Marketing difficult? Intention of marketing, business management, business success

Marketing people do often said: Marketing difficult! Spend a great deal of manpower, material resources and financial resources to the market does not seem to appreciate, still remains in the doldrums. In addition to the overall environment of the overall market lower, then we should do well to look at their own problems. Of course, some people will say: Marketing good! Just use a little input, reached a peer expectations, even on the rise. This article inside surprise to many people, in addition to admire while, we should really consider this: do the same marketing, in the face of the same market, why do out how the effect of such a big gap?

In fact, we may wish to look carefully, the same money, but the money is spent where, why will have effect? The same input to the market sunk to channel staff, but the staff is how to use the settings and so on. In fact, the final analysis, or how to effectively enhance our marketing effect of the above issues.

China’s pharmaceutical marketing on the market as the stock market as a long period of rising then, the stock can be bought only profits, adjusting the oscillation period ahead, all shareholders in accordance with the stock market and should be developed for each separate tactical look forward to success. A few years ago the three oral solution, Hongtao K, Huiren Shenbao, through simple human sea tactics and homemade posters, advertisements can be mad money. Now, the pharmaceutical market, various manufacturers in the various channels to create a different model, continuous evaluation of various experts in this Comments more complicated market, the mode of use. The results, some manufacturers has been achieved victory, but some compensation for it go down the drain.

Quote a song “is not what we do not understand is that this world is changing fast!” In the pharmaceutical industry after restlessness Physically phase, attributed to the more sensible. Changing market, the circumstances will arise at any time, we can only do light of the actual situation stands ready to provide personalized marketing solutions so as to enhance the effect of marketing!

First, Database Marketing
Database marketing over the past two years as the rise of a new type of marketing tool, it is on the pharmaceutical market in the personality of the trend. It is based on real data, the dissemination of information to achieve point-to-point, greatly enhancing the efficiency of marketing, and achieved good returns.

However, it should be noted that there are also its significant advantages and disadvantages:

1, advantages
Informative: Regardless of enterprises built-in database or from external consulting firms or website database purchased from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of information ranging, covering Tiannahaibei customers, and information is abundant.

Strong targeted: because there is a direct phone numbers and addresses, business organizations can direct telephone marketing, marketing messages, mailing information, such as product information and means to promote, eliminating the intermediate links, a right to the point.
Cheap: Enterprise built-in customer databases, general from the regional business enterprises collected without support costs. And the purchase of foreign agents database, is quite cheap, often a 100,000 information on the data need only be a thousand dollars.

Save time and effort: dismissed from the enterprises through various channels to find agents uncertainty, Save time and effort.

2, shortcomings
At the same time, database marketing itself also some of the inevitable shortcomings.
Information, with accuracy: Database Marketing most dependent on the data, and these data regardless of external buy or establish their own enterprises, as customers will replace numbers, copied data distortion caused errors affecting marketing effectiveness.

Communication is not directly: Because database marketing is built on the phone and SMS-based communication level, and not directly to the face of customer communication, the impact of communication effects.

Lack of timely response Stock Market: changes in the market, the customer is changing, unable to face customers meant that it was impossible to capture customers in a timely manner. These changes include changes in the demand for the product, operation of the channel changes, the direction of change.

Therefore, based on these characteristics of the above, database marketing has its strong effect and purposeful. It is the orientation of the people as the starting and neglected the shape of the market and channel control. As a result, the full database marketing operations in the following areas, it could serve as a good result.

Investment in the pharmaceutical market
Investment in order to find agents or multiple product sales for the second goal, emphasis on the diversification of information and targeted. China Merchants stage of China’s pharmaceutical enterprises, more individual agents to find mainly through exhibition, the media and other means of information dissemination, is a blind passive marketing. After the introduction of database marketing, investment enterprises enhance the goals and the aim, and will greatly enhance enterprise agents Source to enhance product sales.

Source : marketingiso.com

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InfoMedics Reports Record Growth in Demand in 2007

InfoMedics, Inc., the patient feedback company, today announced record business growth for 2007, as the company generated a 50 percent increase in sales compared to 2006. During the year, InfoMedics was engaged by 36 pharmaceutical brand teams to provide patient feedback programs as a strategic part of their promotional strategies.

Since its inception in 1995, InfoMedics has become the foremost developer of patient feedback programs worldwide. Its innovative services are designed to bring healthcare closer to the patient through the use of interactive technologies, disease management and learning theory. InfoMedics provides physicians with direct feedback from their own patients about treatment and condition challenges, thereby providing the most important source of information used by physicians when making prescribing decisions.

“The basis for our success in 2007 is the same as it has been for the past dozen years: delivering programs that consistently increase prescribing of our clients’ brands and deliver the highest ROI of any program in the pharmaceutical promotions mix,” said Gene Guselli, CEO, InfoMedics. “As the environment for pharmaceutical marketing becomes more challenging, we are uniquely positioned to help the increasing numbers of brand managers who need to balance meeting tough brand objectives while also improving their company’s perception among patients, physicians and the public at large.” read more in businesswire.com

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Gene Express' David Lester, Ph.D. to Participate in Keynote Panel Discussion at the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group's 2008 Annual National Con

Gene Express, Inc. today announced that David S. Lester, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development, will be one of three panel members discussing the dramatic changes the pharmaceutical industry is undergoing, at the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group's 2008 Annual National Conference in Phoenix, AZ, March 9-11.

Dr. Lester will be participating in the panel discussion entitled "Crystal Ball Gazing: The Pharmaceutical Industry in Transition -- Pharma 2020," immediately following the keynote speaker: Ken Fisher, CEO of Fisher Investments, Forbes magazine columnist and author of "The Only Three Questions That Count: Investing by Knowing What Other's Don't," on Monday, March 10. Dr. Lester's talk will focus on the impact of personalized medicine on the pharmaceutical industry, and how this relationship is changing.

David S. Lester received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Northwestern University and has held positions at Harvard University Medical School, the Weizmann Institute of Science (Israel) and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institute of Health. He is currently serving as Senior Vice President at Gene Express, Inc. in charge of Strategy and Corporate Development. Dr. Lester is also President of Innovative Technologies for Health and Wellness (ITHW, Inc.). He has held executive positions, and played pivotal roles at Pfizer, in the Global Clinical Technology and Human Health Technologies Groups, as well as at Pharmacia Corp., and at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Lester's Research interests have included the incorporation of innovative technologies into clinical trials for the use of biomarkers or surrogate endpoints. He has an extensive publication record including five edited volumes. Dr. Lester is active in numerous professional societies and has a strong record in public science policy activities.

