Pharma 2020: Marketing the future

Which path will you take?

By 2020 the current role of the pharmaceutical industry’s sales and marketing workforce will be replaced by a new model as the industry shifts from a mass-market to a target-market approach to increase revenue.

Pharma 2020: Marketing the future - Which path will you take? the third in the Pharma 2020 series, outlines a confluence of dynamics that lead to a new marketing and sales system with a smaller, more agile and smarter sales force. The pharma industry is no longer being rewarded for incremental innovation, me-too products and selling the most pills. Companies will need to demonstrate that their brand adds value to patients and they will have to offer a package of products and health services that the market not only wants and needs but is willing to pay a premium for. The paper highlights some very strong facts related to the need for Pharma to change its marketing and sales functions in order to sustain future growth and performance.

This report outlines in some detail what those changes in the business environment will be and provides pharma companies with indicators of organisational and operational structure that could influence their success and readiness to compete.

This report highlights the fundamental dynamics the industry faces that are reshaping the pharmaceutical marketplace:

  • Chronic disease is soaring
  • Healthcare policy makers and payers are increasingly mandating what doctors can prescribe
  • Pay-for-performance is on the rise
  • The boundaries between different forms of healthcare are blurring
  • The markets of the developing world, where demand for medicines is likely to grow most rapidly over the next 13 years, are highly varied
  • Governments are beginning to focus on prevention rather than treatment
  • Regulators are becoming more risk-averse

In order to be successful, companies will need to stop the aggressive marketing focusing only on the product of the current model and:

  • Recognise the interdependence of the payer, provider and pharmaceutical value chains
  • Invest in developing medicines the market wants to buy
  • Adopt a more flexible approach to pricing
  • Develop plans for marketing and selling specialist therapies
  • Manage multi-country launches and live licensing
  • Form a web of alliances to offer supporting services
  • Create cultures that are suitable for marketing specialist healthcare packages
  • Develop marketing and sales functions that are fit for the future and a knowledge based commercial organisation
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Ron Chopoorian

Ron Chopoorian

Global Health Industries Leader, Partner, PwC United States

Peter Kartscher

Peter Kartscher

Global Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Assurance Leader, PwC Switzerland

Tel: +41 79 5429018

Charlotte Richardson

Charlotte Richardson

Global Health Industries Tax Leader, PwC United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)7793 580784

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