The Secret Formula: Fueling a Pharma Company’s Health
From Concept to Icon: Successful Brand Management (Part 20)
The Scripting of Success: What Builds Pharma’s Health?
From Concept to Icon: Successful Brand Management (Part 20)
Organizational health refers to an organization’s ability to function effectively, adapt to change, and achieve its objectives while maintaining a positive internal environment. It encompasses various aspects such as clear communication, strong leadership, employee engagement, aligned goals, and efficient processes. It is the overall well-being and effectiveness of an organization. It’s a holistic concept that goes beyond just financial performance and looks at how well the organization functions internally.
What happens in a healthy organization
Everyone in the company understands and works towards the vision and mission coherently.
Here is a small real story to elaborate on this. In the small coastal town of Karwar, the lighthouse stood tall, its beacon guiding ships through stormy seas. Anant Nadkarni, the wise old lighthouse keeper, was deeply devoted to the good health and prosperity of Karwar.
Anant Nadkarni instilled in his staff a profound understanding of their mission: to keep sailors of passing ships safe.
Every member of his team, whether experienced or an apprentice, shared this vision. They worked tirelessly together, ensuring the lighthouse always shone brightly. Their united efforts saved many ships and boosted people’s confidence in Karwar. Trade flourished, and the health of Karwar became robust.
Today, Karwar is the largest base of the Indian Navy.
The health of Karwar was the main concern of Anant Nadkarni. The health of your brand and the health of your company should be your priority.
A learning organization constantly seeks to improve and adapt, which is a key aspect of organizational health.
A learning organization prospers and flourishes on continuous improvement and adaptability, essential for maintaining organizational health. By fostering a culture of on-going learning and innovation, it ensures resilience and sustained success. This proactive approach not only enhances performance but also equips the organization to navigate challenges and seize opportunities effectively.
For a robust health, learning organizations are often more innovative because they are open to new ideas and approaches.
In 1870, in the bustling medieval city of San Antonio, a young physician named Hugh H. Young was eager to learn more about medicine for the good of the health of people. While his master taught him traditional recipes, Hugh however was drawn to the unknown. So he shifted to John Hopkins Hospital in Virginia.
He experimented with new ingredients and techniques, often defying his teacher’s warnings. One day, his curiosity led him to discover a powerful new potion that could heal wounds rapidly. It was mercurochrome. His curious mind, his innovation and creativity, and his willingness to explore beyond the known, had revolutionized wound healing.
This is exactly what happens in learning pharma organizations
When a company encourages learning, employees feel more engaged and motivated.
A culture of learning empowers employees. When a company encourages continuous development, employees feel valued and invested in their growth. This fosters a sense of engagement, as they see opportunities to contribute meaningfully. Motivated employees are more likely to take on challenges, innovate, and ultimately drive the company’s success.
For a pharmaceutical company, another crucial factor is the number of prescriptions written for its brands. The total number of these prescriptions indicates the company’s health
Let me tell you two real stories, of course to guard confidentiality, I have changed the names.
The Rise and Fall of Wellness Pharmaceuticals
In the bustling pharmaceutical hub of Hyderabad, two college friends, Arjun and Priya, founded Wellness Pharmaceuticals with dreams of revolutionizing healthcare in India. Their company started small but grew steadily over the years, developing a range of medications for common ailments.
Initially, Wellness Pharmaceuticals thrived. Their flagship pain reliever, “PainAway,” gained popularity among doctors and patients alike. Prescriptions for PainAway flowed in steadily, and the company’s revenues soared. Buoyed by this success, Arjun and Priya expanded their product line, investing heavily in research and development.
Five years in, Wellness Pharmaceuticals was the talk of the industry. Their stock price had quadrupled, and they were hiring new employees every month. The company’s health seemed robust, mirroring the high volume of prescriptions their drugs were generating.
However, as Wellness Pharmaceuticals grew larger, Arjun and Priya became less involved in day-to-day operations. They delegated more responsibilities to their expanding management team, including oversight of their sales force and doctor outreach programs.
Gradually, subtle changes began to occur. The sales team, under pressure to meet ambitious targets, focused more on short-term gains than building lasting relationships with doctors. They spent less time educating physicians about Wellness products and more time on flashy promotions and gifts.
Meanwhile, a new competitor entered the market with a pain reliever that boasted fewer side effects than PainAway. This rival company invested heavily in clinical trials and doctor education programs, slowly winning over physicians who had previously prescribed PainAway.
At first, the decline in PainAway prescriptions was barely noticeable. But over the next two years, the numbers began to drop more sharply. Other Wellness products faced similar challenges as competitors outmaneuvered them in gaining doctors’ trust and preference.