Source : http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=828374

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Javelin Pharmaceuticals Board Appoints Industry Veteran Martin Driscoll as Chief Executive Officer

Javelin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMEX: JAV) today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Javelin Director and veteran pharmaceutical executive Martin J. Driscoll to the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Dr. Daniel B. Carr has become Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and will continue in his role as Chief Medical Officer.

Javelin’s Board of Directors has also established a Strategic Commercialization and Partnership Committee consisting of members with significant experience in creating partnerships and commercial ventures. The Committee will consist of Directors Peter D. Kiernan III, Neil W. Flanzraich, and Georg Nebgen.

The appointment of Mr. Driscoll as Chief Executive Officer and the formation of the Strategic Commercialization and Partnership Committee significantly strengthen Javelin’s senior management team at a time when the Company has entered a new stage in its corporate development. Mr. Driscoll will work closely with senior management and the Strategic Commercialization and Partnership Committee to execute new commercialization strategies with a priority on business development opportunities.

“I am delighted that Marty is leading Javelin in this exciting stage of our Company’s development. His industry experience and skills in all aspects of commercialization and business development complement our strong senior management team,” said Dr. Carr. “2008 promises to be a very active and fruitful year for Javelin. Today’s management realignment allows me to focus on our expanding clinical and regulatory activities for our three late stage product candidates.”

Potential global partnership interest in Javelin has increased as commercial activities have commenced, among other recent accomplishments. These include the first market approval and favorable pricing for a Javelin product (DylojectTM, diclofenac sodium for injection) in the United Kingdom, highly encouraging platelet study data, anticipated additional country approvals for various products over the next few years, recent successful pivotal Phase 3 study results and ongoing Phase 3 studies for two of the Company’s three products.

“Our intent is to maximize the opportunities for Javelin’s brands worldwide,” stated Mr. Driscoll. “I look forward to working with Dan. Our complementary skills will effectively manage the Company’s capital resources, strategic initiatives and talented teams working on clinical, regulatory, manufacturing, financial and administrative dimensions of our growing company to create lasting shareholder value. We are blessed with three pivotal Phase 3 programs with successful results that address growing specialty markets. More importantly, these drug candidates address significant unmet medical needs. As a result they have become increasingly visible to a number of potential global partners,” added Mr. Driscoll. “Our goal is to enhance shareholder value by delivering on strategic partnering while reducing commercialization risk.”

Source : http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080304006465&newsLang=en

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Zestra Laboratories Elects New Board of Directors

Zestra Laboratories, Inc., global innovator in clinically proven intimacy products for women’s sexual health, announces the election of four new members to its board of directors, bringing the current number of board members to five. Its flagship product, Zestra® is available at more than 41,000 drugstore and retail outlets in the United States. It is the only women's topical intimacy product that is clinically proven to increase female sexual arousal, pleasure, desire/libido and satisfying sexual experiences for women; everything else available for women are simply lubricants. To date, there are still no FDA-approved prescription drug treatments for any form of female sexual dysfunction (FSD).

“We are gratified with the addition of our new directors, who bring extensive experience and serial successes in both prescription pharmaceuticals and consumer product brands to our Board,” Martin Crosby, Founder and Acting CEO of Zestra, said. “Their proven track records and their industry knowledge, business insights, and capital formation expertise will be invaluable to Zestra, as we accelerate our growth in 2008 and beyond.”
In 2008, Zestra plans to extend its product line in women’s health, introduce a male sexual health product, and increase its market penetration in Europe and Asia.

The 2008 Board of Directors took office on February 27, 2008. The board of directors includes: Anthony A. Rascio; Jay Popli; Reed Bolton Byrum; Martin Crosby, and Gerald Pribanic.
Anthony A. Rascio - Rascio was most recently Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary of Esprit Pharma, a pharmaceutical company focused on the genitourinary (GU) and women’s healthcare markets. Rascio was instrumental in Esprit Pharma successfully completing a Series B funding round, raising $90 million in financing from a group of leading venture capital and private equity investors. Allergan (NYSE: AGN) acquired Esprit Pharma in a $370 million all-cash transaction in October 2007. Rascio formerly served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for ESP Pharma where he was responsible for acquisitions, licensing, financing, patent, trademark, and copyright matters. He was instrumental in the sale of ESP Pharma to PDL Biopharma, Inc (NASDAQ: PDLI). Before that, he was Vice President and General Counsel of Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation where he counseled the company in raising capital in excess of $400 million, negotiated multi-million dollar licensing arrangements with US, European, and Japanese companies, and helped lead the merger with Shire Pharmaceuticals of London (LSE: SHPGY). Earlier in his career, Rascio served as Legal Director, International Division, for Schering-Plough. Rascio received his undergraduate and J.D. degrees from Fordham University. read more in businesswire.com

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Consumer Group Opposes California Pharmaceutical Marketing Bill as Invasion of Patient Privacy

The Consumer Federation of California has sent a stinging letter to the Senate Health Committee opposing SB 1096 (Calderon) as an invasion of patient privacy and interference with the doctor-patient privilege. It is scheduled to be heard by the committee on March 12, one week from today.Here is the letter:
We regret that the Consumer Federation of California must oppose SB 1096 (Calderon).
This bill raises significant privacy and health care concerns for patients. The bill would allow the sharing of a patient’s confidential medical information regarding prescription drugs among a pharmacy, third party corporations and pharmaceutical companies. read more in californiaprogressreport.com

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Exco InTouch Introduces Innovative REACT for Improved Patient Recruitment, Retention and Compliance

Exco InTouch has introduced REACT, providing secure mobile communication for healthcare and biopharmaceutical applications. REACT is designed to improve subject recruitment, retention and compliance during clinical trials and pharmaceutical marketing studies, from delivering reminder services to patients to non-intrusive methods of promoting investigator relationships. REACT has revolutionised clinical trial communication, using Short Message Service (SMS) to send scheduled, action-driven text messages directly to the mobile phone user, enhancing volunteer relationship management.

Finding good quality volunteers and patients for clinical trials is a continuing challenge and SMS helps target, identify and locate volunteers and patient populations, additionally providing a new channel to deliver timed reminders regarding screening appointments and trial prerequisites. REACT allows for the customisation of mobile services and can be integrated into existing systems or delivered as a custom-made application. Patient retention and compliance are also improved through the provision of interactive and personalised SMS messages.

