Description
White Paper on Product Strategies in Pharmaceutical Marketing - Pakistani Pharmaceutical Industry
This study examines the important and imperative parameters in order to bring a new product in a Pakistani pharmaceutical Industry/market. Although, there is good quality international literature available for the under examine topic, but it carries the perspective of developed countries, where things are very different from a developing country like Pakistan.
Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
ISSN 1990-9233
© IDOSI Publications, 2014
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2014.21.04.83174
Corresponding Author: RizwanRaheemAhmed, Department of Business Administration and Commerce-Indus University,
Karachi, Pakistan.
681
Product Strategies in Pharmaceutical Marketing:
A Perspective of Pakistani Pharmaceutical Industry
Rizwan Raheem Ahmed, Irfan Sattar and Vishnu Parmar
1 2 3
Department of Business Administration and Commerce, Indus University, Karachi, Pakistan
1
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan
2
Institute of Business Administration, Sindh University, Jamshoro, Pakistan
3
Abstract: This study examines the important and imperative parameters in order to bring a new product in a
Pakistani pharmaceutical Industry/market. Although, there is good quality international literature available for
the under examine topic, but it carries the perspective of developed countries, where things are very different
from a developing country like Pakistan. The study identified that Pharmaceutical products can be classified
under two main categories: Prescription products and OTC products. The criterion for division is whether a
product is marketed to the medical professionals or directly to the consumers in Pakistan. In pharmaceutical
industry, selling function is invariably handled by the company’s own sales team due to highly technical and
specialized nature of job, whereas the distributor is responsible only for the logistics part. It is further
concluded that once we have defined the product, we can clearly see a difference. In general marketing terms,
a product can even be for satisfying a psychological need with no tangible benefit whatsoever. However, in
pharmaceutical terms, a product will only be termed as one if it helps in curing a disease or at least help in curing
or improving the condition of a patient.
Key words: Prescription Products OTC Product Product Strategies Pharmaceutical Industry
INTRODUCTION terms, a product will only be termed as one if it helps in
Pharmaceutical industry is one of the most organized condition of a patient [2].
industries in Pakistan, employing a large number of
professionals in all areas of operations. The industry Levels of Product: As in general marketing terms, a
currently comprise of more than 800 companies, out of pharmaceutical product can also be thought of at three
which around 400 or so can be termed as “Active levels:
Companies” involved in manufacturing and marketing of
pharmaceutical products [1]. Core product
Defining Product: From the point of view of Augmented product
pharmaceutical marketing, we can redefine the product
as the following: In general marketing, the core product is the basic
A product is any tangible thing, which can be used benefit that the consumers seek when they buy a product
to treat a medical ailment diagnosed in a human [3]. In pharmaceutical scenario, this will be the disease
body.Once we have defined the product, we can clearly treating characteristics of a product, which will be
see a difference. In general marketing terms, a product can considered the core product.The actual product in general
even be for satisfying a psychological need with no marketing terms suggest five characteristics that a
tangible benefit whatsoever. However, in pharmaceutical product can have; a quality level, features, design, a
curing a disease or at least help in curing or improving the
Actual product
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
682
brand name and packaging [4]. We can attempt to develop synonymous with their generic names like Brufen for
a concept on similar lines for pharmaceutical products in Ibuprofen, Voltaren for Diclofenac Sodium, Panadol for
the following manner: Paracetamol and so on and so forth. Each of these
A Quality Level: The level to which a product conforms become readily recognizable with their respective
to the required standard not only in terms of its profile, generics.
but also in terms of its ability to cure a disease and to
remain effective for the stipulated period of time which is Packaging: Perhaps in no other product category does
also called shelf-life of a product. the packaging play as significant a role as it does in
Features: For pharmaceutical product, this will mean the outer container and it has to ensure the conditions
pharmacological profile of a product; what it does when required for stability of the medicine inside. A company
it goes into a human body. This includes the rate of cannot just select the packaging material arbitrarily, but it
absorption of drug into the blood stream, when the action has to consider if the packaging selected conforms to the
actually starts; its action against the disease cause, its standards required for a particular product profile or not
side effects and finally its elimination from the body. All [10]. For example, there are products, which can be kept
drugs have their standard profile, which act as a standard stable inside simple aluminum foil, but some need
when a product is evaluated in terms of its quality level specialized double-sided aluminum foil, or PVC, or PVDC,
[5]. This effectively means that unlike general products, or even airtight bottle. The efficacy of a product is
the quality levels in pharmaceutical products are very dependent on its stability inside the packaging. Any
objective and are not dependent on individual negligence can result in deterioration in product quality
perceptions. and efficacy [11].
Dosage Form: Dosage Form will replace design in by packaging is to contain required information
case of pharmaceutical products. A product can be in regarding the product profile as prescribed by the
the form of capsules, tablets, syrup, injection or regulatory bodies. It does not only carry brief
ointment. This is a major determinant factor when a instruction on outer and inner containers, but also carries
product is chosen for use for treating a patient [6]. For a leaflet, which contains detailed prescribing information
example, a tablet might be preferred for an adult patient, for the products [12]. Besides that, pharmaceutical
syrup for children, an injection when quick action is products are required to carry dates of manufacturing and
required and an ointment for skin diseases or localized expiry and batch numbers for future reference, which are
pain. also mentioned on the outer carton as well as inner
A Brand Name: Unlike consumer products, where every are also some special requirements for labeling like the
product invariably carries a brand name, pharmaceutical brand name and generic name should be equally
may or may not be branded. Some companies may decide prominent, which has to be strictly adhered to [13].
to market their products as under generic name, instead of However, once a company conforms to all these
giving it a brand name. This often happens when the requirements, they can use the packaging for product
company adopts a marketing strategy under which the differentiation through color schemes and graphics if they
product will not be promoted actively and instead be sold want.
to institutions, which purchase products by generics and In a third world country like Pakistan, a patient
not brands [7, 8]. For example, a hospital may call for seldom buys a full pack of a product. Retailers normally
offers for supply of paracetamol tablets, which are sell individual tablets, capsules and ampoules due to
available both under generic name and brand names like affordability issue. Though, this is not applicable in case
Panadol and Calpol. of liquids, injections and ointments where a patient
Most of marketing oriented companies though obviously has to buy a full pack, companies pay less
prefer to market their products under brand names, attention to beautifying there packaging and find it just
which allows them only to position and promote enough to fulfill the regulatory and product stability
their products effectively [9]. It is interesting to requirements as there is nothing like off-the-shelve
note that over the period of time, products do become impulse buying in medicines [14, 15].
generics has dozens of brands available, but not all
pharmaceutical products. It goes beyond just acting as
The second most important function performed
container like a strip, blister, bottle, ampoule or tube.There
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
683
Product augmentation has emerging as the latest rate, which may lead to consumption of wrong medicine,
trend in pharmaceutical marketing. Companies support or in a wrong manner, keeps a ban on promotion of OTC
their products through different methods [16]. Some medicines directly to masses [21]. However, some
companies like MSD and Novartis have also started free products like Panadol, Volteran, Ponstan, Actifed, etc.
