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‘Indian Pharma’s Apathy Towards Digital Marketing’ – A Misgiving Or Real?

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As I gather from different sources, an increasing number of Indian pharma companies are increasingly embracing digitalization in their marketing operations, especially after the crippling experience during the Covid lockdown period. They realize the use of digital platforms would be a great enabler for them to reach a wider audience, promote their products, and engage with healthcare professionals more effectively, in any given situation. The depth, span, and speed of adaptation of this initiative is fast gathering momentum in the capable hands of astute marketers.

In this article, I shall explore this area to ferret out the fact, whether ‘The Indian pharma industry’s apathy towards Digital Marketing’ is a misgiving or still a reality. However, I would start with an important note about getting caught in some possible controversies due to occasional overenthusiasm in this space. 

Some possible reasons for a brouhaha or controversy:

There may be several reasons why a brouhaha or controversy could continue surrounding the use of digitalization in Indian pharma companies’ marketing operations. Some possible factors include:

  • Compliance and Regulatory Issues: Digital marketing practices must ensure full compliance with regulations set by regulatory bodies, such as the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and the Medical Council of India (MCI). Any violation of these regulations can lead to legal consequences and damage the reputation of the companies involved.
  • Misinformation, data Integrity and Misleading Claims: The widespread use of digital platforms can make it easier for misleading, breach of data integrity and false claims to be disseminated. Regulators and critics may raise concerns about the accuracy of information being shared and the potential impact on patient health. 
  • Privacy, cyberthreats and Data Security: The use of digital platforms involves the collection and storage of user data. Privacy concerns, including cyberthreats, can arise if pharmaceutical companies do not handle personal information responsibly or if patient data is compromised due to inadequate security measures. 
  • Unethical Practices: There have been instances where pharmaceutical companies have been accused of engaging in unethical practices in their marketing efforts. These may include off-label promotion (promoting a drug for an unapproved use), undue influence on healthcare professionals, or aggressive marketing tactics that prioritize sales over patient welfare. 

It is important to recognize that the specific reasons for the ongoing brouhaha on this topic may have further evolved. From this perspective, let me now focus on a few Indian examples where using digital tools and analytics could offer several advantages for domestic pharmaceutical companies, as available from different sources.  

Examples of some areas where Indian players are using digital tools:

Here are some recent examples of how Indian pharmaceutical companies have utilized digital tools and analytics in their marketing operations, as available in the public domain:

  • Enhanced Targeting: Aurobindo Pharma Limited has implemented data analytics to identify key customer segments for targeted marketing. By analyzing prescribing patterns and patient demographics, they tailor their marketing efforts to reach specific healthcare professionals and patient groups more effectively. 
  • Personalized Marketing: Biocon Limited has embraced digital tools to deliver personalized marketing content. Through their digital platforms, such as websites and mobile applications, they provide customized information about their products, disease education materials, and patient support resources.
  • Improved Marketing ROI: Lupin Limited has utilized digital analytics to measure the performance of their marketing campaigns. By tracking key metrics, such as website engagement, social media interactions, and email response rates, they can optimize their marketing spend and allocate resources to channels that yield higher returns. 
  • Efficient Resource Allocation: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has leveraged digital tools and analytics to optimize resource allocation. They analyze market data and customer behavior to identify regions and healthcare facilities with the highest growth potential, enabling them to allocate their sales resources strategically.
  • Real-time Market Insights: Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd utilizes digital tools and analytics to monitor real-time market insights. By leveraging social listening tools and data analytics platforms, they stay updated on market trends, competitor activities, and customer feedback, enabling them to adapt their marketing strategies accordingly.
  • Improved Customer Engagement: Cipla Ltd has focused on improving customer engagement through digital channels. They utilize social media platforms, online forums, and chatbots to interact with healthcare professionals and patients, providing information, answering queries, and offering support. 
  • Streamlined Communication: Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd has implemented digital communication tools to streamline interactions with healthcare professionals. They utilize virtual meeting platforms, webinars, and online training sessions to engage with physicians, pharmacists, and other stakeholders more efficiently, eliminating geographical barriers.
  • Data-driven Decision Making: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Limited leverages data analytics for data-driven decision making. By analyzing sales data, market trends, and customer feedback, they gain insights that inform their strategic decisions regarding product launches, marketing campaigns, and market expansion. 

These examples demonstrate how Indian pharmaceutical companies have harnessed digital tools and analytics while recomposing notes in a pharma marketing playbook to enhance their business operations. However, please note that specific initiatives and strategies are still evolving, and the extent of adoption may vary among different companies. 

Conclusion:

From the above perspective, I reckon, Indian drug companies are increasingly embracing digital toolsand analytics to enhance their marketing efforts. With the advancement of technology and the growing importance of digital channels, pharmaceutical players in India are recognizing the need to adapt and leverage digital tools to stay competitive and effectively reach their target audience. Hence, any feeling about the ‘Indian pharma industry’s apathy towards Digital Marketing’ seems to be a misgiving to me.

By: Tapan J. Ray      

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

What Have And Haven’t Changed In Pharma’s New Normal?

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While navigating through the challenge of disruptive changes, several pharma marketers are now focusing more on creating, connecting, and leveraging all market and customer related data, across the organization. Astute ones are using state-of-the-art tools, platforms, and techniques to gain actionable insights on new demands of pharma markets. I wrote about it in my article - ‘Data: the new ‘Magic Wand’ For Pharma Business Excellence,’ published in this blog on October 01, 2018.

This process is helping them to fathom what areas the pandemic has changed and what it hasn’t. Their aim is to draw cutting-edge strategies accordingly for market effectiveness – outperforming competition. This article will explore that space with contemporary examples. Let me start with a few illustrations of some hits and misses for the treatment of Covid – as the world started learning to live with this menacing virus. This was enviable, as the requisite scientific date wasn’t readily available at that moment of truth. But the time has changed now.