REACT software allows selection from approved, validated, local language translations, with the capacity to insert multiple variables for personalised messages. Seamless integration with email and total reporting facilities is available, allowing for full role and rights-based access to ensure that the right people do the right things at the right time. REACT seamlessly integrates with both electronic and paper based clinical trial workflow processes, through a secure encryption of mobile user data. Exco InTouch follows a standard quality management process to provide the highest quality technology to its clients. Data is stored in a secure database, complying with the EU data privacy act and applicable industry legislation. Exco InTouch computer systems are also fully validated to comply with FDA 21 CFR part 11 guidelines.

Exco InTouch provides cost-effective, simple technology to communicate with and elicit a response from patients. By utilising simple SMS technology, alerts are delivered promptly to the patient participating in a clinical study via their own mobile phone. These SMS methods are non-intrusive, offering healthcare providers with a simple cost-effective, personal, direct-to-patient system of communication. REACT from Exco InTouch is available as a hosted service or as an enterprise solution installed within a corporate network, allowing rapid import of contact management data. Participants and investigators can be linked, providing seamless, traceable communication paths .

Exco InTouch is the premier provider of global, secure and regulatory compliant short messaging service (SMS) technology to the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The Exco InTouch technology is currently used by a number of large pharmaceutical companies in support of their clinical trials and marketing programs.

Source : www.medadnews.com

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Cutting Edge Information Joins the Center for Business Intelligence to Disclose First-Ever Pharmaceutical Marketing Meeting Planners Findings

The Center for Business Intelligence (CBI) and Medical Meetings magazine are pleased to invite the pharmaceutical industry to attend the 4th Annual Pharmaceutical Meeting Planners Forum March 17-19, 2008, Baltimore, MD.

This is the largest educational conference dedicated to the professional development needs of meeting and procurement professionals in the pharmaceutical sector.

Cutting Edge Information has collaborated with the Center for Business Intelligence and Medical Meetings Magazine to develop a new benchmarking study designed specifically for pharmaceutical meeting planners. Results were drawn from a first-time survey exclusively from pharmaceutical meeting planners.

These new and exciting findings will be revealed at the conference by Elio Evangelista, Research Team Leader at Cutting Edge Information.

According to Evangelista, "Meeting planning is taking on a much more strategic role in the life sciences industries. The data we have compiled show trends in meeting planning management and how the function operates in line with companies' strategies."
Other highlights include:

-- Keynote session announcing the results of the first-ever
pharmaceutical meeting planners survey
-- Summits for senior-level pharmaceutical and independent meeting
professionals
-- 6 tracks focusing on compliance, procurement, international meetings,
and more

All conference attendees will receive an invitation to join Pharma Planners Connect, CBI's new online community, where there will be the opportunity to:

-- Network with attendees who share similar interests
-- Start a dialogue with faculty about meeting planner key issues
-- Communicate information about their backgrounds
-- Schedule meetings that will take place during the conference

Source : http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/cutting-edge-information-joins-the-center-for-business-intelligence-to,297506.shtml

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RHEI Pharmaceuticals Licenses Attental From MethaPharma (Vemedia Group) for Distribution Throughout Asia

RHEI Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a fully integrated specialty pharmaceuticals company focused on bringing proprietary medicines to the China market, and MethaPharma, part of then Vemedia Group, today announced that RHEI has licensed from MethaPharma the exclusive right to market and distribute Attental(R) throughout Asia. Attental is a nutraceutical currently commercially available in Europe for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
"There is a great opportunity for Attental throughout Asia where parents prefer giving their children natural products versus prescription drugs," said Joos Horsten, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RHEI. "There has been a growing awareness of ADHD in Asia as a more western diet and lifestyle is adopted. In addition, there are now several government programs in place to train doctors and teachers to better identify and treat children suffering from ADHD. RHEI will utilize its experience in pharmaceutical marketing and its network of contacts, particularly within the pediatric community, to bring this important natural remedy to the Asian market."

Attental has been proven in a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial to better overall motor performance and improve reading and spelling in children. The clinical trial demonstrated a significant improvement in the Conners' Teaching Rating Scale-L (CTRS-L) of 59 items describing different aspects of child behavior, as well as in the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) -- standard evaluation methods for ADHD.

"RHEI's approach which includes a hospital-based sales force in China that understands the scientific aspects of ADHD and can communicate the benefits of Attental, combined with their experience in direct to consumer and pharmacy-based marketing is the perfect partner to market and distribute Attental throughout Asia," said Curd Devos, Chief Executive Officer of MethaPharma. "We see tremendous growth potential for a product like Attental in the Asian market. It is estimated that 19.8 million children in China alone suffer from ADHD and as awareness of the disorder grows, we believe that by working with RHEI we will be well positioned to offer children and their parents a natural product that has been clinically proven to improve the behavior associated with ADHD."

About MethaPharma
MethaPharma was founded in 2003 and develops high quality food supplements (nutraceuticals). MethaPharma is present in the Belgian market since 2005 with glucosamine-products such as Osteoplus, Glucactiv and Chondractiv for a fluid articulation. After some time, Benypro was launched for the prostate and Attental for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), dyslexia and concentration problems. MethaPharma is now part of the Vemedia group. For more information see http://www.vemediapharma.com/.

About RHEI Pharmaceuticals
RHEI Pharmaceuticals is a venture backed specialty pharmaceutical company with operations in Belgium, the U.S. and China that acquires, licenses, develops and commercializes in China proprietary drug therapies based upon the unmet needs of the emerging China pharmaceuticals market. RHEI leverages its proprietary and extensive network of experienced clinical development and regulatory professionals in China to expedite approvals for pharmaceuticals new to the China market. RHEI's growing sales and marketing capabilities then provide broad patient access in China to these new and critically necessary therapeutics. RHEI specializes in hospital-based proprietary products with a therapeutic focus on urgent unmet needs in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurology, and other life threatening conditions.

Source : www.prnewswire.co.uk

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BMP Sunstone Completes Sunstone Acquisition

BMP Sunstone Corporation (“BMP Sunstone” or the “Company”), today announced it has completed its acquisition of Hong Kong Fly International Health Care Limited, a Hong Kong corporation that holds a 100% equity interest in Sunstone Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., (“Sunstone”) and changed its name from “Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation” to “BMP Sunstone Corporation.”

