Reuters Events | Pharma

Thought leadership and innovation for the Pharmaceutical Industry

The recent problem of the auto industry here in the U.S. are nothing compared to the issues facing the pharmaceutical industry.

The recent problem of the auto industry here in the U.S. are nothing compared to the issues facing the pharmaceutical industry. The pharma industry is being attacked on all fronts by payers, consumers, patients, customers, Congress, The FDA and the media. This is more than just facing a couple of key issues it is a massive assault on an industry that has provided a better quality of life to millions of people worldwide.

First let's make one thing perfectly clear. The pharma industry has invited a lot of the issues through misinformation and a lack of transparency. The recent PR disaster around Astra Zeneca's Seroquel is just one case of an industry that has lost its way and will do anything to keep blockbuster "cash cows" on the market. What I believe has happened is that the industries model is too reliant on pleasing Wall Street rather than customers and patients. I personally believe that what George Merck said long ago that medicine is not about profits it's about people and if we make good products the profits will follow.

A recent poll by Harris Interactive indicated that pharma has gained some points in trust with consumers. People should not be fooled by this data. The only reason that pharma has moved up in trust with consumers is because consumers are way too angry at companies that caused this economic collapse to focus on pharma. In short, they have others to blame and become the center of their eyre.

New drugs face a maze of regulatory approval processes often leading to increased costs for drug development and payers now want proof that branded drugs outperform generic rivals. On top of all this close to 60% of consumers say that they prefer generic drugs over branded because they have been on the market longer and thus maybe safer in their opinion.

The sales force is becoming less effective and more costly to maintain and DTC marketers continue to ignore the fact that less people are going to their doctors today and even when they do get an Rx they are either not filling it or they are not in compliance to save costs.

It's a pretty bleak picture but with every downturn come a wealth of opportunities. The first thing that needs to happen is that every pharma CEO needs to have town hall meetings with employees to remind them to put patients first. Everything we do has to be focused around patients who are more empowered today than ever before. This means that when we make decisions about patient education, DTC ads or release of information we do as if a patients were sitting right next to us .

The second thing is that pharma needs to find a way to reconnect with consumers and patients and start a dialogue rather than focusing on new Rx's. Apple is a power house of computer manufacturers because they are not concerned about market share their goal is excellent products and excellent customer service. Pharma could learn a lot from them. I'm not saying that a conversation via social media is the answer, I'm not sure that pharma is ready for that, what I am saying is that we need to treat influencers as thought leaders and use them to help us market products and turn them into brand advocates.

Finally DTC needs a kick in the ass. The days of massive DTC budgets are gone and consumer attitudes have changed forever because of this recession. The challenge then for DTC marketers is "where do we go from here". The current model of heavy TV is insulting because it shows that DTC marketers still believe that awareness= trial which just is not true today. Awareness leads to going online and researching treatment options it does not lead to new Rx's for drugs that are already on the market.

DTC needs to evolve to remain viable as part of the pharma organization. This means doing more with less but also means more successes with new channels along with more failures. But with every failure comes the opportunity to learn and hear what patients and consumers really want from pharma.