Some hits and misses:

As the pandemic overwhelmed the world, and no well-documented treatment for infection caused by the brand new virus – Covid-19 was available, many drug players were given quick emergency approval by country regulators for some repurposed drugs. But most of those weren’t found effective as fresh clinical data started pouring in. For example, the World Health Organization (WHO), have, reportedly, indicated that remdesivir, hydroxychloroquine, lopinavir/ritonavir and interferon regimens appeared to have little or no effect on 28-day mortality or the in-hospital course of COVID-19 among hospitalized patients.

More recently, Gilead Sciences Veklury – a failed Ebola drug, repurposed for hospitalized Covid-19 patients, suddenly became a blockbuster drug, according to a September 17, 2021 report. However, in less than a year, alongside more research data - a study from Europe, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, showed that Veklury has no real benefit. The report also highlights: ‘Aided by a ringing endorsement from then-president Donald Trump, Veklury rang up sales of $2.8 billion in 2020, including $1.9 billion in the final quarter. But those sales slid this year to $1.5 billion in the first quarter followed by $829 million in the second quarter.’

Similarly, there are several areas that are seemingly getting transformed, triggered by the pandemic and the time for resorting to a hit or miss approach, is now virtually over. From pharma marketers’ point of interest, it will now be at one’s own peril for not challenging the pre-Covid business traditions, rules, and well-tried strategies on customer relationships and brand building models. This brings us to the question on what specifically have changed in the new normal as the pharma industry navigates thorough the Covid pandemic – for close to two years now.  

Pandemic-triggered changes in the pharma marketing area:

Changes are many and are being studied across the world. One such recent analysis, articulating how the pandemic triggered changes have redefined marketing, was published by the Harvard Business Review (HBR), on March 10, 2021. This paper came more than a year after the pandemic overwhelmed the world. This article listed some interesting macro-level changes, including the following:

  • Old normal: You are competing with your competitors.
  • New normal: You are competing with the last best experience your customer had.
  • Old normal: Customers hope you have what they want.
  • New normall: Customers expect you to have exactly what they want.
  • Old normal: Courting customers is just like dating.
  • New normal: Courting customers is just like online dating.
  • Old normal: Customers must sit at the heart of your marketing strategy.
  • New normal: Customers must sit at the heart of your customer journey.
  • Old normal: Agility is a technology process.
  • New normal: Agility is a modern marketing approach.
  • Old normal: Your brand should stand behind great products.
  • New normal: Your brand should stand behind great values.

To illustrate the point, let me now give a few examples of some micro-level changes in the same space.

Some transformation trends:

I am citing a few examples related to pharma’s traditional sales and marketing models. One such area is, quite a few companies are adopting connected data based and analytics-supported Omnichannel approach for customer engagement. The key objective is to deliver coherent and high-quality customer experience.

The need for new commercial models for the changing life sciences market, was also highlighted in an interesting article, published in the Pharmaceutical Executive on September 16, 2021. The authors identified six health care macro trends, demonstrating the value of transforming care delivery and shifting market behavior that prompt to reframe customer value propositions.

Taking a cue from this paper, I am listing below some of the current trends – as I see these and wrote before in this blog. Each one of these calls for well-connected data with analytics support:

  • Fostering a new genre of ‘customer-brand relationship’ to drive more targeted go‑to‑market strategies, enhanced agility/mobility of resources and highly personalized customer interactions.
  • Meeting the growing demand for value‑based care with novel risk‑adjusted and outcome‑based Price-Value-Models, supported by ongoing innovation in this area and sophisticated approach to value, affordability and outcomes.

Interestingly, despite Herculean constraints, many pharma players continued creating and delivering value, as the customers were expecting with changing situations.  

Drug-price sensitivity is increasing:

In the new normal, drug price sensitivity of customers is increasing manifold, for various reasons. A June 18, 2020 study, flags: ‘Nine in 10 Concerned About Rising Drug Costs Due to COVID-19.’ Although, this particular study (Gallup Poll) was conducted in the United States, general public apprehension is no different in other parts of the world, including India.

In my article of September 14, 2020, I also wrote that the concept of ‘fair pricing a drug’ is being deliberated by many experts around the world, since quite some time, till today. But it continues. Most recently, as reported on September 22, 2021, for different reasons related to its new Alzheimer’s drug - Aduhelm, including its hefty price tag of $56,000 annually per patient, ‘Biogen reps banned from D.C.-area neurology clinics.’

Regardless of such customer reactions, the pharma industry, as reported on September 17, 2021, continues to advocate – drug pricing pressure will stifle innovation, blocking patient access to needed medicines and dry up investment in important R&D on new therapies. Curiously, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), is spending more than $1 million on TV ads as part of a massive lobbying and communications campaign emphasizing the potential harm to patients seeking cures for deadly diseases, as the report highlights.

Innovation – remained mostly unhindered from old to new normal:

Customers’ expectations can’t be ignored indefinitely. Interestingly, the world has also witnessed it with Covid drug and vaccine innovation continuing even during the most trying times during the pandemic, even in India. It is, therefore, quite understandable why unfettered access to drug innovation is considered an oxymoron, by many.

The good news is, despite shrill voices over pricing measures, the quest for adding meaningful value to the healthcare space continues unhindered. As reported on September 19, 2021, both Pfizer and Merck are advancing oral antiviral candidates targeting Covid-19 into late-stage testing. Thus, I reckon, regardless of jarring noise from pharma lobbyists, drug innovation, willy-nilly, has to satisfy the diverse demand of health care customers.

Innovation needs to satisfy demands of diverse healthcare customers:

That, increasingly, drug innovations will need to be based on their ability to satisfy the demands of life sciences companies’ diverse customer-perceived value-based, was also echoed by the Pharmaceutical Executive article of September 16, 2021.

While doing so, companies will need to structure innovation in terms of health outcomes, affordability, and personalization, as the paper emphasized. It further added, ‘broader definition of innovation means products are no longer the central driver of value.’ Instead, innovation will be powered by an increasingly diverse stream of data that resides outside the confines of the traditional health ecosystem.

Covid pandemic accelerated the transition of this process of innovation, drawing its new focus on providing a seamless and holistic customer experience in the disease treatment process – supported by advanced analytics and this deeper understanding of customer segments.