David Gao, Chief Executive Officer of BMP Sunstone, stated “Today is a momentous day in our corporate history as we complete the purchase of the remaining 51 percent of Sunstone. Sunstone is a proven leader in selling and marketing OTC products, with sales to approximately 40 percent of all retail pharmacies in China. With today’s announcement, we immediately expand our drug portfolio to include high profile, nationally recognized OTC brands including Hao Wawa (“Good Baby”) for children’s healthcare and Kang Fu Te (“Confort”) for women’s healthcare. Sunstone’s therapeutic focus on pediatrics and women’s health is a perfect fit for our existing sales and marketing capabilities, and we look forward to leveraging the combined power of our existing prescription and hospital sales force with Sunstone’s robust OTC and retail pharmacy sales force. Lastly, I’d like to personally welcome Mr. Han and Mr. Tong to our senior management team and Board of Directors. We believe their years of experience operating businesses in China, specifically in China’s healthcare industry, are great assets for us.”

Fred Powell, Chief Financial Officer of BMP Sunstone, stated, “With the acquisition of Sunstone and our formation of BMP Sunstone Corporation, we gain a profitable entity with revenue growth that we believe continues to outpace the industry growth rate of 18 percent. Sunstone generated revenue of $29.5 million and operating income of $8.1 million in the first nine months of 2007, as well as $35.9 million in revenue and $9.9 million in operating income during the full year 2006. We look forward to building on this success in 2008 and beyond.”

Additionally, management believes that the creation of BMP Sunstone provides a number of short-term and long-term opportunities for the Company and for shareholders, including:

• 
  Financial performance: Sunstone is immediately accretive to BMP Sunstone’s financial results. Pro forma financial results can be found in the Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 16, 2008.
• 
  Enhanced product portfolio: BMP Sunstone’s portfolio will now include Sunstone’s OTC healthcare products, including high profile, nationally recognized OTC products under the Hao Wawa (“Good Baby”) and Kang Fu Te (“Confort”) brands.
• 
  Expanded presence in retail pharmacies: Sunstone contributes a rapidly growing retail pharmacy sales and marketing presence, including the ability to sell and market to 50,000 retail pharmacies in China.
• 
  Combined power of hospital and OTC sales forces: BMP Sunstone has over 1,100 sales people focusing on marketing prescription drugs in hospitals, as well as OTC products in retail and hospital pharmacies. In leveraging BMP Sunstone’s presence in hospitals, BMP Sunstone has the near-term opportunity to increase Sunstone’s sales in hospital pharmacies, which generated only three percent of Sunstone’s revenue in prior periods.
• 
  Enhanced value proposition: With combined capabilities in different geographic areas and customer segments, BMP Sunstone enhances its overall value proposition. Management believes this will facilitate the licensing of additional products from around the world, as global pharmaceutical companies try to enter the Chinese market.

Gao stated, in closing, “With the creation of BMP Sunstone, we are uniquely positioned as the only the one-stop-shop for market entry to China. We believe BMP Sunstone is a stronger, more robust service provider than either standalone entity, and this matters most as we work with global pharmaceutical companies to bring their products into China."

About BMP Sunstone Corporation

BMP Sunstone Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company that is building a proprietary portfolio of branded pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China and is pursuing partnerships with other companies seeking to enter the Chinese pharmaceutical market. It is the only U.S. public company to offer industry partners a comprehensive suite of market-entry services in China that includes pre-market entry analysis, clinical trial management, product registration, market research, as well as pharmaceutical marketing and distribution. The company provides distribution services for a wide range of products, including Western medicines, traditional Chinese medicines, bio-chemical medicines, medical applications, branded generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, and home healthcare supplies and equipments. BMP Sunstone’s proprietary portfolio, primarily focusing on women’s health and pediatrics. The Company is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.

Source : www.businesswire.com

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Beijing Med-Pharm Announces Participation in February Investor Conferences

Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation (NASDAQ: BJGP) ("Beijing Med-Pharm" or the "Company"), today announced that the Company will attend the UBS Global Healthcare Services Conference on February 11-13, 2008 in New York city, as well as the Roth Capital Partners Growth Stock Conference on February 18-21, 2008 in Dana Point, California.

Beijing Med-Pharm management is scheduled to present at the 2008 UBS Global Healthcare Services Conference at 1:00 pm ET at the Grand Hyatt in New York, New York on February 11, 2008. Management will also present at the Roth Capital Partners Growth Stock Conference at 12:30 pm PT at the Ritz Carlton Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, California on February 20, 2008. Listeners may access a live webcast of the presentations by visiting the Investor Relations portion of the Company website at www.beijingmedpharm.com.

Investors interested in attending these events should contact their UBS and Roth Capital institutional sales representatives, respectively.

About Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation

Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company that is building a proprietary portfolio of branded pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China and is pursuing partnerships with other companies seeking to enter the Chinese pharmaceutical market. It is the only U.S. public company to offer industry partners a comprehensive suite of market-entry services in China that includes pre-market entry analysis, clinical trial management, product registration, market research, as well as pharmaceutical marketing and distribution. The company provides distribution services for a wide range of products, including Western medicines, traditional Chinese medicines, bio-chemical medicines, medical applications, branded generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, and home healthcare supplies and equipments. Beijing Med-Pharm's proprietary portfolio, primarily focusing on women's health and pediatrics. The Company is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Visit www.beijingmedpharm.com.

Source : www.newsobserver.com

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New Issues Facing The China Pharmaceutical Market: Latest Chinese Regulations for Imported Drug Registration

Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report related to the Pharmaceutical industry is available in its catalogue.

China Pharmaceutical Guidebook: Latest Chinese Regulations for Imported Drug Registration
To order this report:
http://www.reportlinker.com/p076175/2008/02/08/China-Pharmaceutical-Guidebook-Latest-Chinese-Regulations-for-Imported-Drug-Registration.html
China possesses a fourth population in the world and has one of the largest drug markets round the world. By 2006, sales on the Chinese drug market have reached $12 billion dollars, an increase of 3.8 fold over 1998 level. A series of factors, such as an increasingly ageing population, accelerating growth of urban population as well as expansion of healthcare covering urban and rural, will grow the Chinese drug market with a growth rate of 20-25 percent per annum in next five years. China is expected to become the fifth largest drug market in the world by 2010.

Since the reform and open door policy implemented by Chinese authorities in the late 1970s, the door of the Chinese drug market began opening up to the world step by step, which gave a fillip to the imported drugs from overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers. By 2006, sales of imported drugs have shared one fifth on the Chinese drug market. As China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO) and integrates more completely into the global economy, it will further open the door to a lucrative drug market for overseas pharmaceutical companies. More and more overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers expect to enter such drug market and seize a larger part of such drug market. To enter such a lucrative drug market, the first obstacle faced by overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers is how to file the application for their imported drug registration with Chinese pharmaceutical authorities.