home-delivery and discounts on repeat purchases of have eventually become OTC drugs in Pakistan by virtue
medicines [17]. of their long standing in the markets and mass awareness
MATERIAL AND METHODS It must be clear from the above discussion, that the
Product Classifications: Pharmaceutical products can be in Pakistan is a gray area. Unless the regulatory bodies
classified under two main categories. The criterion for come up with a viable plan to strictly enforce the drug
division is whether a product is marketed to the medical laws, we may continue to have this confused state of
profession or directly to the consumers? The first affairs [4].
category products are called “Prescription Products”
and those marketed directly to consumers is called “Over- Product Line Decisions: A product line in context of
The-Counter”, or OTC products [18]. pharmaceutical marketing is a group of products, which
Prescription Products: Selecting a medicine involves same segment of the medical profession.Merck Sharp and
host of factors to be considered like patient profile, Dhome (MSD) have a range of antihypertensive drugs,
disease history, drug tolerance, possibility of allergic with some differences in their profile, action and prices.
reactions, duration of therapy, side-effects profile and of They have brands called Renitec, Cozaar and Hizaar, all
course quality and price of the product. Obviously, a performing the same function, i.e. lowering the blood
common person in no way can arrive at a right decision as pressure through different modes of action and are priced
he lacks the technical knowledge. A wrong decision is not at different levels [22].
affordable as the stakes are as high as the life of the As in general products categories, product line
patient. For this reason, most of the medicines are decisions are also critical in pharmaceutical marketing and
categorized under prescription products and can be sold the most critical one is deciding upon the length of
only through prescription of a registered medical product line. A company has to decide on having a
practitioner [19]. certain number of products in one product line. The aim is
However, in reality things are different in developing to have a product line, which offers enough choices for
countries like Pakistan. Here, one can buy any medicine the doctors while keeping the length of product line
directly from a chemist without a prescription quite manageable and profitable [23]. A company may increase
conveniently. The irony is that a country where literacy the product line length either by stretching it upwards
rate is amongst the lowest in the world, this law of and/or downwards, or through product line filling.
prescription drugs is not being applied in spirit [20]. This Suppose, a company has a drug indicated in
results in continuous danger of deaths and disease hypertension, which is an old molecule and is priced at a
complications due to self-medication, which people low level. The company may decide to launch a newer
usually indulge into in order to save the consultation fee version of the same drug category at a higher price, which
of the doctors. will be termed as upward line stretching. On the other
OTC Products: These may be termed as low-risk may decide to take the share of the low-end market as well
medicines and so consumers are allowed to purchase by launching a basic low price molecule, which will be
them over-the-counter. Vitamins, nutritional products, termed as downwards line stretching. A company may
cough syrups and simple painkillers all fall under this even go for a both-side stretching if it feels appropriate to
category. have a long product line. Putting products in between low
In developed countries, pharmaceutical companies and high-end products is termed as product line filling [4].
are even allowed to promote their OTC formulations
directly to public using mass media, but not in Pakistan. Product Mix Decisions: A product mix or product
The Ministry of Health, under the pretext of low literacy assortment consists of all the product lines and items that
about the their actions.
differentiation between prescriptions and OTC medicines
deal with the same disease category, or is promoted to the
hand, a company might be having a high-end product and
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
684
a company has to offer.A company may have a range of The new product development process in Pakistan’s
antibiotics, a number of painkillers, a few cough syrups
and some other medicines in different categories. All of
these put together will be called a product mix.
A company’s product mix has four important
dimensions: width, length, depth and consistency.
Product mix width refers to the different product lines a
company carries; e.g. SmithKline and Beecham has a wide
product mix comprising antibiotics, painkillers,
multivitamins, skin treatments and antiulcerants [24].
Product mix length refers to the number of items a
company carries in its product lines. SKB has Fortum,
Augmentin, Ampiclox and Ampicillin in its antibiotics
category.Product mix depth refers to the number of
versions each product offers. SKB’s antibiotic brand
Fortum comes in 250 mg, 500 mg and 1 gram and
similarly the other brands are also available in different
strengths.
Finally, the consistency of the product mix refers to
how closely related different product lines are. In case of
SKB, it is an inconsistent product line, but the company
successfully manages it due to immense resources and
elaborate infrastructure. However, a company lacking in
these two areas better keep a consistent product mix to
ensure effective management [25].
DISCUSSION
New-Product Development: New product development in
pharmaceutical industry is a much more complex process
as compared to other industries. The cost of development,
the R and D capability, registration with the ministry of
health, sourcing of raw material, all make this a daunting
task for any marketing team.
One of the most widely used method of acquiring
new products, acquisition, is not applicable for local
pharmaceutical companies in developing countries. The
reason is that all multinational companies of some stature
already have their local offices in almost every developing
country and they prefer to market their products through
them instead of joining hands with local partners. There
are some examples of an arrangement between a local
company and an international company, but they
comprise a very minute portion of the total industry
turnover [4]. This leaves the companies with no other
option but to develop branded generics for marketing. At
present, there is no possibility of development of original
products given the size and resources available to local
industry.
pharmaceutical industry can be outlined as follows:
Molecule identification
Molecule screening
Sourcing of raw material
Pilot batch manufacturing
Marketing strategy development
Test marketing/Clinical trial/user trial
Commercialization
Now we will go through each step to develop a clear
understanding of the new product development process.
Molecule Identification: Pharmaceutical products are
basically a dosage form (tablet, capsule, syrup, injection
or ointment) containing an active ingredient, which is
responsible for the therapeutic effect, or the core benefit
expected from the product.
The first and foremost step in new product
development is the identification of molecule; i.e. the
active ingredient that a company wishes to brand and
launch [26]. Keeping under consideration the marketing
focus of the company, resources and profile, several
molecules can be of interest, which are short-listed and
then the real game begins of screening the molecules to
arrive at the final one or more.
Molecule Screening: This is the most important step a
marketing team has to go through while deciding upon a
new product. There are several factors to be taken into
account while screening a molecule to find its merits and
demerits. We will discuss some important ones here:
Company’s Objectives: Lot depends on what a company
needs and wants to achieve. Is it aiming for entering into
a new product category? Is it aiming to strengthen an
existing product line? Is it aiming for maximizing market
share? Is it aiming to build volumes? Is it focusing on
high profitability? Whatever a company decides, will
affect directly on a new product decision. A company
wishing to enter a new product category may wish to
select a comparatively newer molecule in order to make a
positive impact on the medical profession, which
otherwise doesn’t give much importance to the companies
who come in with brands with a molecule which several
other companies are marketing. However, in case a
company wants to strengthen one of its existing
portfolios, even an older molecule may very well
compliment the existing range [27].