Conclusion:

Many pharma marketers have possibly undertaken a sophisticated and credible market scanning exercise in the new normal, to assess by themselves what have or haven’t changed in their customer preferences and market dynamics. If not, I would encourage them to initiate it, at least, now.

Equally noteworthy, as the above HBR article wrote, in the post pandemic period: ‘Beyond geography, marketing messages need to be personally relevant, aligned to an individual’s situation and values, as opposed to demographics, such as age and gender.’

The objective is to create a personal connection between the customer and the brand promotional content, aiming to influence the prescribing and purchasing behavior, based on their psychographic to attitudinal characteristics. This process would require creating and screening lots of customized data, supported by sophisticated analytics.

From the above perspective, I reckon, deep insight on what have or haven’t changed in the healthcare environment alongside its customers, would be of fundamental importance for pharma marketers, in the new normal.

By: Tapan J. Ray  

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

Pharma’s Digital Initiatives In India: A Missing Link

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An interesting study – designed to investigate the challenges that Health and Human Services (HHS) organizations face in implementing digital and data solutions, stands out today – for many reasons. One such being, this ‘multi-country survey’ project team had no inkling about the pandemic when the project was undertaken.

This study was conducted by a research team from Imperial College London’s Institute of Global Health Innovation (IGHI), and was sponsored by EY. The survey comprises of more than 2,000 global HHS professionals – from India, Australia, Italy, UAE, the UK and the US. 359 respondents were from India.

The research passed through the phase when Covid related disruptions was about to put HHS providers through the most extreme stress test in living memory. ‘While the outbreak was catastrophic in its effects, it presented the researchers with an exceptional opportunity to study the sector’s behavior during a pivotal moment,’ the paper noted.

From this perspective, today’s article will explore, from various different sources, across the world, how Covid-triggered rapid development and adoption of digital solutions are in the process of making a paradigm shift in the healthcare space. It spans across – health care service providers, its users, and practitioners – including pharma industry and the tech-solution developers.

Consequently, the question arises, would healthcare industry’s innovative spirit of 2020 is robust enough for taking a quantum leap in this space, as we move on. That space will span across – conceptualization and development of new health care products and services, alongside their consumption pattern and consumer behavioral dynamics. And, right up to the adoption of cutting-edge digital technology for commensurate delivery mechanisms. Let me start with some key findings in this area from the above report.

Some key findings – Global and India:

The findings of the Report titled, ‘Embracing digital: is COVID-19 the catalyst for lasting change?’ published on January 13, 2021, ferreted out some interesting facts, with details. These encompass both global and Indian scenario, in this area.

Some key findings – Global:

  • Pre-pandemic – just 18% of HHS providers had managed to embed digital tools in the way they work – mostly, due to lack of funds, regulatory restrictions, and risk aversion. However, the pandemic outbreak swept away many of these barriers, as 62% of organizations have now started using digital technologies and data solutions, globally.
  • 48% organizations are planning to continue investing in technology during the next three years, with 33% expecting more than 50%, and 19% more than 100% increase in investment.
  • While phone consultations are being offered by 81 % of HHS organizations (up from 39 % before the pandemic), 71 % of organizations offering video consultations (up from 22 % before the pandemic).
  • Respondents’ top objectives for future investment towards rapid adoption of digital solutionsinclude, transforming ways of working and service delivery, improving quality of care, reducing the administrative load, enabling better communications, and streamlining work processes.
  • However, 47% of respondents think, the introduction of digital and data solutions was a temporary measure to address challenges during the pandemic.

Some key findings – India:

The Covid-19 pandemic triggered fast acceleration of the adoption of digital technologies by the HHS in India, as well.

  • 51% of respondents from India reported that their respective organizations have increased the use of digital technologies and data solutions since the Covid-19 outbreak.
  • Increased staff productivity reported for 74 % of respondents’ organizations with 75% reporting that digital solutions have been effective in delivering better outcomes for patients and service users.
  • Remote consultations, such as, phone and video consultations have witnessed a greater increase in India than the global average. 86 % of Indian organizations are now offering phone consultation (up from 48 % before pandemic) and 83 % for video consultations (up from 33 % before pandemic).
  • Around three fourth of the respondents in India reported positive experiences with digital technologies and data solutions with the number of people using online consultations in India recording a threefold increase.

This encouraging trend and pattern needs to be consolidated, analyzed, and leveraged – for sharper actionable insights for the development of more contemporary products and services to delight the pharma and health care stakeholders.

A key missing link in India:

The digital health transformation of India’s healthcare system during Covid pandemic was also captured in another article, published by Elsevier Connect on February 23, 2021. It reiterated, although the pandemic has made an overall detrimental impact impacted on India, ‘it has brought about an avalanche of positive changes, including the adoption of digital health technologies and significant changes to the way care is delivered.’ Looking ahead, ‘With the launch of national public health initiatives, India has an incredible opportunity to become a digital health leader,’ the paper predicted.

However, the author also pointed out, unambiguously, that the health care crisis caused by the pandemic has also brought to the fore a key missing link – the need for updated and near real-time availability of trusted information. This observation is more relevant now than ever before, especially considering India’s National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).

National Digital Health Mission – a new ambition:

While addressing the nation on August 15, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the National Digital Health Mission of India. He said in his speech, “From today, the national digital health mission will begin. It will revolutionize the Indian healthcare sector. Every Indian will be issued a health ID that will act like a healthcare account, storing details of all the tests done, existing diseases, diagnoses, medicines prescribed.”

The objectives of the mission are to establish a core digital health database, creating a system of Electronic Health Records (EHR) based on international standards, establish data ownership pathways, so that patients become the owner of their health records, and promoting health data analytics and medical research. This initiative by any standard, is expected to be a game changer, as and when it comes to fruition.

Subsequently, on June 25, 2020, the Union Ministry of Health, reportedly, wrote to the principal secretaries (health) of all states and union territories, asking them to extend full support to the NHA to create four registries — doctors, health infrastructure, health IDs and personal health records of patients. It also instructed the states to send the required details within the stipulated timeline without breaching the norms of data privacy.