In China, the process of application and approval for imported drug registration is very complex, because the Chinese pharmaceutical authorities administer and control this process by exorbitant administrative measures and regulations, moreover, these exorbitant administrative regulations are variable and lack of transparency. Therefore, a comprehensive and thorough knowledge of the latest Chinese regulations for imported drug registration has been become an essential prerequisite for overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers to achieve a successful application for their products entry into the Chinese drug market. In despite of since the drug registration implemented by the Chinese pharmaceutical authorities on December 1, 2002, its regulatory regime has experienced countless changes, and become increasingly compatible with international standards, in turn, its ongoing consolidation will eventually contribute to a healthier market environment.

In July 2007, the Chinese pharmaceutical authorities promulgated the latest “Measures for the Administration of Drug Registration”, and the latest “Measures” will enter into force since October 1, 2007. These “Measures” provide the latest detailed requirements and procedures of application and approval for imported drug registration. Under such circumstance, Access China Management Consulting Ltd published this China Pharmaceutical Guidebook---- Latest Chinese Regulations for Imported Drug Registration. The aim of this guidebook is to guide overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers to achieve a successful application and approval for their imported drug registration. This guidebook is composed of four main parts as the following.

A Comprehensive Guidance of Imported Drug Registration
A Guidance of Registration Application for Imported Chemical Drugs
A Guidance of Registration Application for Imported Biological Products
A Guidance of Registration Application for Imported Natural Medicines and Traditional Chinese Medicines Part I provides a comprehensive guidance of imported drug registration, which introduces an overview of the main responsibilities and organization structure of the Chinese pharmaceutical authority ---- State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), the comprehensive regulations for imported drug registration in China, from the classification of drugs, definitions relating to application for imported drug registration, the application and approval for imported drugs and repackaging of imported drugs, the supplementary application and re-registration for imported drugs, the clinical investigation for application of imported drug registration to the time limits in drug registration, as well as the procedures of application and approval for imported drug registration, including the procedures of the initial application and approval for imported drugs, the supplementary application and approval for imported drugs, and the application and approval for clinical trials relating to imported drugs. All such knowledge in Part I is essential to achieve a successful application and approval for imported drug registration in China.

In China, like in other Western countries, the pharmaceutical authority ---- SFDA requests applicant to submit complicate and reliable materials for application of imported drug registration.

Therefore, to achieve a successful application and approval for imported drug registration in China, overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers must understand the more depth and detailed regulations on registration application for various imported drugs.

Part II provides a guidance of registration application for imported chemical drugs, which addresses SFDA’s requirements for materials and clinical trials of application and approval for imported chemical drug registration, including radioactive pharmaceuticals, from the classification of drug registration formulated by the SFDA, the material items for application of chemical drug registration, the requirements of material items for application of chemical drug registration, the requirements of clinical trial for application of chemical drug registration to the material and clinical trial requirements for application of radioactive pharmaceuticals.
Part III provides a guidance of registration application for imported biological products. The biopharmaceutical industry is one of the burgeoning industries.

In the field of biopharmaceuticals, vast knowledge awaits people to explore. The biopharmaceuticals are diversified and complex. In China, the development of biopharmaceutical industry is far behind the developed countries. Just for this reason, the requirements of materials and clinical trials for registration application of biopharmaceuticals stipulated by the Chinese pharmaceutical authority are far from systematic and uniform.

In China, the SFDA divided the biopharmaceuticals for registration application into two classifications, i.e. the therapeutic biological products and the prophylactic biological products. However, in the classification of therapeutic biological products, the SFDA does not provide the uniform requirements of materials and clinical trials for registration application of biological products for the gene therapy, the somatic cell therapy and the allergic therapy, but stipulates the other guidelines for them. Therefore, the requirements for materials and clinical trials of registration application for imported gene therapeutic biological products, imported somatic cell therapeutic biological products and imported allergic therapeutic biological products are addressed based on these guidelines.

Part III addresses the requirements of material items and clinical trials for registration application of imported therapeutic biological products and prophylactic biological products, as well as the imported biological products for the gene therapy, the somatic cell therapy and the allergic therapy, from the classification of therapeutic biological product and prophylactic biological product registration formulated by the SFDA, the material items for registration application of therapeutic biological products and prophylactic biological products, the requirements of material items for registration application of therapeutic biological products and prophylactic biological products, the requirements of clinical trial for registration application of therapeutic biological products and prophylactic biological products to the guideline for registration application of biological products for human gene therapy, the guideline for registration application of biological products for somatic cell therapy, and the guideline for registration application of biological products for allergic therapy.

Part IV provides a guidance of registration application for imported natural medicines and traditional Chinese medicines. The traditional medicines in Orient, especially, the traditional Chinese medicines are always regarded by occidental as mysterious medicines. Until today not only the chemical composition of traditional Chinese medicines almost can not been expressed by a precise chemical structural formula, but also the indications of the majority of traditional Chinese medicines still can not been clearly described by the modern medical terminologies. How the Chinese pharmaceutical authorities to administer the registration application for such mysterious traditional Chinese medicines? Part IV provides a detailed introduction of the SFDA’s requirements for materials and clinical trials of application and approval for imported traditional Chinese medicine.

The SFDA collects the traditional Chinese medicines and the natural medicines into a category for registration application. Therefore, Part IV provides not only the introduction for registration application of the imported traditional Chinese medicines but for the natural medicines, from the classification of natural medicine and traditional Chinese medicine registration formulated by the SFDA, the material items for registration application of natural medicines and traditional Chinese medicines, the requirements of material items for registration application of natural medicines and traditional Chinese medicines to the requirements of clinical trial for registration application of natural medicines and traditional Chinese medicines.

The guidebook concludes in Part V by highlighting the significant suggestions for overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers looking to achieve a successful application for their drug registration in China. Last, the appendices in Part VI include the Drug Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Regulations for the Drug Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Good Clinical Practice of Pharmaceutical Products, the Chinese Good Manufacturing Practice for Pharmaceutical Products, the Form of Registration Application for Imported Drug, references, a useful resources of URL, author’s biography, and description of Access China Management Consulting Ltd.

More and more overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers expect to acquire the latest detailed information about the Chinese regulations for imported drug registration. In this guidebook, overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers can easily find out every answer that they will meet question during process of application and approval for their imported drug registration in China. After have skimmed through this guidebook, audience can clearly acquire a comprehensive and thorough knowledge of the latest Chinese regulations for imported drug registration. Access China Management Consulting Ltd hopes this China Pharmaceutical Guidebook ---- Latest Chinese Regulations for Imported Drug Registration, based on full and accurate regulations and law, can help guide overseas pharmaceutical manufacturers and producers to achieve a successful application and approval for their imported drug registration in China.

