In many situations, technology upgradation is often construed as digital transformation. In a recently conducted survey by Altimeter, 88% of companies said that they were undergoing ‘digital transformation’ but only 25% said that they did so with the purpose beyond investing in new technology. The real definition of digital transformation is the realignment of, or new investment in technology, business models, and processes to create value for customers in a dynamic digital economy.
The digital revolution is the fourth industrial revolution. It changes models, processes and whole public sectors. In many reports you will find that, in terms of digitalization, pharma is just next to the public sector, as least digitalized. Pharma just started late. There are many reasons for that – it is one of the most regulated industries with lots of sensitive data involved and many ethical aspects. But the slowed down digitalization has a lot to do with some subjective reasons. Adopting digital technologies requires changing existing models which requires a different mindset – and this is difficult to achieve. Nowadays, in the situation of a global pandemic, we see that digital communication is not only necessary to be successful but it is a must in order to adapt to the New Normality.
K. Hariram reports on the OPPI 50th Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai on October 21. The report also features photos from the conference. Other topics covered include the role of emotions in pharma marketing, the importance in preparing much before-hand for the next level of your pharma career and the concept of the "tipping point" and its relevance for pharma marketing.
Articles by Vivek Hattangadi, Raja Reddy, K. Hariram, Satish Kota, P. S. Parameswaran, Gopal Kishore, Ramandish Arora, Mohit Kumar Bhutani, Richa Goyal and Mahendra Kumar Rai
It is the twentieth anniversary of the new patent act in January 2025. The post-patent (P20) era is a story of resilience, determination, and charting a course that set global ambitions, a story of finding opportunity in adversity. It is a story for case studies in business schools, in international studies, in global health efforts.
Q 1. Tell us about your journey as a pharma entrepreneur and what made you venture into pharma and stay on in pharma?
My journey started with two good decisions, one- to be a Medical Representative (MR) in Mumbai, which built a strong foundation and the other, to join Helios, a new pharma company, which was like a baptism of fire. Together, they molded me well.
I was promoted as a Front Line Manager (FLM) within a year. And after spending four excellent years in Helios, I joined Group Pharma as Product Manager (PM) and ever since, it’s been an exciting learning experience.Â
I was exposed to Pharma very early in life as my dad was in J L Morison, as part of the promoter-team of Warren Pharma. At home, I was the designated telephone operator and order processing clerk. Those were the days of trunk-calls - calling managers and distributors to note down orders. Hence, I was exposed to the excitement of targets, achievements, deficits and campaigns very early in my life. The idea of ‘work-life balance’ was not in vogue. One would look to their parents who worked long hours with pride making it something you wanted to emulate. Things have changed a lot but I would not trade the decision I made, to get into and stay in Pharma.
IPM was valued at Rs. 178,219 Cr for MAT Oct’21. The retail sector was valued at Rs. 151,183 Cr for this period contributing 85% to IPM.
IPM Growth for the month of Oct’21 as compared to the month of Oct’20 was 9.7%. This is the lowest monthly growth in the last 8 months after a low growth of 2.6% reported for Feb’21.
Corresponding to low monthly growth, IPM MAT growth also declined slightly after showing a growing trend consistently for the last 7 months from MAT Feb’21. It reported 17.3% for MAT Oct’21 as compared to 17.8% reported for MAT Sept’21.
At 15657.3 Cr, the monthly sale reported for Oct’21 is the 5th highest sale value in the last 12 months.
More than digitalizing your product promotions, the case calls for building and engaging your brand community through digital solutions that create memorable customer experiences.
With the new normal emerging, the traditional Pharma commercial model needs to be relooked by exploring alternative channels of engagement, which offer opportunities to create value for customers.
Company-specific digital adoption workshops to experience how a brand can be promoted using the omnichannel approach with field force involvement.