
MARKET
SEPARATORS
•Connectivity across geographically
dispersed regions
•TIME •24 x 7 Availability
•SPACE •Enabling information access
•VALUE
•Enhancing personalization
•OWNERSHIP
✓ Right use
•QUANTITY
✓ Right amount
✓ Right need
•ASSORTMEN
Tتشكيلة •Increasing the number of available
options
Unique Aspects of Pharmaceutical Marketing and Sales:
• Influence of non-purchasers on the purchasing habits of the consumer.
• Veto/authorization power of physicians – consumers need an authorized
document to purchase a prescription drug.
• Importance of the disease to identifying and classifying markets
• Professional licensing required to stock and sell pharmaceutical
products.
• Records of every transaction are kept that are specific to:
– Patient.
– Physician.
– Product.
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OTHER MARKETING & SALES TECHNIQUES:
Key Opinion Leader Management
• Expert physicians -- often called "opinion رأيleaders" or "thought
leaders" -- play critical roles in driving pharmaceutical sales
– Participate in ongoing R&D
– Have privileged access to R&D information
– Company-sponsored featured speaking engagements at
prestigious conferences
• Exchange ideas with other physicians regarding new products or
indications or adverse events
• Helps convince other doctors to prescribe new products and can make
the difference between a successful product launch and a major
disappointment
• Program is actively integrated with marketing program:
– Physician recruitment (specialty, “Name recognition”, etc.)
– Matching to appropriate R&D efforts
– Matching to appropriate marketing programs
Medical Science Liaisons( ارتباطMSLs)
• Scientific professionals
– Pharmaceutical PhD’s
– Pharmacists
– Physicians
– Nurses
• Generally have more scientific knowledge than sales representatives
• Roles:
– Support and expand sales representatives’ marketing of a product
– Be able to speak to the purchaser on a more scientific (peer)
level; not on a marketing level
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– Will focus on clinical information
• Focus on key opinion leaders
– Typically will only see more knowledgeable sales reps
– Organize symposia, conferences, focus groups, etc.
– Training and continuing education programs
• May be involved in setting up Phase IV trials (post launch)
WHERE CAN YOU GO?
• Management
– Field manager
– State/National sales manager
– Sales director
• Marketing including business development
– Associate product manager
– Product manager
• Regulatory affairs
• Clinical research associate
• Training
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SALES
Sales Roles:
• Detailing
- Face-to-face visits to physicians or purchasing managers (e.g., hospitals,
HMOs) to present new prescription drugs
- Influence prescribing habit
- Increase current prescription usage
- Deliver samples
- Build relationships with doctors
- Get drug into a formulary; “pull through”
- Sample Management
- Track delivery of prescription drug samples to physicians or other purchasers
Effective Detailing
Influences on Physician Prescribing Habits:
Side Effects Efficacy Potential drug-
drug interactions
Drug delivery Dosage
method
Payor formulary
Cost of drug
status
Personal Patient request
preference
Brand
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Detailing Value to the Physician:
Value of Relationship with Comments From Physician
Pharma Cos to Physicians Interviews
• Learn new drug information • “I like the good, tangible
information about a new drug”
• Get drug samples • “The samples determine what I
prescribe for the long term”
• Connect with peers or physician • “Samples are extremely
thought leaders valuable”
• “I value the relationships with
• Receive ‘‘the perks’’ them. Overall, I am satisfied with
their service”
• Establish personal contact with • “I rely on them to keep me aware
the drug company of what’s happening in the drug
industry”
• Provide “stress release” • “I like their presence to break up
my stressed schedule”
• “Everybody likes perks”
Detailing - Physician Concerns:
What are your top complaints about detailers?
Physician Comments
78% • “I view them as the liaison but I
Biased information don’t take them at their word all
the time”
47%
• “I hate negative marketing. The
Inconvenient timing lack of objectivity is a big turnoff
for me”
44%
Too many from the same company • “If they keep coming back with
the same information, it’s a waste
40% of both parties’ time”
Take too much time • “I appreciate the information, but
the reps can be pushy”
28%
Not enough medical expertise • “The thing I dislike the most is
when the rep doesn’t appreciate
20% that I am busy and still tries to
Not enough samples pitch the drug to me”
• “I don’t believe that someone
with a bachelor’s degree knows
more about how a drug works
than I do”
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Companies Are Experimenting with e-Detailing
There have been promises made about the benefits of e- Detailing
Benefits to PharmaCos Benefits to Physicians
• Allows physicians to see sales reps,
• Cost-effective: an online sales session
gather information they deem
costs about $110 on average, compared with
about $200 for a field rep’s office visit important, and to have the flexibility
and control to do it in their own
• Cost effective: Increased contact time schedule
per visit allows for higher information
content • Offers physicians a range of
• Better control of detailing content: as a convenient interactive channels
result, e-Detailing can be used as an
efficient way to train less-skilled sales • Provides timely updated drug
• reps
Capture relevant physician practice
information
data: with this information, Companies • Provides simpler sample ordering and
can identify potential high prescribers delivery
• that sales reps can target later
Counter detailing and off-the-label • Provides quality peer-to-peer
discussion: with e-Detailing, the company’s discussions on a topic that interests a
medical experts can speak with physicians physician
about competing drugs’ clinical trial flaws
and off-the-label prescription, which is
normally not allowed in a sales rep’s visit
• Increased sales of under-marketed
drugs
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