Need to avoid any possible missing link in the NDHM:

However, the Harvard Business Review article, published on June 12, 2020, asserted that the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic not only presented a “mind-boggling array of challenges” exposed the limitations of the electronic health record (EHR) in helping physicians deliver care, especially in the United States.

It suggested: transformation of the EHR from an emphasis on a ‘person’s medical record’ – to an emphasis on their ‘plan for health’ and from a focus on ‘supporting clinical transactions’ to a focus on ‘delivering information’ to the provider and the patient, will be more meaningful.

Thus, it’s time for a new kind of EHR system in today’s perspective, as suggested by the HBR article, besides other domain experts. I am sure, competent authorities will take note of this transformation required in EHR initiatives to avoid any missing link in the new digital healthcare space in India.

As the above Elsevier Connect paper also observed, with the launch of national public health initiatives, such as, Ayushman Bharat and National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), India harbors an incredible opportunity to showcase its world class digital health ecosystem for all in the country.

To help fructify these projects, all key stakeholders – health care service providers, its users, and practitioners – including the pharma industry and the tech solution companies, need to get intimately involved with a common agenda in place. Falling behind may invite regrets, later.

Nonetheless, well before that – the common missing links in India - near real-time availability of credible data, trusted and verified information for adopting digital health for patients that will need to be provided by clinicians in a seamless manner, should be carefully identified and addressed.

New steps into digital healthcare are on the way:

Several new steps into digital healthcare have been taken in various countries of the world. One such initiative is ‘Internet Hospitals.’ These are basically an internet-medical-platform combining online and offline access for medical institutions to provide a variety of telehealth services directly to patients.

A Deloitte paper – ‘Internet Hospitals in China: The new step into digital healthcare,’ published on March 16, 2021 says: ‘Online hospitals are typically offshoots of offline medical organizations. The combination of Internet with health care will drive the medical industry’s transformation into a health service provider from a health care supplier, distributing resources equally and enhancing efficiency,’ moving ‘towards future smart health care.’

Conclusion:

Covid-19 has created a new focus on the digital health ecosystem in India, for accelerating the use of digital technology to radically advance health care systems and save lives. Today, many are experiencing that, big data, analytics, artificial intelligence, remote learning, and data inter-connectivity, can make a real difference to the work of HHS professionals in India.

Embracing digital with accelerated speed during the pandemic, has reportedly started making a significant positive impact on the cycle of the patient’s clinical assessment, treatment, and monitoring. With increasing use, it would reduce the cost of health care, improve patient access to affordable treatment and care services, when many patients’ journey for disease treatment will start online, and get directed to the optimal care setting either physically or virtually.

The article on health-tech, published in the Fortune India on February 20, 2021, has aptly concluded: ‘Eventually health technology infusion in the Indian healthcare ecosystem will be the route to enhance patient-centric healthcare accessibility, affordability, and sustainability. The advent of 5G technology in the country is poised to further catalyze this momentum.’ This, in turn, will facilitate ushering in more game changing steps into digital healthcare, creating a new ecosystem, greater awareness and a keen desire to remain healthy for all.

Thus, from the GIGO perspective, as defined by the Cambridge Dictionary, I reckon, in pharma’s digital initiatives, especially in India, a key factor needs to be carefully addressed. This is – fathoming existence of any missing link involving near real-time availability of trusted information and credible data generation, which could indeed be a great spoiler of any painstaking digital adoption project.

By: Tapan J. Ray     

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

 

 

A New Pharma Marketing Combo Places Patients At The Center Of Business

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As discussed in several of my previous articles, most pharma players need to walk the talk on ‘patient-centricity’, coming out of prevailing high decibel lip-service. This is not an easy task, and far from being every company’s cup of tea.

Effective implementation of patient-centricity by an organization, entails understanding of behavioral science by today’s pharma marketers. Many of them, I am sure, have already studied it in Business Schools. Be that as it may, by harnessing this scientific knowledge, the insights that they will acquire on primary and secondary pharma customers, will be unique. The important cues that will come out of the insights, will help them create well- targeted strategic marketing game plans having a cutting-edge. When implemented on an ongoing basis, this will help catalyze a win-win business environment, for reaping a rich harvest over a long period of time.

In today’s article, I shall dwell on the increasing relevance of an interesting combo of behavioral science – predictive analytics and patient-centricity, for a sustainable business performance. This is especially for the millennial pharma marketers to try and implement. With blessings from the top management, this model will help them jettison – the increasingly counterproductive – ‘gratification model’ of pharma business, imbibing ‘patient-centric ones’ – that patients themselves can feel and will appreciate.

The basic requirements to make it happen:

The basic requirements of the pharma companies to make it happen is to gradually move away from its core strategy of ‘buying prescriptions’ that often happens through contentious means. No doubt, it has the power to create a temporary strong brand push. But is definitely not sustainable, as these usually go against patients’ health and economic interest.

For a sustainable demand for a pharma brand, pharma companies would need to design a strong ‘brand pull’ in the new paradigm. This would prompt drug companies acquiring deep insights on how to leave a cherishing treatment experience with the patients for the brand. This would, consequently, have a strong-positive rub-off effect on the corporate image, as well. Likewise, a doctor would also like to know, how to create similar patient-experience with his treatment, to draw more of them in the future. This is diametrically opposite to generation of demand for a brand through ‘payment to doctors for prescriptions.’

Pharma marketer’s understanding of behavioral science is necessary:

This is because, it helps to get targeted deep-stick studies done on the way pharma customers, such as doctors and patients, behave. The span of the behavioral study should commence from the onset of a patient’s search for a disease treatment process, right up to when the individual gets an ‘after treatment experience’ – good, bad or average. It is, therefore, necessary for a drug company, to become more patient-centric, rather than self-serving, for achieving the desired goals of pharma business, consistently.

This wisdom would enable pharma marketers developing the following five broad insights for being ‘patient-centric’:

  • Understanding the process of thinking of a type or a group of patients about making their treatment choices. It could often mean not going for any treatment at all, or not adhering to prescribed treatment.
  • What makes patients behave the way they do, while undergoing a treatment?
  • Understanding both mental and physical feelings of patients while suffering from certain disease conditions, for effective engagement with them.
  • What type of holistic treatment experience the patients would value most to cherish.
  • What type of treatment experience the doctors would value most to provide to patients to enhance their practice and professional reputation.