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
685
Patent Status: Pharmaceutical raw material, unlike other product performances. This becomes the foundation
industries has to be procured very carefully. Whereas, in stone for preparing a reliable market forecast and to judge
other industries the concerns might revolve around the attractiveness of target segment(s).
quality, price and availability, in pharmaceutical products,
there are host of other factors to be analyzed. One of the Competitive Position: The company then looks into the
top issues to address is the “Patent Status” of the competitive environment and chances of success in view
molecule. Patent is the protection granted to a company of the strengths and weaknesses, which it possesses. The
for a certain period of time, during which it can recover the number of brands of the same molecule in the market,
heavy expenditure incurred in R and D. Patents are number of players, acceptance of the molecule amongst
normally granted for a period of 16 years from the date of the medical practitioners, the future prospects and so on
application [28].
Patent is one of the most crucial matters for a third Sourcing of Raw Material: One unique characteristic of
world country like Pakistan. Multinational companies try pharmaceutical product is the need to conform to
to keep the price of the products in line with International standard parameters all the time. Every drug has its
markets, which make those products almost unaffordable standard characteristics like dissolution time, shelf life,
for the local masses. However, on the other hand, the physical appearance and stability in form etc. In order to
patent law prevents other local companies to brand that maintain all these, a company tends not to switch sources
molecule. Until recently, the patent law was not being without performing a pilot batch study, for a certain
implemented in Pakistan in letter and spirit, but now with period of time (usually 3-6 months) in order to make sure
implementation of WTO and TRIPS approaching, the that the quality of product is up to the mark. This is an
stance of regulatory bodies is becoming more and more important matter, as a company needs to be extra careful
firm in protecting the interest of patent holder [29]. to ensure that the company they are planning to buy the
However, realistically speaking, a company in a raw material will ensure consistency of quality and meets
country like Pakistan must not rule out patented products their demand regularly. Besides conducting pilot batch
just because of their legal status. They should consider if testing, most of the companies also have an elaborate
the company holding the patent is actively represented in vendor evaluation program [30].
Pakistan? Has that company ever taken a legal action
against any other company? What is the validity period Pilot Batch Manufacturing: Pilot batch manufacturing or
left for the patent? This makes any gray areas identified stability study is a sort of simulation exercise in which a
and a company might still have the opportunity to launch trial batch is manufactured while maintaining the real life
a product and taking a calculated risk, which may pay big conditions. The raw material and packaging material, as
dividends if it can get away with it [4]. well as the manufacturing equipment is the same, which
Special Requirements: Once, the company is clear about Once the batch is manufactured, it is kept under
the patent, it has look into manufacturing requirements different conditions like room temperature, high
and if the facilities are available or not. Pharmaceutical temperature, high humidity, sun light etc. for 3-6 months
ingredients may required special facilities like control and a test is performed each month to see the stability of
humidity/temperature/moisture, storage conditions, a product. If the outcome matches with what the standard
manufacturing processes, packaging material etc. This profile suggests, the product is approved for
might either not being currently used by the company, or manufacturing [31].
may prove to be too costly if arranged for just one
product. Marketing Strategy Development: Parallel to trial batch
Market Size: Pharmaceutical marketers have one major A typical marketing plan covers the following areas with
advantage; and that is availability of authentic market reference to pharmaceutical products:
data, compiled and distributed at cost by International
Marketing Statistics (IMS), a Swiss company. This allows Market Overview: Size of the segment, profile of the
them to know accurately the market size, growth rates and segment, growth rates, prospects.
will be then used in commercial production.
testing, the company starts working on its marketing plan.
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
686
SWOT Analysis: Company’s strength and weaknesses, The above, coupled with financials become the basic
environmental threats and opportunities. control document for marketing team.
Competition Analysis: Number of players, market shares, Test Marketing/clinical Trial/user Trial: Depending
growth rates, SWOT. upon the nature of product, a company may decide to go
Product Profile: Classification, molecule the medical profession on the efficacy and/or safety of the
structure, mode of action, advantages/disadvantages product. It can be fully protocol-controlled trial, or just a
with respect to segment, dosage form, dosage user study where doctor can judge the results obtained
regimen. through the product by using the free samples provided
Clinical Profile: Indications, efficacy, side effects, a very important promotional tool for the company. The
precautions, other pharmacological aspects, clinical trial can be either pre-launch or post-launch depending
reports etc. upon the situation and nature of product.
Product Positioning: The basic stance of the product. Commercialization: Commercialization starts with
Usually based on a USP. sending the stock to distributors. The sales team plans
Marketing/Sales Objectives: Qualitative and quantitative product and start visiting the doctors, in whose vicinity
objectives. the product has reached the chemist shelves.
Promotional Strategy: Message(s) to be communicated, Product Life-Cycle Strategies: Product life cycle is the
material to be used, sampling to be done, other activities course of product’s sales and profits over its lifetime. It
like clinical trials, user studies, seminars, symposia, involves five distinct stages:
advertisements etc.
Sales Strategy: Areas/segments to be covered, doctors developing a new product.
to be visited, indications/diseases to be focused
according to different target segments etc. Distribution Introduction: Period of slow sales growth as the product
strategy also comes under this head. is just being introduced to the doctors.
for a clinical trial or user study to enhance confidence of
to him/her. The results, if come out to be positive, become
the promotional activities in view of the availability of the
Product Development: The process of finding and
Table 1: Product Life Cycle in Pharmaceutical Industry
Strategies/Stages Introduction Growth Maturity Decline
Product Depending on the category, a company may decide Try to come up with new dosage Maintain the complete range and Wait as long as the product is beneficial
to start with one or more strength/dosage forms. forms/strengths/features like flavors try to focus on the most profitable commercially and then withdraw.
or packaging. one to gain maximum advantage.
Also identify and explore
new indication/segments.
Price Whatever approved by the regulatory bodies. Same as fixed at the time of launch. Same as fixed at launch. Some Same as fixed at launch. Some companies
A company may choose to launch the product companies may choose to reduce may choose to reduce prices to counter
at lower than approved price, but then that priced prices to gain/maintain erosion of market-share.
cannot be increased. market-share.
Place Selective Selective (for prescription products) Selective (for prescription Selective
Extensive (for OTC products) products)
Extensive (for OTC products)
Promotion Heavy sampling for trial generation, focus on Moderate sampling, focus on Sampling mostly on demand, Selective and focused promotion to retain
opinion leaders/consultants, elaborate literatures/ coverage and call-rate, shift from focus on loyal prescribers, market share as long as possible.
brochures, user/clinical trials, seminars/symposia/ consultants to general physicians, reminder brochures and
panel discussions, advertising in medical press, moderate advertising, reminder reminder gifts.
expensive gifts, sponsorships. Direct mailers and brochures, reminder gifts,
teasers may also be used at this stage. sponsorships.
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
687
Growth: Period of rapid market acceptance and increasing 2. Ahmed, R.R. and A. Saeed, 2014.
profits.
