The winds of change have clearly started blowing, ruffling up endless debates in print and electronic media on the pros and cons, ifs and buts, interpretations and misinterpretations on the recent MCI dictum on prescription of medicines using GENERIC drug names in capital lettering by physicians. Yet, the clouds of confusion loom large! It will be quite a while before clarity emerges and the mechanism to enforce the dictum is put in place. While the Centre, the states, the governing bodies and the industry work out their solutions, why not we move ahead and plan to face the change?
For the purpose of this write-up, let’s assume that doctors have no choice and they have to prescribe only generic medicines, followed by a couple of company names, at the most. Let’s also assume that the issues of remembering combinations, writing of time consuming lengthy names, etc is tackled using computer software and the support required for ensuring quality of generics as bio-equivalent to the original brand is also in place. Wishful thinking, perhaps; yet there’s a lot to be gained by assuming the inevitable and gearing up for the change. It may be in place in 2025 perhaps, in letter and spirit, but surely it is here to stay. Let’s gear up for the next decade!
Pharma marketing always revolved around the central issue of, ‘What should I do to make my customer prescribe my brand over other brands available to him/ her?’ Now this would change to, ‘What can I do to make my customer choose my generic version over others available to him/ her?’ Earlier, the major focus was on physicians as customers. Now, the focus will expand to include trade partners (stockists & retailers), online partners and end-users too, besides the physicians. The impact of this change will be felt on all the components of marketing and it’s up to the Product Management Team (PMT) and marketing teams to brainstorm and contemplate on the consequences of this generic push on each of the 7Ps and 7Cs of Marketing. To trigger these discussions, here are a few points to ponder on.
1. P- PRODUCT: The buzz word for business development teams and pharma marketing, in the changed environment, would be ‘Innovation’. To overcome growth limitations of the generic portfolio, organisations could launch a complementary product portfolio with innovative product selection and novel product formulation. Organisations can shift their focus from brand to therapy/indication ownership’. For e.g. If a heamatinic brand is the best contributor for an organisation, then it is prudent to consider, anaemia as their therapy-space for the future. Every kind of anaemia, ranging from nutritional deficiency to chronic kidney dysfunction in all age groups could have a product option from this company for its management. Besides allopathic drugs, phytochemicals for treating the same condition is also an interesting option to consider as it has a good market potential, if promoted scientifically and innovatively. Needless to say, the phytochemical must be backed with evidence based proof of efficacy, safety and convenience. Other options would include the launch of nutritional supplements, complementary medicine and other supportive therapy for the chosen indication. Brand managers will have to take to reading science of the chosen therapeutic area diligently and with the passionate vision of scouting for ideas for new products.
Such a multi-pronged approach for scouting new opportunities throws open a plethora of new product ideas. For e.g. if diabetes is the chosen area of dominance, the company can consider launching new rationale allopathic combinations of existing anti-diabetic drugs to manage diabetes/ control resistant cases. The product teams can consider further research into any one of the 800 plants with phytochemicals that are known to reduce blood sugar levels. They can also explore the nutritional supplement approach to holistically manage factors that lead to diabetes such as obesity and also manage complications that arise due to diabetes, such as, neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, etc. The organisation should envision anti-diabetic molecules/ combinations for even niche categories such as juvenile diabetes, gestational diabetes and so on. No doubt, it would take time, effort and resources to tread this path, but there is definitely a glimmer of silver lining dow...
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