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Validated Analytical Methods For Determination Of Active Ingredients From Bulk Drugs And Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

Method validation has received considerable attention in literature and from industrial committees and regulatory agencies.

The International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) of technical requirements for the registration of pharmaceuticals for human use has developed a consensus text on the validation of analytical procedures. The document includes definition of different validation parameters. The United States Environmental Protection agency (US EPA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The American Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC), United States Environmental Protection Agency (USP) and other scientific organizations provide methods that are validated through multi-laboratory studies1.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has proposed guidelines on submitting sample and analytical data for methods validation. The United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) has published specific guidelines for method validation and compound evaluation2. read more

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Pharmaceutical Hospital Tablet A Representative - MERCK- USA- MA - Boston

Merck & Co. Inc., established in 1891, is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Join us and experience our culture first-hand - one of strong ethics & integrity, diversified experiences and a resounding passion for improving human health. As part of our global team, you'll have the opportunity to collaborate with talented and dedicated colleagues while developing and expanding your career.

We are seeking a Pharmaceutical Specialty Sales Representative -Boston, MA.
The following institutions will be called on: Mass General Hospital, The Brigham and Women's Hospital, The Beth Israel/Deaconess Hospital and Mount Auburn.

The Pharmaceutical Specialty Sales Representative - Hospital Tablet has overall responsibility for the development and management of the business relationship with targeted therapeutic specialists and customers. The Pharmaceutical Specialty Sales Representative will use a high-science selling and consultative approach, and will integrate his/her activities with office-based and hospital representatives and other Merck personnel in the assigned geography.

The Pharmaceutical Specialty Sales Representative is responsible for maximizing the development and productivity of local advocates for assigned products and will play a key role in the implementation of selected process/practice management tools to improve the adoption of Merck products.

Source : www.pharmainfo.net

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Oregon to get $1.75 million in Merck settlement

Attorney General Hardy Myers announced today that the State of Oregon Medicaid Program will receive approximately $1.75 million as part of two national settlements with Merck & Co., Inc. The settlements involve 49 states, the District of Columbia and the federal government. Merck is the manufacturer of the drugs Zocor, Vioxx, and Pepcid. The agreements with Merck resolve allegations that the company failed to pay rebates due state Medicaid Programs under the Federal Medicaid Drug Rebate statute.

The settlements also resolve claims filed by whistleblowers.Pharmaceutical manufacturers that supply products to Medicaid recipients are required by the Federal Medicaid Drug Rebate law to give the Medicaid Programs the benefit of the “best price” the manufacturers make available for those products.

At the heart of each program was an agreement that Merck would sell the drugs to hospitals at a 92 percent discount from the catalog price, if the hospitals reached certain market shares for the drugs. Because the 92% discounts were conditioned on the hospitals’ volume purchases to reach certain market shares, the states contend that the resulting discounted prices were not “merely nominal.The states contend that Merck was required to report these discounted prices to CMS, and that their failure to do so resulted in Merck’s failure to pay accurate rebates to the state Medicaid programs.

The case in Louisiana involved Merck’s drug Pepcid, and another discount program, Flex NP. Under this program, Merck sold various formulations of Pepcid to hospitals in bundled pricing arrangements. In exchange for the hospital meeting a certain market share or other purchase requirements, Merck gave hospitals an array of discounts of up to 92% on Pepcid tablets, and lesser discounts on other types and formulations of Pepcid. According to the states, the transactions under the FLEX NP Program constituted “bundled sales” which required Merck to adjust “best price” among the different formulations to reflect these discounts.

The states contend that Merck’s failure to reflect these discounts in their “best price” reports resulted in Merck’s underpayment of Medicaid Drug rebates to the state Medicaid Programs. Under the settlements, Merck will pay a total of $649 million in restitution, penalties and interest to the States and federal government to settle the cases.

The settlement recoveries were apportioned based on actual Medicaid payments and rebates for the drugs at issue; in essence, controls within the Oregon Medicaid Program on pharmaceutical payments impacted Oregon’s monetary recovery from the cases. In addition to the monetary recovery, Merck has entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement which includes provisions to ensure that Merck markets, sells and promotes its products in accordance with all Federal health care program requirements.

Merck did begin voluntary compliance initiatives associated with sales and marketing activities prior to learning of the government’s investigation of the conduct associated with these settlements.“This is a significant case for our Medicaid Fraud Unit and the Medicaid Program,” said Attorney General Myers. “This case should send a message to all pharmaceutical companies that this office will not tolerate rebate avoidance through creative interpretation of rules for the purpose of advancing pharmaceutical marketing programs.”

Source : www.thedalleschronicle.com

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Ranbaxy receives tentative drug approval from USFDA

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has granted a tentative approval to Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd for the manufacturing and marketing of its drug Nexium, popularly prescribed in the treatment of heartburn.

Announcing this here to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Thursday, an official statement issued by Ranbaxy Laboratories said that the USFDA has granted approval on Nexium with Esomeprazole 20 mg (base) and 40 mg (base). Nexium is the registered trademark of Astra Zeneca.

According to the pharmaceutical marketing research major Intercontinental Market Services (IMS), in December 2007 Esomeprazole became the second largest selling drug in the US with total annual market sales touching $5.5 billion.

According to the statement, Ranbaxy believes that it has a FTF (First to File) status on the drug, providing it with a potential 180 days marketing exclusivity.

Esomeprazole is indicated for short-term treatment of erosive esophagitis and for treatment of heartburn and other symptoms associated with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD.)
The manufacturing and marketing would be done by Jacksonville (Florida) based Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary engaged in the sale and distribution of generic and branded prescription products in the US healthcare system.

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

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Norgine defeats Novartis in 'device or drug' court battle

Norgine is celebrating victory in a landmark case which has seen a German court rule that Novartis’ Hexal subsidiary has been distributing laxatives as medical devices, thus avoiding the scrutiny that selling them as pharmaceuticals would entail.Norgine has obtained a court ruling preventing further distribution of two laxatives containing macrogol, the active ingredient found in the firm’s chronic constipation treatment Movicol.

According to the ruling, Hexal and Cassella Med were illegally distributing their products, Macrogol Hexal and Laxatan respectively, as devices even though they need approval as medicinal products.The ruling noted that all medicinal products “must undergo a thorough review of the product-specific dossier to ensure their quality, safety and efficacy.