While doing so, pharma marketers would need to clearly harmonize the two areas – one pertaining to doctors, and the other involving patients. This is important for the purpose of a clear focus on a comprehensive brand strategy formulation, based on well-analyzed data.

The key point to note, however – a creative blend of behavioral science with new-age pharma marketing tools can bring a sea change in the business performance of a company, along with providing a delightful treatment experience to patients with its drugs.

Generation of a huge pool of customer behavioral data is the starting point:

The first step of making a patient-centric organization is the generation of a huge pool of data on customer-behavior dynamics. That said, making predictions on the company’s customer behavior for future outcomes of the brand performance, from this data pool, would involve the use data analytics, which for this purpose will be ‘predictive data analytics.’

The use of ‘predictive analytics’ in pharma marketing:

In my article titled, ‘Data: The New Magic Wand For Pharma Business Excellence’, published in this Blog on October 01, 2018, I discussed the importance of well targeted data-based decision-making process, across the pharma functional areas. Taking this idea forward, let me explain here the critical role that ‘predictive data analytics’ can play in acquiring insights of the trend of behavior of the customers, especially patients and doctors.

Simply put, ‘predictive analytics’ is a type of advanced analytics, which are used to get deep insights and making well-informed predictions, based on both past and current data feeds. In pharma, especially for the subject that I am discussing, it pertains to insights on doctor and patient behavior related predictions, encompassing the entire span of a disease treatment process. Skillfully executed, this will strengthen, at least, two critical success factors in the pharma business:

  • Acquiring predictable insights on the targeted customers’ behavioral trend and pattern any given time-frame.
  • With such customer insights making the organization ‘patient-centric’ for more effective engagement with its customers.

Combining the above two points, I can well say, by analyzing a huge pool of data from behavioral-science-based information – ‘predictive analytics’ helps acquire deep insights on predictable customer behavior, with high precision. These are so useful, not just for better engagement with doctors, patients and other stakeholders, but also in making the organization patient-centric, in true sense. Nevertheless, many still question - Is ‘patients centricity’ really feasible in the pharma industry?

Is ‘patient centricity’ really feasible in the pharma industry?

This question was also raised in the 2017 paper titled, “Patient Centricity and Pharmaceutical Companies: Is It Feasible?” -  published in Vol. 51(4) of the Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science (TIRS). The paper captures patient-centricity as integrated measures for listening to and partnering with patients, and placing patients’ well-being at the core of all business initiatives. It represents a holistic approach to the disease management process.

The concept brand-oriented patient-centricity is not too difficult to understand. But, I reckon, the difficulty lies somewhere else. It is to fathom where and how a pharma player can predictably add differentiating value, for those patients who need a right kind of treatment. That’s why, the question of feasibility of ‘patient-centricity’ is being raised.

There is no doubt that such an effort presupposes considerable insights on patients’ behavior, alongside the requisite expertise to predict these, for different time-frames, with a great degree of precision. This not an insurmountable task, either, particularly in today’s paradigm – with state-of-the-art ‘predictive data analytic’ tools. This prompts me to believe, it is very much possible to make a truly patient centric organization, assuming that there will exist a strong will to survive in the business and prosper!

Are ‘predictive data analytics’ different from other analytics?

Yes, the following two key points make ‘predictive data analytics’ quite different from other data analytics:

  • General data analytics usually help acquire insights on the past and present.
  • Whereas, predictive data analytics help looking at near-mid and long-term future, regarding most probable customer behavior pattern and trend, with great accuracy.

Currently, with the ability to generate relevant and real-time big data pool, together with application of machine learning, data-mining and statistical modelling – predictive analytics have the power to help acquire future insights. This insight is totally data-based, sans any gut-feel. Thus, effective use of this process can enable pharma players effectively predict trends and behaviors of doctors and patients for meaningful engagement with them for their chosen brands.

Has potential to create a win-win outcome: 

To ensure a game-changing payback from this process, crafty dovetailing of the following three steps, complementing each other is critical:

  • Generate a huge pool of real-time data on doctors’ and patients’ behavior pattern, for a pre-selected time-frame.
  • With the knowledge of behavioral science, help analyze them with predictive analytics.
  • Understand from the results, the trend of behavioral dynamics of selected customers from the brand perspective.
  • Frame rewarding business strategies to create a win-win situation, involving both – the pharma players and the patients.

Some pharma players are on the ball:

One of the key reasons for imbibing patient-centricity, is the proliferation of ‘me-too’ types of brands – both patented and generics. It has started happening even in the market of high-priced oncology medicines, with not much difference in price between them.

In this situation, predictive data analytic tools can help understand multi-variable relationship between patient’s needs, their interaction with physicians, the oncologist’s prescriptions to them, type of physician-engagement of drug companies and patients’ experience before, during and after the treatment. This is not an easy task, nor all pharma companies have wherewithal of doing this, to gain brand market share, significantly.

With predictive data analytics, many pharma companies are keeping eyes on the ball, using it in different business areas, such as drug discovery. But not many of them, are using this combo-approach to make a patient-centric pharma organization. It is just a matter of time, I reckon, that global pharma will decide to move in this direction – fortified with deep pockets, but with a battered reputation, and facing a hostile pricing environment, across the world.    

Conclusion:

Customer insights, acquired through the crafty application of behavioral science, have immense potential to make sales and marketing decisions more informed, than what it is today. In tandem, it will help create a ‘worth remembering’ treatment experience for the patients with the brand used.

From this perspective, I reckon, skillful application of behavioral science to generate a huge pool of data, and their analysis with ‘predictive analytics’ will go a long way to create a truly ‘patient-centric’ organization.

When executed by a well-integrated expert team of market research, medical affairs and pharma marketing professionals, this new marketing-combo-approach has the potential to fetch a game-changing performance outcome, placing patients at the center of business. The net gain to the organization will be much more than the sum total of what each of these steps can ensue individually – remarkably enhancing corporate reputation, in tandem.