Maturity: Slow down in growth, because a product is
already being prescribed by most of the target audience.
Decline: Period when sales fall off and profit drops.
The basic characteristics of all these stages are
similar to other products. However, there are marked
differences in reason of shifting from one stage to another
and strategies that can be used to manage the product
through its life cycle.
Following is a chart showing strategies during
different stages:
CONCLUSION
This study concluded that things are changing at
lightening pace in pharmaceutical marketing, as in all other
discipline. The scenario in Pakistan is very dynamic and
evolving rapidly. Things have really changed if we
considered the local pharmaceutical industry. The study
identified that Pharmaceutical products can be classified
under two main categories: Prescription products and
OTC products. The criterion for division is whether a
product is marketed to the medical profession or directly
to the consumers in Pakistan. The study further
concluded that a company’s product mix has four
important dimensions: width, length, depth and
consistency. Product mix width refers to the different
product lines a company carries; Product mix length refers
to the number of items a company carries in its product
lines. Product mix depth refers to the number of versions
each product offers. The new product development
process in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry can be
outlined as 1) Molecule identification, 2) Molecule
screening, 3) Sourcing of raw material, 4) Pilot batch
manufacturing, 5) Marketing strategy development, 6)
Test marketing/Clinical trial/user trial and 7)
Commercialization. We can attempt to develop a concept
on similar lines for pharmaceutical products in different
characteristics like 1) Quality Level, 2) Feature of a
product, 3) Dosage forms 4) A brand name and 5)
Packaging of products.
REFERENCES
1. IMS PKPI (MAT Q2 and Q3, 2013).
Pakistani Pharmaceutical Industry, December 31,
2013.
Pharmaceutical Drug Promotion Practices in Pakistan:
Issues in Ethical and Non-Ethical Pharmaceutical
Practices, Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research,
20(11): 1630-1640.
3. Ahmed, R.R., V. Parmar and J. Ahmed, 2012.
Factors that affect attitude towards Generic Drugs
Perception: Comparison of Physicians and General
Practitioners of Karachi City, International Journal of
Marketing and Technology, 2(11): 151-178.
4. Sattar, I. and A. Maqsood, 2003. A Marketing Mix
Model for Pharmaceutical Industry - A Pakistani
Perspective, The Journal of Independent Studies and
Research, 1(2): 38-56.
5. Ahmed, R.R. and A. Saeed, 2012. "Ethical and
non-ethical Pharmaceutical marketing practices:
Case study of Karachi city" Interdisciplinary
Journal of Contemporary Research Business,
3(11): 456-475.
6. Wazana, A., 2000. Physicians and the pharmaceutical
industry: is a gift ever just a gift? JAMA,
283(3): 373-80.
7. Kotler, P. and Gary Armstrong, 2002. Principles of
Marketing, 9 Edition, Prentice-Hall International,
th
New Jersey.
8. Kola, I. and J. Landis, 2004. Can the Pharmaceutical
Industry Reduce Attrition Rates? Nature Reviews,
3: 711-715.
9. Pollack and Andrew, 2002. Despite Billions for
Discoveries, Pipeline of Drugs is Far from Full.
The New York Times. April 19.
10. Filmore, D., A.M. Thayer and R.C. Willis, 2004.
Pipeline Challenges. Modern Drug Discovery,
October, pp: 28-34.
11. Gilbert, J., P. Hanske and A. Singh,
2003. Rebuilding Big Pharma's Business Model.
In vivo, 21: 73-82
12. Henderson, Rebecca, 2000. Drug Industry
Mergers Won't Necessarily Benefit R&D. Research
Technology Management, 43(4): 10-11.
13. Landau, Ralph, Achilladelis Basil and Scriabine,
Alexander, 1999. Pharmaceutical Innovation:
Revolutionizing Human Health. Chemical Heritage
Press, pp. 100-105.
14. Wolpert, Jan, 2004. The BUY vs. BUILD
Challenge to Drug Makers' Performance, Mergers and
Acquisitions, Philadelphia, 39(8): 22.
15. Pavlouv, A., 2003. Biotechnology M&A insight:
Deals and strategies, Journal of Commercial
Biotechnology, 10(I): 85-91.
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
688
16. Kuatbayeva, A.A., 2013. “Modeling Situational Room 25. Agarwal, S., S. Desai, M. Holcomb and A. Oberoi,
for Healthcare” World Applied Sciences Journal, 2001. ‘Unlocking the value of Big Pharma’,
26(2): 209-212. The McKinsey Quarterly, 2: 65-73.
17. Shalo, Sibyl., 2004. The Art of the Deal. 26. Astra Zeneca, 2001. ‘AstraZeneca Approach to
BioPartnerships - A Pharmaceutical Executive and E-Business’, presentation to analysts, New York.
Biopharm International Supplement, (October): 27. Lexchin, J., 1992. “Pharmaceutical promotion in the
pp: 8-16. third world”, Journal of Drug Issues, 22(2): 417-422.
18. Lam, Michael D., 2004. Dangerous Liaisons. 28. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
Pharmaceutical Executive, 24(5): 72. America (PHARMA) 2001. Pharmaceutical Industry
19. Wolfe, S.M., 2002. Direct-to-consumer Profile 2001, Washington.
advertising-Education or emotion promotion? New 29. Singh, A., P.K. Sharma and R. Malviya, 2011.
England Journal of Medicine, 346(7): 524-526. “Eco Friendly Pharmaceutical Packaging Material”
20. Bernard, Stan. Back to the Pharma Future. World Applied Sciences Journal, 14(11): 1703-1716.
BioPartnerships, 2004. A Pharmaceutical Executive 30. Myshko, Denise, 2004. The Secret to Alliance
and Biopharm International Supplement, (October): Success. PharmaVOICE, 4(10): 14-24.
pp: 6-7. 31. Westfall, J.M., H. McCabe and R.A. Nicholas, 1997.
21. Mills, Lauren, 2004. Great science not all that matters Personal use of drug samples by physicians and
developing treatments. Financial Times. 11/10/2004: office staff. JAMA, 278: 141-143.
pp: 5. 32. Filmore, David., 2004. It's a GPCR World. Modern
22. Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, 2004. Drug Discovery, (November), pp: 24-28.
International Pharmaceutical Industry-A Snapshot, 33. Ratner, Mark., 2004. Public-private Model Pursues
Jan 2004, ICRA. Precompetitive R&D. Nature Reviews Drug
23. Tomlinson, H., 2004. AstraZeneca sued for ulcer drug Discovery,November, 3: 987.
profits. The Guardian, 24 November.
24. Pharmaceuticals, 2005. The Indian Pharmaceutical
Industry, Feb 2005, ICRA “International Marketing
Strategies in India” by Prathap and Micheal,
Vikalpa (IIMA),Oct-Dec 2005.
doc_795458503.pdf
White Paper on Product Strategies in Pharmaceutical Marketing - Pakistani Pharmaceutical Industry
This study examines the important and imperative parameters in order to bring a new product in a Pakistani pharmaceutical Industry/market. Although, there is good quality international literature available for the under examine topic, but it carries the perspective of developed countries, where things are very different from a developing country like Pakistan.
Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
ISSN 1990-9233
© IDOSI Publications, 2014
DOI: 10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2014.21.04.83174
Corresponding Author: RizwanRaheemAhmed, Department of Business Administration and Commerce-Indus University,
Karachi, Pakistan.
681
Product Strategies in Pharmaceutical Marketing:
A Perspective of Pakistani Pharmaceutical Industry
Rizwan Raheem Ahmed, Irfan Sattar and Vishnu Parmar
1 2 3
Department of Business Administration and Commerce, Indus University, Karachi, Pakistan
1
Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan
2
Institute of Business Administration, Sindh University, Jamshoro, Pakistan
3
Abstract: This study examines the important and imperative parameters in order to bring a new product in a
Pakistani pharmaceutical Industry/market. Although, there is good quality international literature available for
the under examine topic, but it carries the perspective of developed countries, where things are very different
from a developing country like Pakistan. The study identified that Pharmaceutical products can be classified
under two main categories: Prescription products and OTC products. The criterion for division is whether a
product is marketed to the medical professionals or directly to the consumers in Pakistan. In pharmaceutical
industry, selling function is invariably handled by the company’s own sales team due to highly technical and
specialized nature of job, whereas the distributor is responsible only for the logistics part. It is further
concluded that once we have defined the product, we can clearly see a difference. In general marketing terms,
a product can even be for satisfying a psychological need with no tangible benefit whatsoever. However, in
pharmaceutical terms, a product will only be termed as one if it helps in curing a disease or at least help in curing
or improving the condition of a patient.
Key words: Prescription Products OTC Product Product Strategies Pharmaceutical Industry
INTRODUCTION terms, a product will only be termed as one if it helps in
Pharmaceutical industry is one of the most organized condition of a patient [2].
industries in Pakistan, employing a large number of
professionals in all areas of operations. The industry Levels of Product: As in general marketing terms, a
currently comprise of more than 800 companies, out of pharmaceutical product can also be thought of at three
which around 400 or so can be termed as “Active levels:
Companies” involved in manufacturing and marketing of
pharmaceutical products [1]. Core product
Defining Product: From the point of view of Augmented product
pharmaceutical marketing, we can redefine the product
as the following: In general marketing, the core product is the basic
A product is any tangible thing, which can be used benefit that the consumers seek when they buy a product
to treat a medical ailment diagnosed in a human [3]. In pharmaceutical scenario, this will be the disease
body.Once we have defined the product, we can clearly treating characteristics of a product, which will be
see a difference. In general marketing terms, a product can considered the core product.The actual product in general
even be for satisfying a psychological need with no marketing terms suggest five characteristics that a
tangible benefit whatsoever. However, in pharmaceutical product can have; a quality level, features, design, a
curing a disease or at least help in curing or improving the
Actual product
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
682
brand name and packaging [4]. We can attempt to develop synonymous with their generic names like Brufen for
a concept on similar lines for pharmaceutical products in Ibuprofen, Voltaren for Diclofenac Sodium, Panadol for
the following manner: Paracetamol and so on and so forth. Each of these
A Quality Level: The level to which a product conforms become readily recognizable with their respective
to the required standard not only in terms of its profile, generics.
but also in terms of its ability to cure a disease and to
remain effective for the stipulated period of time which is Packaging: Perhaps in no other product category does
also called shelf-life of a product. the packaging play as significant a role as it does in
Features: For pharmaceutical product, this will mean the outer container and it has to ensure the conditions
pharmacological profile of a product; what it does when required for stability of the medicine inside. A company
it goes into a human body. This includes the rate of cannot just select the packaging material arbitrarily, but it
absorption of drug into the blood stream, when the action has to consider if the packaging selected conforms to the
actually starts; its action against the disease cause, its standards required for a particular product profile or not
side effects and finally its elimination from the body. All [10]. For example, there are products, which can be kept
drugs have their standard profile, which act as a standard stable inside simple aluminum foil, but some need
when a product is evaluated in terms of its quality level specialized double-sided aluminum foil, or PVC, or PVDC,
[5]. This effectively means that unlike general products, or even airtight bottle. The efficacy of a product is
the quality levels in pharmaceutical products are very dependent on its stability inside the packaging. Any
objective and are not dependent on individual negligence can result in deterioration in product quality
perceptions. and efficacy [11].
Dosage Form: Dosage Form will replace design in by packaging is to contain required information
case of pharmaceutical products. A product can be in regarding the product profile as prescribed by the
the form of capsules, tablets, syrup, injection or regulatory bodies. It does not only carry brief
ointment. This is a major determinant factor when a instruction on outer and inner containers, but also carries
product is chosen for use for treating a patient [6]. For a leaflet, which contains detailed prescribing information
example, a tablet might be preferred for an adult patient, for the products [12]. Besides that, pharmaceutical
syrup for children, an injection when quick action is products are required to carry dates of manufacturing and
required and an ointment for skin diseases or localized expiry and batch numbers for future reference, which are
pain. also mentioned on the outer carton as well as inner
A Brand Name: Unlike consumer products, where every are also some special requirements for labeling like the
product invariably carries a brand name, pharmaceutical brand name and generic name should be equally
may or may not be branded. Some companies may decide prominent, which has to be strictly adhered to [13].
to market their products as under generic name, instead of However, once a company conforms to all these
giving it a brand name. This often happens when the requirements, they can use the packaging for product
company adopts a marketing strategy under which the differentiation through color schemes and graphics if they
product will not be promoted actively and instead be sold want.
to institutions, which purchase products by generics and In a third world country like Pakistan, a patient
not brands [7, 8]. For example, a hospital may call for seldom buys a full pack of a product. Retailers normally
offers for supply of paracetamol tablets, which are sell individual tablets, capsules and ampoules due to
available both under generic name and brand names like affordability issue. Though, this is not applicable in case
Panadol and Calpol. of liquids, injections and ointments where a patient
Most of marketing oriented companies though obviously has to buy a full pack, companies pay less
prefer to market their products under brand names, attention to beautifying there packaging and find it just
which allows them only to position and promote enough to fulfill the regulatory and product stability
their products effectively [9]. It is interesting to requirements as there is nothing like off-the-shelve
note that over the period of time, products do become impulse buying in medicines [14, 15].
generics has dozens of brands available, but not all
pharmaceutical products. It goes beyond just acting as
The second most important function performed
container like a strip, blister, bottle, ampoule or tube.There
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
683
Product augmentation has emerging as the latest rate, which may lead to consumption of wrong medicine,
trend in pharmaceutical marketing. Companies support or in a wrong manner, keeps a ban on promotion of OTC
their products through different methods [16]. Some medicines directly to masses [21]. However, some
companies like MSD and Novartis have also started free products like Panadol, Volteran, Ponstan, Actifed, etc.
