'Changing commercial models' top list of pain points for pharma execs, says Cegedim survey

The changes in the pharma market—with physicians declining as the primary marketing target, and centralized healthcare management (whether by healthcare providers themselves or by governments) rising—is an established trend that the industry is moving through. But now the consequences of this transformation are deepening, according to the just-released 2011 Pharma Insights report from Cegedim Relationship Management (Bedminster, NJ). “Changing commercial models” is now the top concern of executives (at US companies) polled, outranking the traditional worry over pipeline development for new products. And while physicians are still the primary customer group—with 42% of respondents signifying them—patients, government and managed care organizations now cover the rest.

The main priorities for executing new commercial models are “increased focus on market access strategies,” “increased focus on managed markets,” and “primary sales force realignment.” To address today’s market, strategic business planning has declined as the primary driver of change; now that responsibility is being more or less shared by it, commercial operations and sales/marketing. Cegedim, which offers both sales force automation tools and consulting and compliance services, chose social media and tablet/iPad usage as two of the components of how marketing and sales are being managed; the respondents indicate that LinkedIn is outgunning Facebook as a social medium, and that while 35% say they are already using tablets in their organization, 21% will be adding them in the next year.

“Survey respondents highlight the need for more specialized and intuitive strategies and technology-based solutions, and in a comparison to last year’s findings, it is an increasing and continued trend shaping the way companies prepare for the future," said Angela Miccoli, president, North America, Cegedim Relationship Management. “Our role in the industry is to respond to these trends and challenges by continuing to provide innovative technology solutions.” The full survey is available from Cegedim.