By: Tapan J. Ray     

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

Data: The New ‘Magic Wand’ For Pharma Business Excellence?

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Pharma companies focus more on defending their current practices, rather than doing things differently. A September 24, 2014 article by Bain & Company, titled ‘New Paths to Value Creation in Pharma’, made this observation.

This happens regardless of the credence that leaders who change too early, risk losing attractive cash flows from established business models, and those that move too late risk being disrupted by emerging competitors. However, analyzing the recent history, the authors observed that pharma leaders have more often erred on the side of holding on to old models for too long, leaving room for more aggressive players to disrupt them.

Analysis of the 10 companies in the above study also found: “With their sustained success, these companies refute the widely held assumption that serendipitous innovation is the key to success in pharma.” However, on the ground all 10 of these large global drug companies have prospered despite industry-wide trends such as declining R&D productivity and the demise of the primary care blockbuster model. The authors explained: “This is because they operate in a high-margin environment.”

Starting with this scenario, I shall submit in this article, why the importance of well targeted data-based decision-making process, across the pharma functional areas, is now more than ever before.

Rewriting notes in the business playbook, taking cue from new data:

Having charted in the high margin ambience, Big Pharma exhibit reluctance in recomposing notes in the business playbook, based on a new set of real-life data. This is essential for sustainable success in a fast-changing business, political and social environment. They keep maintaining a strong belief in what they have been believing, regardless of what a large volume of credible data overwhelmingly indicates. Ongoing near unanimity in their collective decision to further intensify expensive advocacy initiatives in the same direction, continues. Other pharma players follow the same course.

This vicious circle continues sans any positive outcome, neither for pharma, nor for the patients. Already dented reputation of the industry gets more dented. In my various articles in this blog, I deliberated on various areas that merit radical overhaul in the pharma business, including patient-centricity and transforming the business through digitalization.

Use of data and analytics leaves room for a huge improvement in pharma: 

Let me express upfront, I am not trying to say, in any way, that pharma companies, in general, are not making investments for customized data generation or in analytics for use in new drug discovery and development, aiming improved process productivity. But, in many other functional areas, such as drug marketing, stakeholder engagement or even in strategic corporate communication for greater effectiveness, usage of scalable data and modern analytics leave much room for improvement.

Quality of data-use – ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating’: 

As the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, let me give a couple of examples on the quality of data-use and their outcomes in the areas under discussion.

Sizeable data clearly establishes the wish of most stakeholders, including patients for transparency in drug pricing, alongside improved access to affordable medicines. However, Big Pharma and their associates trying to swim against the tide keep advocating how the expensive process of drug innovation merits high drug prices. Understandably, negative public perception towards the industry further intensifies. Assuming that data analytics are extensively put to use while developing such communication, can anyone possibly cite such efforts as examples of productive use data?

Similarly, if any pharma company, for example, Sanofi besides many others, claims that it aims at ‘promoting and sustaining ethics and integrity in all our activities’ and has developed a comprehensive body of policies and standards, to provide guidance on a range of challenges specific to pharma industry like anti-bribery. However, in practice, we hear and read, even very recently that ‘Sanofi to pay more than $25 million to resolve corruption charges’ and which is not a solitary instance, either. The question, therefore, surfaces, how can data play any role in the fight against corruption by uncovering, preventing and deterring corruption.

‘How data is changing the fight against corruption:’

There are many published research papers, which established that effective use of data can prevent such corruption, and surely in cases of alleged repeat or multiple offenders in the pharma industry. One such paper titled, ‘How data is changing the fight against corruption,’ published in the OECD Forum Network on February 13, 2018, also reconfirms this point. It says:Data – both big and open – is indeed changing the anti-corruption landscape, by uncovering, preventing and deterring corruption.

Is pharma leveraging the data power for holistic business success?

I am not sure, but available evidences suggest most of them are not – at least, aiming for holistic business success. This is because, in the pharma industry, including Big Pharma, as I wrotein the past, alleged corrupt practices are widespread and continue unabated. This is quite evident from the national and international business magazines and media reports, coming rather frequently. The Transparency International Report titled “Corruption in the pharmaceutical sector – Transparency International 2016”, discusses the raging issue across the various functions of many drug companies.

Besides pharma and biotech R&D, there are many other critical areas, where leveraging data power with expert application of analytics, pharma players can reap rich harvest in terms of sustainable long-term business growth. However, for that there are some prerequisites, like – an open mind, unbiased approach, a mindset to accept reality as they are, and then neutralize the unfavorable ones with cerebral power. Trying to rationalize what is not working makes the situation worse, more complex, creating stronger headwinds.

Many sources of data capturing, still limited usage:

There are many sources of abundant data availability of various kinds, for pharma players. However, targeted data gathering of scale and appropriate analysis of the same, still remain rather limited in pharma. For example, while marketing their brands, numerous drug players in India don’t venture going beyond limited sources for data capturing for broad analysis. Such data may usually include, syndicated retail and prescription audits, besides internal sales and marketing details together with associated expenses or productivity related statistics. Data mining for dip-stick analysis is done seldom, according to industry sources.

Additionally, there are copious others who operate predominantly on ‘gut feeling’ and hearsay, sans any customer related meaningful and real-time data. When we create hype on patient-centricity, and alongside witness the general outcomes of such approaches, it requires no rocket science to fathom how much intelligent data input has gone behind such strategies.

The present system itself generates an enormous amount of real-time data in various areas, though most are not effectively utilized for weighty payoff, especially in pharma. The ongoing process of data generation also includes, drug innovation initiatives, manufacturing, supply-chain, distributor–wholesaler-retailer activities, digital apps and different websites, besides scores of other sources. But, the information, as stated above, apparently, is hardly analyzed through analytics to obtain targeted strategic inputs. Leave aside, intelligent application of the same to scale newer heights of all-round business success.

Data generation for swimming against the tide of public perception:  

Although, it’s not yielding positive results, I understand, pharma keeps spending a lot, both at the company level or through their trade bodies, to rationalize what they want the stakeholders to believe. For example,’ drug price control limits access to drugs’. Various reports to this effect are made public and used for the aggressive advocacy campaigns, though hardly taken seriously by those who matter.