By incorrectly classifying their products as devices, Hexal and Cassella Med had avoided this important product specific scrutiny by the health authorities”. The specialty pharmaceuticals firm, which was set up in Prague over 100 years ago but is now headquartered in Amsterdam, said that “after considering all of the evidence and consulting an independent professor of pharmacology as an expert”, the court said the laxatives were “clearly medicinal products within the scope of the law” and ruled that they can no longer be sold by Hexal and Cassella Med without a pharmaceutical marketing authorisation.

A point of principleNorgine’s chief executive Peter Stein told PharmaTimes World News that his firm had brought the case as “a point of principle”, noting that some of the directives concerning devices and drugs is somewhat contradictory.

“The borderline is blurred<” he acknowledged, but Hexal’s defence in the case did not stand up, he believes. There is a problem of definitions and one interpretation of European directives could classify medical devices simply as articles which are intended to be used for a medical purpose. However, Mr Stein and the Hamburg court believe that any substance that has a pharmacological, immunological or metabolic action is a medicinal product, and to suggest otherwise is disingenuous. He said: “I am surprised that companies of such standing did not comply with the processes required for a medicinal product which are there to ensure a detailed, independent, assessment of the safety, efficacy and quality of products before they are made available to patients.” It has taken two years for Norgine to win this case and during that time, Hexal’s and other unlicensed products have accounted for 25% of sales in this market in Germany, ground that Norgine is confident of clawing back.

Nevertheless Movicol has been driving sales growth for the company elsewhere in Europe. Group sales last year reached 188 million euros, the 20th consecutive year of double-digit growth.

Despite the Amsterdam headquarters, Mr Stein refuses to pin the firm down as being headquartered in one particular country and describes Norgine as a truly pan-European organisation. He says that the privately-owned group has a single integrated culture, with 380 sales and marketing staff, that covers all of the Old Continent, making it the perfect ‘one-stop shop’ for firms from abroad, notably from the USA, who want a partner capable of developing, manufacturing and marketing a drug.

Source : www.pharmatimes.com

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Merck settles with feds and states for $649M

Merck & Co. Inc. agreed to pay more than $649 million in penalties Thursday, in two civil settlements reached with federal and state authorities, to resolve long-standing investigations related to disputes over Medicaid rebates and past sales and marketing activities.

The pharmaceutical giant (NYSE:MRK) agreed to pay $250 million plus interest to resolve litigation in the Eastern District of Louisiana, and $399 million plus interest to resolve litigation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania -- which included a related Nevada action.

The settlements included no admission by Merck of any liability or wrongdoing. Merck officials said the company believes its pricing and sales and marketing policies and practices "were consistent with all applicable regulations and contracts during the relevant time."

Merck, which is based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., and has major operations in Montgomery County, Pa., took a $670 million charge in the fourth quarter of 2007 in anticipation of the two settlements.

As a result of the agreements, lawsuits against Merck will be dismissed by federal courts in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Nevada.

The Philadelphia and New Orleans settlements both relate to allegations that Merck underpaid rebates to state and federal Medicaid programs by not offering the same significantly discounted prices it offered to hospitals for certain drugs from 1998 through 2006. Those drugs included Mevacor and Zocor, for high cholesterol, and Vioxx, a pain medicine that has since been withdrawn from the market.

The Philadelphia case also relates to certain sales and marketing programs that allegedly involved inducements paid to doctors and other health-care providers with respect to Merck pharmaceutical products sold within the United States. Those programs ended in 2001.

Source : www.bizjournals.com

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Beijing Med-Pharm Receives MOFCOM Approval to Acquire Interest in Shanghai Rongheng Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.

Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation (NASDAQ:BJGP) ("Beijing Med-Pharm" or the "Company"), one of China's leading pharmaceutical, marketing and distribution companies, today announced that the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of the People's Republic of China has approved its acquisition of 63.3 percent of Shanghai Rongheng Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. ("Rongheng"). Beijing Med-Pharm expects to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2008.

Rongheng is a pharmaceutical distribution company which distributes over 400 pharmaceutical products to more than 250 hospitals in Shanghai, including almost all of the top-tier hospitals in the city.

David Gao, Chief Executive Officer of Beijing Med-Pharm, stated, "Obtaining MOFCOM approval is essential in completing this acquisition and we are pleased to be one step closer to finalizing this transaction. We believe Rongheng's established, tier-one distribution network will bolster our national presence to include Shanghai, one of China's most compelling healthcare markets. We will also gain access to Rongheng's 400-plus product portfolio, which will make our existing offering even more robust."

Mr. Jianwei Zhou, General Manager of Rongheng, stated, "On behalf of Rongheng, we are very pleased to be working with Beijing Med-Pharm. We believe that the combination of our strengths will uniquely position us to capitalize on the many opportunities we have identified in China's healthcare market."

About Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation

Beijing Med-Pharm Corporation, through its subsidiaries, is a pharmaceutical marketing and distribution company that is building a proprietary portfolio of branded pharmaceutical and healthcare products in China and is pursuing partnerships with other companies seeking to enter the Chinese pharmaceutical market. It is the only U.S. public company to offer industry partners a comprehensive suite of market-entry services in China that includes pre-market entry analysis, clinical trial management, product registration, market research, as well as pharmaceutical marketing and distribution.

The company provides distribution services for a wide range of products, including Western medicines, traditional Chinese medicines, bio-chemical medicines, medical applications, branded generic pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, and home healthcare supplies and equipments. Beijing Med-Pharm's proprietary portfolio, primarily focusing on women's health and pediatrics, comprises Propess, Misopess, Anpo and Fentora.

The Company is headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. Visit http://www.beijingmedpharm.com/.

Source : http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/industries/retail/article/beijing-medpharm-receives-mofcom-approval-acquire-shanghai-rongheng_461155_7.html

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Pharmaceutical marketing

Pharmaceutical marketing is the business of advertising or otherwise promoting the sale of pharmaceuticals or drugs.