home-delivery and discounts on repeat purchases of have eventually become OTC drugs in Pakistan by virtue
medicines [17]. of their long standing in the markets and mass awareness
MATERIAL AND METHODS It must be clear from the above discussion, that the
Product Classifications: Pharmaceutical products can be in Pakistan is a gray area. Unless the regulatory bodies
classified under two main categories. The criterion for come up with a viable plan to strictly enforce the drug
division is whether a product is marketed to the medical laws, we may continue to have this confused state of
profession or directly to the consumers? The first affairs [4].
category products are called “Prescription Products”
and those marketed directly to consumers is called “Over- Product Line Decisions: A product line in context of
The-Counter”, or OTC products [18]. pharmaceutical marketing is a group of products, which
Prescription Products: Selecting a medicine involves same segment of the medical profession.Merck Sharp and
host of factors to be considered like patient profile, Dhome (MSD) have a range of antihypertensive drugs,
disease history, drug tolerance, possibility of allergic with some differences in their profile, action and prices.
reactions, duration of therapy, side-effects profile and of They have brands called Renitec, Cozaar and Hizaar, all
course quality and price of the product. Obviously, a performing the same function, i.e. lowering the blood
common person in no way can arrive at a right decision as pressure through different modes of action and are priced
he lacks the technical knowledge. A wrong decision is not at different levels [22].
affordable as the stakes are as high as the life of the As in general products categories, product line
patient. For this reason, most of the medicines are decisions are also critical in pharmaceutical marketing and
categorized under prescription products and can be sold the most critical one is deciding upon the length of
only through prescription of a registered medical product line. A company has to decide on having a
practitioner [19]. certain number of products in one product line. The aim is
However, in reality things are different in developing to have a product line, which offers enough choices for
countries like Pakistan. Here, one can buy any medicine the doctors while keeping the length of product line
directly from a chemist without a prescription quite manageable and profitable [23]. A company may increase
conveniently. The irony is that a country where literacy the product line length either by stretching it upwards
rate is amongst the lowest in the world, this law of and/or downwards, or through product line filling.
prescription drugs is not being applied in spirit [20]. This Suppose, a company has a drug indicated in
results in continuous danger of deaths and disease hypertension, which is an old molecule and is priced at a
complications due to self-medication, which people low level. The company may decide to launch a newer
usually indulge into in order to save the consultation fee version of the same drug category at a higher price, which
of the doctors. will be termed as upward line stretching. On the other
OTC Products: These may be termed as low-risk may decide to take the share of the low-end market as well
medicines and so consumers are allowed to purchase by launching a basic low price molecule, which will be
them over-the-counter. Vitamins, nutritional products, termed as downwards line stretching. A company may
cough syrups and simple painkillers all fall under this even go for a both-side stretching if it feels appropriate to
category. have a long product line. Putting products in between low
In developed countries, pharmaceutical companies and high-end products is termed as product line filling [4].
are even allowed to promote their OTC formulations
directly to public using mass media, but not in Pakistan. Product Mix Decisions: A product mix or product
The Ministry of Health, under the pretext of low literacy assortment consists of all the product lines and items that
about the their actions.
differentiation between prescriptions and OTC medicines
deal with the same disease category, or is promoted to the
hand, a company might be having a high-end product and
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
684
a company has to offer.A company may have a range of The new product development process in Pakistan’s
antibiotics, a number of painkillers, a few cough syrups
and some other medicines in different categories. All of
these put together will be called a product mix.
A company’s product mix has four important
dimensions: width, length, depth and consistency.
Product mix width refers to the different product lines a
company carries; e.g. SmithKline and Beecham has a wide
product mix comprising antibiotics, painkillers,
multivitamins, skin treatments and antiulcerants [24].
Product mix length refers to the number of items a
company carries in its product lines. SKB has Fortum,
Augmentin, Ampiclox and Ampicillin in its antibiotics
category.Product mix depth refers to the number of
versions each product offers. SKB’s antibiotic brand
Fortum comes in 250 mg, 500 mg and 1 gram and
similarly the other brands are also available in different
strengths.
Finally, the consistency of the product mix refers to
how closely related different product lines are. In case of
SKB, it is an inconsistent product line, but the company
successfully manages it due to immense resources and
elaborate infrastructure. However, a company lacking in
these two areas better keep a consistent product mix to
ensure effective management [25].
DISCUSSION
New-Product Development: New product development in
pharmaceutical industry is a much more complex process
as compared to other industries. The cost of development,
the R and D capability, registration with the ministry of
health, sourcing of raw material, all make this a daunting
task for any marketing team.
One of the most widely used method of acquiring
new products, acquisition, is not applicable for local
pharmaceutical companies in developing countries. The
reason is that all multinational companies of some stature
already have their local offices in almost every developing
country and they prefer to market their products through
them instead of joining hands with local partners. There
are some examples of an arrangement between a local
company and an international company, but they
comprise a very minute portion of the total industry
turnover [4]. This leaves the companies with no other
option but to develop branded generics for marketing. At
present, there is no possibility of development of original
products given the size and resources available to local
industry.
pharmaceutical industry can be outlined as follows:
Molecule identification
Molecule screening
Sourcing of raw material
Pilot batch manufacturing
Marketing strategy development
Test marketing/Clinical trial/user trial
Commercialization
Now we will go through each step to develop a clear
understanding of the new product development process.
Molecule Identification: Pharmaceutical products are
basically a dosage form (tablet, capsule, syrup, injection
or ointment) containing an active ingredient, which is
responsible for the therapeutic effect, or the core benefit
expected from the product.
The first and foremost step in new product
development is the identification of molecule; i.e. the
active ingredient that a company wishes to brand and
launch [26]. Keeping under consideration the marketing
focus of the company, resources and profile, several
molecules can be of interest, which are short-listed and
then the real game begins of screening the molecules to
arrive at the final one or more.
Molecule Screening: This is the most important step a
marketing team has to go through while deciding upon a
new product. There are several factors to be taken into
account while screening a molecule to find its merits and
demerits. We will discuss some important ones here:
Company’s Objectives: Lot depends on what a company
needs and wants to achieve. Is it aiming for entering into
a new product category? Is it aiming to strengthen an
existing product line? Is it aiming for maximizing market
share? Is it aiming to build volumes? Is it focusing on
high profitability? Whatever a company decides, will
affect directly on a new product decision. A company
wishing to enter a new product category may wish to
select a comparatively newer molecule in order to make a
positive impact on the medical profession, which
otherwise doesn’t give much importance to the companies
who come in with brands with a molecule which several
other companies are marketing. However, in case a
company wants to strengthen one of its existing
portfolios, even an older molecule may very well
compliment the existing range [27].