Any price control, I reckon, may not be supported in ordinary circumstances. However, drug price control has definitely helped India to improve access to drugs without impeding any reasonable growth of the industry. That 5 or 10-year CAGR of the drug industry comes in double digit, despite continuation of drug price control regime for the last 48 years, offers a testimony to this fact. It’s a different issue, though, that Indian public health care system remains in shamble, even in the present regime. The lackadaisical attitude of all governments on public health related areas, is held responsible for this failure.

Conclusion:

The bottom-line is, expensive data generation effort, when gets primarily driven by self-serving motives, becomes increasingly counterproductive, as cited above. More informed stakeholders of date, including patients, probably other than the stock markets, want to see pharma players more in sync with the ground realities, and are acting accordingly. Thus, for sustainable business success, saner senses should prevail to generate adequate amounts of credible and targeted data, analyze them properly through analytics and use these with cerebral power to create a win-win situation in the pharma business.

In my view, any comprehensive ‘Decision Support System’ of an organization should go beyond the generation of mammoth internal business-related data. It should be integrated with the same kind of targeted external data of scale, with the use of modern analytics. This needs to happen – both at the macro level – as an organization, and also at the micro level – with its various functions. The corporate illusion of always ‘operating in a high-margin environment’ in pharma, will not guarantee sustainable business success, any longer.

From this perspective, using well-integrated internal and external data as the bedrock of all strategic decisions in pharma, I reckon, would soon prove to be a ‘magic wand,’ as it were, for pharma business excellence.

By: Tapan J. Ray    

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.

 

Relevance of Artificial Intelligence In Creative Pharma Marketing

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Keeping pace with the challenge of change globally, the macro environment in the pharma business is also undergoing a metamorphosis. This includes areas, such as, strong product pricing pressure, dwindling new product pipelines, increasing operating expenses, stringent regulatory requirements, rising stakeholder expectations, and several others. All these developments collectively, are making the drug companies, both global and local, feel the tailwind of various intensities, in their efforts to achieve the corporate financial goals, more than ever before.

Despite this continuous change, most pharma players’ overall strategic business models to meet with the increasing economic expectations of the shareholders, other investors and the stock markets, have hardly undergone any path breaking, radical, or disruptive advancement, just yet. This includes even the most critical interface between an organization and the consumers – pharma sales and marketing.

That said, it is not uncommon, either, to witness some sporadic initiatives of major business process reengineering with sophisticated digital applications. Interestingly, all these measures are mostly replacements or for realignment of the same age old, and traditional strategic pharma sales and marketing models. Most of these are aimed at adding more speed and accuracy to the same business core process, along with ensuring greater management information and control to support the decision making process.

Despite this palpable environmental shift, general inertia within the pharma industry to respond to all these, with commensurate strategic game plans of surgical accuracy, is glaring. Currently, the general response to this transformation is mostly reactive and traditionally defensive in nature, rather than proactive, as the overall business environment around the industry keep becoming increasingly demanding. Most pharma players may not, but the time keeps galloping ahead, offering a mind boggling rapid advances in disruptive technological innovations – the potential game changers for its several business domains.

In the midst of such all-embracing changes, yet another disruptive technology – ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)’, is prompting many business leaders to step on to a brand new paradigm, making use of AI to the extent required, especially, while preparing a detail strategic roadmap for the business with high precision.

A clear intent to seize this moment is now visible in many industries, though in varying degrees and scale, but surely it is happening. This is vindicated by the gradual increase in demand for AI, across a wide variety of its application areas.

Marketing to turn upside down?

On October 26, 2016 an article published in ‘The Huffington Post’ on how AI could ‘Turn the Marketing World Upside Down’ indicated its disruptive impact on the way innovative marketing strategies are conceived, created and implemented on the ground.

The article gave an interesting example of how paradigm shift follows a predictable pattern of development that starts with substitution, followed by augmentation, modification, and finally redefinition.

For example, the evolution of today’s smartphones also followed the same pattern, as follows:

  • First replaced simpler landline phones
  • Then adapted with the addition of a camera
  • And finally redefined “phone” altogether, not just by replacing cameras, pagers, and many functions of personal computers, but by being able to perform with great precision an incredible number of various other serious requirements, well supported by related digital apps.

With the application of AI in marketing, the conventional ball game right from conception, to charting out and execution of marketing strategies, will be catapulted to a new and fascinating orbit altogether. I have no intent to romanticizing it. This is going to happen sooner than later, as we move on.

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

In a simple and commonly understandable way ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI)’ can be explained as the theory and development of computer systems, which are able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as, machine learning, visual perception, image processing, speech recognition, decision-making, and language processing, besides many others.

In the Hollywood film industry, several sci-fi movies have already been made, based on AI as the core theme. Some of these international blockbuster films are ‘The Terminator’, ‘Transcendence’, ‘The Matrix’, ‘Ex Machina’, ‘Ex Machina’ or even ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, among many others.

Some concern, but…:

Alongside, a serious concern has also been expressed by some global icons, that the evolution of AI could reach a dangerous threshold, where mankind will no longer remain in control of the creation of its own progeny, besides other living beings. This could, as they believe, jeopardize the continuity of an entire civilization, at least, in its present form.

In 2014, globally acclaimed Professor Stephen Hawking commented in an  interview with the BBC: “Humans, limited by slow biological evolution, couldn’t compete and would be superseded by A.I.”

In fact, in July 2015, Professor Hawking reportedly joined Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and many others, warning that AI can potentially be more dangerous than nuclear weapons.

In the same year, even Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, reportedly expressed his concerns, saying, “I am in the camp that is concerned about super intelligence…”

On the other hand, despite such apprehensions, AI based technology keeps evolving at a rapid pace, with the funding in AI research taking giant leaps forward. The technology has already found its cutting edge extensive applications in several warfare. We now hear almost every day about unmanned drones not just doing defense surveillance, but destroying strategic targets with jaw-dropping precision. Or for that matter, use of robots has become rather common to diffusive explosive devices of various kinds, intensity, and planted in important places to kill people. As reported by the media, ‘autonomous and self-aware robots to diminish the need for human soldiers to risk their lives.’