History

The marketing of medication has a long history. The sale of miracle cures, many with little real potency, has always been common. Marketing of legitimate non-prescription medications, such as pain relievers or allergy medicine, has also long been practiced. Mass marketing of prescription medications was rare until recently, however.

was long believed that since doctors made the selection of drugs, mass marketing was a waste of resources; specific ads targeting the medical profession were thought to be cheaper and just as effective.[citation needed] This would involve ads in professional journals and visits by sales staff to doctor’s offices and hospitals. An important part of these efforts was marketing to medical students.[citation needed]

Direct and indirect marketing to health care providers

Physicians are perhaps the most important players in pharmaceutical sales. They write the prescriptions that determine which drugs will be used by the patient. Influencing the physician is the key to pharmaceutical sales. Historically, this was done by a large pharmaceutical sales force. A medium-sized pharmaceutical company might have a sales force of 1000 representatives.[citation needed] The largest companies have tens of thousands of representatives around the world. Sales representatives called upon physicians regularly, providing information and free drug samples to the physicians. This is still the approach today; however, economic pressures on the industry are causing pharmaceutical companies to rethink the traditional sales process to physicians.[citation needed]

Pharmaceutical companies are developing processes to influence the people who influence the physicians.[citation needed] There are several channels by which a physician may be influenced, including self-influence through research, peer influence, direct interaction with pharmaceutical companies, patients, and public or private insurance companies.
There are a number of firms that specialize in data and analytics for pharmaceutical marketing.

Individual research

Physicians discover pharmaceutical information from such sources as the Physician's Desk Reference and online sources such as PDR.net, as well as via PDAs with applications.
They also rely upon pharmaceutical-branded e-detailing sites, pharmaceutical sales and non-sales representatives, and scholarly literature. Scholarly literature can be in the form of medical journal article reprints, often delivered by sales representatives at their place of employment or at conference exhibitions.[citation needed]

Peer influence

• Key opinion leaders
  Key opinion leaders (KOL), or "thought leaders", are respected individuals, such as prominent medical school faculty, who influence physicians through their professional status. Pharmaceutical companies generally engage key opinion leaders early in the drug development process to provide advocacy and key marketing feedback. Some pharmaceutical companies identify key opinion leaders through direct inquiry of physicians (primary research).
  
• Colleagues
  Physicians acquire information through informal contacts with their colleagues, including social events, professional affiliations, common hospital affiliations, and common medical school affiliations. Some pharmaceutical companies identify influential colleagues through commercially available prescription writing and patient level data.
  

Direct physician contact with pharmaceutical sales representatives

Currently, there are approximately 100,000 pharmaceutical sales reps in the United States pursuing some 830,000 pharmaceutical prescribers. A pharmaceutical representative will often try to see a given physician every few weeks. Representatives often have a call list of about 200 physicians with 120 targets that should be visited in 4-6 week cycles.
Because of the large size of the pharmaceutical sales force, the organization, management, and measurement of effectiveness of the sales force are significant business challenges. Management tasks are usually broken down into the areas of physician targeting, sales force size and structure, sales force optimization, call planning, and sales forces effectiveness.

Physician targeting

Marketers attempt to identify the universe of physicians most likely to prescribe a given drug. Historically, this was done by measuring the number of total prescriptions (TRx) and new prescriptions (NRx) per week that each physician writes. This information is collected by commercial vendors. The physicians are then "deciled" into ten groups based on their writing patterns. Higher deciles are more aggressively targeted. Some pharmaceutical companies use additional information such as:

profitability of a prescription (script),
accessibility of the physician,
tendency of the physician to use the pharmaceutical company's drugs,
effect of managed care formularies on the ability of the physician to prescribe a drug,
the adoption sequence of the physician (that is, how readily the physician adopts new drugs in place of older, established treatments), and
the tendency of the physician to use a wide palette of drugs
influence that physicians have on their colleagues.

Data for drugs prescribed in a hospital are not usually available at the physician level. Advanced analytic techniques are used to value physicians in a hospital setting.[citation needed]

Opinion Leader Influence Mapping

Alternatives to segmenting physicians purely on the basis of prescribing do exist, and marketers can call upon strategic partners who specialize in delineating which characteristics of true opinion leadership, a physician does or does not possess. Such analyses can help guide marketers in how to optimize KOL engagements as bona fide advisors to a brand, and can help shape clinical development and clinical data publication plans for instance, ultimately advancing patient care.

Sales force size and structure

Marketers must decide on the appropriate size of a sales force needed to sell a particular portfolio of drugs to the target universe. Design the optimal reach (how many physicians to see) and frequency (how often to see them) for each individual physician. Decide how many sales representatives to devote to office and group practice and how many to devote to hospital accounts.

Private and public insurers

Public and private insurers affect the writing of prescriptions by physicians through formularies that restrict the number and types of drugs that the insurer will cover. Not only can the insurer affect drug sales by including or excluding a particular drug from a formulary, they can affect sales by tiering, or placing bureaucratic hurdles to prescribing certain drugs. In January 2006, the U.S. instituted a new public prescription drug plan through its Medicare program. Known as Medicare Part D, this program engages private insurers to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for the placement of drugs on tiered formularies.

Direct marketing to patients

Since the late 1970s, direct-to-patient marketing of prescription drugs has become important. Many patients will inquire about, or even demand to receive, a medication they have seen advertised on television. In the United States, recent years have seen an increase in mass media advertisements for pharmaceuticals. Expenditures on direct-to-consumer (DTC pharmaceutical advertising) have more than quintupled in the last seven years since the FDA changed the guidelines, from $700 million in 1997 to more than $4 billion in 2004.[citation needed]

Regulation

In the United States, marketing and distribution of pharmaceuticals is regulated by the federal Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987.

Controversy

The mass marketing to consumers of pharmaceuticals is controversial. It is banned in every western country except the US and New Zealand, which is considering a ban.[citation needed] Some feel it is better to leave the decision wholly in the hands of medical professionals; others feel that consumer education and participation in health is useful, but consumers need independent, comparative information about drugs (not promotional information). For these reasons, most countries impose limits on pharmaceutical mass marketing that are not placed on the marketing of other products. In some areas it is required that ads for drugs include a list of possible side effects, so that consumers are informed of both facets of a medicine. Canada's limitations on pharmaceutical advertising ensure that commercials that mention the name of a product cannot in any way describe what it does. Commercials that mention a medical problem cannot also mention the name of the product for sale; at most, they can direct the viewer to a website or telephone number operated by the pharmaceutical company.

The number and persistence of pharmaceutical representatives has placed a burden on the time of physicians . "As the number of reps went up, the amount of time an average rep spent with doctors went down—so far down, that tactical scaling has spawned a strategic crisis. Physicians no longer spend much time with sales reps, nor do they see this as a serious problem."

Recent legal cases and US congressional hearings have provided access to pharmaceutical industry documents revealing new marketing strategies for drugs. Activities once considered independent of promotional intent, including continuing medical education and medical research, are used, including paying to publish articles about promoted drugs for the medical literature, and alleged suppression of unfavorable study results.

Source : http://www.wikipedia.org/

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