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
685
Patent Status: Pharmaceutical raw material, unlike other product performances. This becomes the foundation
industries has to be procured very carefully. Whereas, in stone for preparing a reliable market forecast and to judge
other industries the concerns might revolve around the attractiveness of target segment(s).
quality, price and availability, in pharmaceutical products,
there are host of other factors to be analyzed. One of the Competitive Position: The company then looks into the
top issues to address is the “Patent Status” of the competitive environment and chances of success in view
molecule. Patent is the protection granted to a company of the strengths and weaknesses, which it possesses. The
for a certain period of time, during which it can recover the number of brands of the same molecule in the market,
heavy expenditure incurred in R and D. Patents are number of players, acceptance of the molecule amongst
normally granted for a period of 16 years from the date of the medical practitioners, the future prospects and so on
application [28].
Patent is one of the most crucial matters for a third Sourcing of Raw Material: One unique characteristic of
world country like Pakistan. Multinational companies try pharmaceutical product is the need to conform to
to keep the price of the products in line with International standard parameters all the time. Every drug has its
markets, which make those products almost unaffordable standard characteristics like dissolution time, shelf life,
for the local masses. However, on the other hand, the physical appearance and stability in form etc. In order to
patent law prevents other local companies to brand that maintain all these, a company tends not to switch sources
molecule. Until recently, the patent law was not being without performing a pilot batch study, for a certain
implemented in Pakistan in letter and spirit, but now with period of time (usually 3-6 months) in order to make sure
implementation of WTO and TRIPS approaching, the that the quality of product is up to the mark. This is an
stance of regulatory bodies is becoming more and more important matter, as a company needs to be extra careful
firm in protecting the interest of patent holder [29]. to ensure that the company they are planning to buy the
However, realistically speaking, a company in a raw material will ensure consistency of quality and meets
country like Pakistan must not rule out patented products their demand regularly. Besides conducting pilot batch
just because of their legal status. They should consider if testing, most of the companies also have an elaborate
the company holding the patent is actively represented in vendor evaluation program [30].
Pakistan? Has that company ever taken a legal action
against any other company? What is the validity period Pilot Batch Manufacturing: Pilot batch manufacturing or
left for the patent? This makes any gray areas identified stability study is a sort of simulation exercise in which a
and a company might still have the opportunity to launch trial batch is manufactured while maintaining the real life
a product and taking a calculated risk, which may pay big conditions. The raw material and packaging material, as
dividends if it can get away with it [4]. well as the manufacturing equipment is the same, which
Special Requirements: Once, the company is clear about Once the batch is manufactured, it is kept under
the patent, it has look into manufacturing requirements different conditions like room temperature, high
and if the facilities are available or not. Pharmaceutical temperature, high humidity, sun light etc. for 3-6 months
ingredients may required special facilities like control and a test is performed each month to see the stability of
humidity/temperature/moisture, storage conditions, a product. If the outcome matches with what the standard
manufacturing processes, packaging material etc. This profile suggests, the product is approved for
might either not being currently used by the company, or manufacturing [31].
may prove to be too costly if arranged for just one
product. Marketing Strategy Development: Parallel to trial batch
Market Size: Pharmaceutical marketers have one major A typical marketing plan covers the following areas with
advantage; and that is availability of authentic market reference to pharmaceutical products:
data, compiled and distributed at cost by International
Marketing Statistics (IMS), a Swiss company. This allows Market Overview: Size of the segment, profile of the
them to know accurately the market size, growth rates and segment, growth rates, prospects.
will be then used in commercial production.
testing, the company starts working on its marketing plan.
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
686
SWOT Analysis: Company’s strength and weaknesses, The above, coupled with financials become the basic
environmental threats and opportunities. control document for marketing team.
Competition Analysis: Number of players, market shares, Test Marketing/clinical Trial/user Trial: Depending
growth rates, SWOT. upon the nature of product, a company may decide to go
Product Profile: Classification, molecule the medical profession on the efficacy and/or safety of the
structure, mode of action, advantages/disadvantages product. It can be fully protocol-controlled trial, or just a
with respect to segment, dosage form, dosage user study where doctor can judge the results obtained
regimen. through the product by using the free samples provided
Clinical Profile: Indications, efficacy, side effects, a very important promotional tool for the company. The
precautions, other pharmacological aspects, clinical trial can be either pre-launch or post-launch depending
reports etc. upon the situation and nature of product.
Product Positioning: The basic stance of the product. Commercialization: Commercialization starts with
Usually based on a USP. sending the stock to distributors. The sales team plans
Marketing/Sales Objectives: Qualitative and quantitative product and start visiting the doctors, in whose vicinity
objectives. the product has reached the chemist shelves.
Promotional Strategy: Message(s) to be communicated, Product Life-Cycle Strategies: Product life cycle is the
material to be used, sampling to be done, other activities course of product’s sales and profits over its lifetime. It
like clinical trials, user studies, seminars, symposia, involves five distinct stages:
advertisements etc.
Sales Strategy: Areas/segments to be covered, doctors developing a new product.
to be visited, indications/diseases to be focused
according to different target segments etc. Distribution Introduction: Period of slow sales growth as the product
strategy also comes under this head. is just being introduced to the doctors.
for a clinical trial or user study to enhance confidence of
to him/her. The results, if come out to be positive, become
the promotional activities in view of the availability of the
Product Development: The process of finding and
Table 1: Product Life Cycle in Pharmaceutical Industry
Strategies/Stages Introduction Growth Maturity Decline
Product Depending on the category, a company may decide Try to come up with new dosage Maintain the complete range and Wait as long as the product is beneficial
to start with one or more strength/dosage forms. forms/strengths/features like flavors try to focus on the most profitable commercially and then withdraw.
or packaging. one to gain maximum advantage.
Also identify and explore
new indication/segments.
Price Whatever approved by the regulatory bodies. Same as fixed at the time of launch. Same as fixed at launch. Some Same as fixed at launch. Some companies
A company may choose to launch the product companies may choose to reduce may choose to reduce prices to counter
at lower than approved price, but then that priced prices to gain/maintain erosion of market-share.
cannot be increased. market-share.
Place Selective Selective (for prescription products) Selective (for prescription Selective
Extensive (for OTC products) products)
Extensive (for OTC products)
Promotion Heavy sampling for trial generation, focus on Moderate sampling, focus on Sampling mostly on demand, Selective and focused promotion to retain
opinion leaders/consultants, elaborate literatures/ coverage and call-rate, shift from focus on loyal prescribers, market share as long as possible.
brochures, user/clinical trials, seminars/symposia/ consultants to general physicians, reminder brochures and
panel discussions, advertising in medical press, moderate advertising, reminder reminder gifts.
expensive gifts, sponsorships. Direct mailers and brochures, reminder gifts,
teasers may also be used at this stage. sponsorships.
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
687
Growth: Period of rapid market acceptance and increasing 2. Ahmed, R.R. and A. Saeed, 2014.
profits.
Maturity: Slow down in growth, because a product is
already being prescribed by most of the target audience.