Google’s driverless cars also use similar AI technology offering advanced analytics-based algorithms, machine learning and deep learning processes, which could well be another game changing example in this area.

The benefits far outweigh the risks?

Be that as it may, the benefits of AI seem to far outweigh the risks, in various areas. This includes its strategic applications in the pharma industry.

This gets vindicated by the February 2016 research report of ‘Markets and Markets’ (claimed as the world’s second largest firm in publishing premium market research reports, per year), which estimated that AI market would record a turnover of around US$ 5.05 Billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 53.65 percent between 2015 and 2020. This market is currently dominated by the ‘Machine Learning’ technology, as it provides the computers with the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed, and are capable of updating themselves when exposed to new data.

Some of the key players operating in the artificial intelligence market are IBM Corp. (U.S.), Microsoft Corp. (U.S.), Google Inc. (U.S.), IPsoft (U.S.), FinGenius Corp. (U.K.), Rocket Fuel Inc. (U.S.), Mobileye N.V. (Israel), Kensho Technologies, Inc. (U.S.), Sentient Technologies (U.S.), and Zephyr Health (U.S.), the report revealed.

AI in pharma:

Over the last decade, AI is being increasingly used by various industries, as a key support to the strategic decision making process, in various areas of business. Understandably, in pharma its use has been rather limited, as on date. Nevertheless, there are several key domains within the pharma industry, where effective use of AI has the potential to be a critical performance enhancer. These areas include, not just in discovery research, or in clinical trials, or in sales and marketing, but also in setting the right strategic direction for the company.

However, in this article, I shall focus mainly on the application of AI in pharma marketing.

AI in pharma marketing:

Although AI is now being sparsely used, it is expected to be more widely used in pharma research and development. It also shows tremendous potential in developing creative sales and marketing strategies, with great accuracy.

So far, pharma marketing strategies are based more on the qualitative data, some traditional quantitative data, and a huge dose of marketers ‘gut feel’. It continues to happen, when the world, including India, is moving towards innovative data driven decision models. If one chooses to, now a pharma marketer also can make effective use of an abundantly available wide variety of quality data to feel the pulse of the markets, consumers and any identified issues, with great precision. Thereafter, based on these real life hard facts, the team needs to put in place for implementation, with an open and innovative mind, a creative sales and marketing game plan, to achieve the set goals.

Would that mean, a pharma marketer should necessarily be an expert in a huge volume of data analysis? I don’t guess so. ‘Machine Learning’, ‘Deep Learning’ and other analytics-based processes of AI can help them enormously to do so.

AI based analytics has now been proved to be far more reliable than any human analysis of the humongous volume of different kinds of quality data. Doing so is even beyond the capacity of any conventional computers that a marketing professional generally uses for this purpose.

The prime requirement for this purpose, therefore, is not just huge volume of data per se, but good quality of a decent volume of data, that a state of the art analytics would be able to meaningfully deliver, that is tailor made to meet the specific requirements of pharma marketers to create a cutting edge marketing strategy.

Areas of AI use in pharma – some examples:

AI will be extremely useful to arrive at the most effective strategic options available, with pros and cons, to achieve the core sales and marketing objectives of the organization, both long and short term.

It can also add immense value right at the decision making stages to determine the key ingredients of an effective strategic plan in a number of critical areas, such as:

  • Arriving at the optimal product-portfolio-mix with the right expense tag attached to each brand
  • Deep learning about market dynamics, customer behavior and their interplay
  • Matching unmet customer needs with enhanced and differentiated value offerings – both tangible and intangible
  • Effective bundling of brand offerings and associated services for each patient segment
  • Selecting the right mix of communication channels, including social media, to ensure maximum productivity in reaching each category of the target audience
  • Detailed strategic blueprint for each type of stakeholder engagement, along with related value offerings
  • Arriving at the best possible resource-mix with the available budget
  • Real-time monitoring of each strategic action steps, consistently, making quick changes on the run, if and when required

Pharma AI platforms are already available:

There are a number of AI platforms now available for the pharmaceutical companies, across the world. For example, in September 2015, by a Press Release, Eularis – a leading provider of next-generation advanced marketing analytics to the Pharma industry, announced the release of the E-VAI, the latest development in sophisticated machine learning technology delivering next-generation analytics and decision making for Pharma marketers globally.

Another recent example of AI in this area, as well, is ‘Salesforce Einstein’. It delivers advanced AI capabilities in sales, service, and marketing, and enables anyone to build AI-powered apps that get smarter with every interaction. According to Salesforce, it will enable everyone in every role and industry to use AI to be their best.

Conclusion:

The use of AI in pharma is still in its nascent stage today. However, for a sustainable business excellence in its various domains, AI is increasingly proving to be of great relevance, now and also in the future. Sales and marketing is one such domains.

With the passage of time, both the macro and micro pharma business operating environments are changing fast, primarily driven by changing expectations of stakeholders, the public at large, and disruptive algorithmic technical innovations, based on advanced science, statistics and mathematics.

The scope to effectively utilize the full potential of advanced algorithmic technical tools, is huge. It is easier now to capture a massive volume of pharma related high quality raw data of different kinds, for tailor-made innovative analysis, with the help of AI based analytics, while creating cutting-edge strategic game plans.

Nonetheless, pharma players apparently continue to chart the same strategic frontier where there are many footsteps to follow. Many of them have restricted themselves to no more than digitally re-engineering the same overall business processes that they have been already following, since long. Just a few of them are making use of the leading edge analytics involving AI, such as ‘Machine Learning’, ‘Deep Learning’, ‘Visual Perception’, ‘Image Processing, besides many others, which can be more ‘patient-centric’ and at the same help deliver a strong business performance.

Thus, quicker adaptation, and thereafter continuous scaling up applications of high quality AI based analytics in creative pharma marketing, are not just of immense relevance today, they also bring with them the commensurate potential for sustainable excellence in financial performance of the organization, fueled by critical early mover advantage.

By: Tapan J. Ray   

Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this article are entirely my own, written in my individual and personal capacity. I do not represent any other person or organization for this opinion.