Decline: Period when sales fall off and profit drops.
The basic characteristics of all these stages are
similar to other products. However, there are marked
differences in reason of shifting from one stage to another
and strategies that can be used to manage the product
through its life cycle.
Following is a chart showing strategies during
different stages:
CONCLUSION
This study concluded that things are changing at
lightening pace in pharmaceutical marketing, as in all other
discipline. The scenario in Pakistan is very dynamic and
evolving rapidly. Things have really changed if we
considered the local pharmaceutical industry. The study
identified that Pharmaceutical products can be classified
under two main categories: Prescription products and
OTC products. The criterion for division is whether a
product is marketed to the medical profession or directly
to the consumers in Pakistan. The study further
concluded that a company’s product mix has four
important dimensions: width, length, depth and
consistency. Product mix width refers to the different
product lines a company carries; Product mix length refers
to the number of items a company carries in its product
lines. Product mix depth refers to the number of versions
each product offers. The new product development
process in Pakistan’s pharmaceutical industry can be
outlined as 1) Molecule identification, 2) Molecule
screening, 3) Sourcing of raw material, 4) Pilot batch
manufacturing, 5) Marketing strategy development, 6)
Test marketing/Clinical trial/user trial and 7)
Commercialization. We can attempt to develop a concept
on similar lines for pharmaceutical products in different
characteristics like 1) Quality Level, 2) Feature of a
product, 3) Dosage forms 4) A brand name and 5)
Packaging of products.
REFERENCES
1. IMS PKPI (MAT Q2 and Q3, 2013).
Pakistani Pharmaceutical Industry, December 31,
2013.
Pharmaceutical Drug Promotion Practices in Pakistan:
Issues in Ethical and Non-Ethical Pharmaceutical
Practices, Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research,
20(11): 1630-1640.
3. Ahmed, R.R., V. Parmar and J. Ahmed, 2012.
Factors that affect attitude towards Generic Drugs
Perception: Comparison of Physicians and General
Practitioners of Karachi City, International Journal of
Marketing and Technology, 2(11): 151-178.
4. Sattar, I. and A. Maqsood, 2003. A Marketing Mix
Model for Pharmaceutical Industry - A Pakistani
Perspective, The Journal of Independent Studies and
Research, 1(2): 38-56.
5. Ahmed, R.R. and A. Saeed, 2012. "Ethical and
non-ethical Pharmaceutical marketing practices:
Case study of Karachi city" Interdisciplinary
Journal of Contemporary Research Business,
3(11): 456-475.
6. Wazana, A., 2000. Physicians and the pharmaceutical
industry: is a gift ever just a gift? JAMA,
283(3): 373-80.
7. Kotler, P. and Gary Armstrong, 2002. Principles of
Marketing, 9 Edition, Prentice-Hall International,
th
New Jersey.
8. Kola, I. and J. Landis, 2004. Can the Pharmaceutical
Industry Reduce Attrition Rates? Nature Reviews,
3: 711-715.
9. Pollack and Andrew, 2002. Despite Billions for
Discoveries, Pipeline of Drugs is Far from Full.
The New York Times. April 19.
10. Filmore, D., A.M. Thayer and R.C. Willis, 2004.
Pipeline Challenges. Modern Drug Discovery,
October, pp: 28-34.
11. Gilbert, J., P. Hanske and A. Singh,
2003. Rebuilding Big Pharma's Business Model.
In vivo, 21: 73-82
12. Henderson, Rebecca, 2000. Drug Industry
Mergers Won't Necessarily Benefit R&D. Research
Technology Management, 43(4): 10-11.
13. Landau, Ralph, Achilladelis Basil and Scriabine,
Alexander, 1999. Pharmaceutical Innovation:
Revolutionizing Human Health. Chemical Heritage
Press, pp. 100-105.
14. Wolpert, Jan, 2004. The BUY vs. BUILD
Challenge to Drug Makers' Performance, Mergers and
Acquisitions, Philadelphia, 39(8): 22.
15. Pavlouv, A., 2003. Biotechnology M&A insight:
Deals and strategies, Journal of Commercial
Biotechnology, 10(I): 85-91.
Middle-East J. Sci. Res., 21 (4): 681-688, 2014
688
16. Kuatbayeva, A.A., 2013. “Modeling Situational Room 25. Agarwal, S., S. Desai, M. Holcomb and A. Oberoi,
for Healthcare” World Applied Sciences Journal, 2001. ‘Unlocking the value of Big Pharma’,
26(2): 209-212. The McKinsey Quarterly, 2: 65-73.
17. Shalo, Sibyl., 2004. The Art of the Deal. 26. Astra Zeneca, 2001. ‘AstraZeneca Approach to
BioPartnerships - A Pharmaceutical Executive and E-Business’, presentation to analysts, New York.
Biopharm International Supplement, (October): 27. Lexchin, J., 1992. “Pharmaceutical promotion in the
pp: 8-16. third world”, Journal of Drug Issues, 22(2): 417-422.
18. Lam, Michael D., 2004. Dangerous Liaisons. 28. Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of
Pharmaceutical Executive, 24(5): 72. America (PHARMA) 2001. Pharmaceutical Industry
19. Wolfe, S.M., 2002. Direct-to-consumer Profile 2001, Washington.
advertising-Education or emotion promotion? New 29. Singh, A., P.K. Sharma and R. Malviya, 2011.
England Journal of Medicine, 346(7): 524-526. “Eco Friendly Pharmaceutical Packaging Material”
20. Bernard, Stan. Back to the Pharma Future. World Applied Sciences Journal, 14(11): 1703-1716.
BioPartnerships, 2004. A Pharmaceutical Executive 30. Myshko, Denise, 2004. The Secret to Alliance
and Biopharm International Supplement, (October): Success. PharmaVOICE, 4(10): 14-24.
pp: 6-7. 31. Westfall, J.M., H. McCabe and R.A. Nicholas, 1997.
21. Mills, Lauren, 2004. Great science not all that matters Personal use of drug samples by physicians and
developing treatments. Financial Times. 11/10/2004: office staff. JAMA, 278: 141-143.
pp: 5. 32. Filmore, David., 2004. It's a GPCR World. Modern
22. Drugs and Pharmaceuticals, 2004. Drug Discovery, (November), pp: 24-28.
International Pharmaceutical Industry-A Snapshot, 33. Ratner, Mark., 2004. Public-private Model Pursues
Jan 2004, ICRA. Precompetitive R&D. Nature Reviews Drug
23. Tomlinson, H., 2004. AstraZeneca sued for ulcer drug Discovery,November, 3: 987.
profits. The Guardian, 24 November.
24. Pharmaceuticals, 2005. The Indian Pharmaceutical
Industry, Feb 2005, ICRA “International Marketing
Strategies in India” by Prathap and Micheal,
Vikalpa (IIMA),Oct-Dec 2005.
doc_795458503.pdf