Arjun and Priya, caught up in high-level strategic planning, failed to notice these warning signs. They were still focused on expanding the business, opening new manufacturing plants and planning international expansion.
It wasn’t until their quarterly report showed a 30% decline in overall prescriptions that the gravity of the situation became clear. This drop in prescriptions directly translated to falling revenues and market share. Suddenly, Wellness Pharmaceuticals’ health didn’t look so robust anymore.
In a crisis meeting, the company’s medical liaison officer, Dr. Raj, reminded the leadership team of Prof. Chitta Mitra’s wisdom: “The health of a pharma company is directly proportionate to the quantum of prescriptions the company is able to generate for its brands.”
This wake-up call spurred Arjun and Priya into action. They realized they had lost sight of the fundamental truth in the pharmaceutical industry – that each prescription written is a vote of confidence from a doctor, and the sum of these votes determines a company’s success.
They immediately implemented a series of changes:
1. Reinvesting in research to improve their existing products
2. Retraining their sales force to focus on building long-term relationships with doctors
3. Increasing their investment in clinical trials to provide solid evidence of their drugs’ efficacy
4. Developing new, innovative medications to address unmet medical needs
Slowly but surely, Wellness Pharmaceuticals began to recover. As doctors regained confidence in their products, prescriptions started to increase again. With each new prescription written, the company’s health improved incrementally.
Two years later, Wellness Pharmaceuticals had not only recovered but was thriving once more. Arjun and Priya never forgot their hard-learned lesson: in the world of pharmaceuticals, prescriptions are the true measure of a company’s health. They kept a close eye on prescription trends, understanding that these numbers were the pulse of their business.
The story of Wellness Pharmaceuticals became a cautionary tale in India’s pharma industry, reminding companies that no matter how large or successful they become, their health will always be tied to the prescriptions their products generate. It served as a living example of Prof. Mitra’s insight, underscoring the critical link between prescription volumes and a pharmaceutical company’s overall wellbeing.
The Prescription Formula: Fueling a Pharma Company’s Health
In the bustling city of Pharmabad, nestled in the heart of India’s pharmaceutical industry, is a company called MediGenix. Once a small start-up, it had grown into a major player in the pharma market, thanks to years of innovation and hard work. But despite their innovative products and advanced research labs, the company was facing a challenge: declining profits.
Rajan Patil, the CEO of MediGenix, sat in his office one evening, reviewing the latest quarterly reports. The numbers didn’t add up.
“How can a company with such promising products struggle to succeed?” he thought. “It really is! It’s baffling how even companies with ground-breaking products can face unexpected challenges. Sometimes, it boils down to… Suddenly he recalled the golden words of Prof. Chitta Mitra: “The health of a pharma company is directly proportionate to the quantum of prescriptions it can generate.”
The realization hit him like a lightning bolt.
MediGenix had been focusing on product development and research but had overlooked the critical factor that Prof. Mitra emphasized—the power of prescriptions.
In the world of pharma, prescriptions were like gold dust. Each prescription written by a doctor represented not only a vote of confidence in the product but also a direct link to the health and well-being of a patient. It was the lifeblood of the company’s success. No matter how excellent their products were, without doctors recommending them, they would remain invisible on the shelves.
Rajan knew he had to act quickly. He gathered his team of brand managers, field sales managers, and marketing strategists for an urgent meeting. The goal was simple: increase the number of prescriptions written for MediGenix’s brands.
To do this, the team devised a strategy that focused on building stronger relationships with doctors and healthcare professionals. They organized conferences, arranged for doctors to meet the researchers behind their products, and focused on educating medical professionals about the benefits of their drugs.
MediGenix embraced phygital marketing with a Human-to-Human (H2H) approach. They created interactive microsites for all their major brands, encouraging medical representatives to guide doctors to these platforms. The messaging started with an emotional appeal, transitioning smoothly into rational, science-backed information. This blend of emotion and logic resonated with doctors, who began to see MediGenix as a distinctive and innovative company, setting them apart from their competitors. The H2H approach enhanced the trust with doctors
Over the next few months, the change was palpable. Doctors started writing more prescriptions for MediGenix products, and the results became evident. The company’s financial reports showed a marked improvement, reflecting the increased volume of prescriptions. The company’s health was on the mend, just as Prof. Mitra had predicted.
Rajan smiled as he saw the new numbers roll in, realizing that prescriptions were not just pieces of paper but the very pulse of his company. MediGenix was thriving once again, and Rajan knew that as long as doctors continued to prescribe their brands, the company’s future would remain bright.
The story illustrates how critical it is for pharmaceutical companies to focus on the number of prescriptions their brands receive, as this metric directly correlates with the company’s health and success.
Strong brands lead to a healthy organization.
Strong brands can contribute significantly to a company’s health and success.
For a pharmaceutical company, powerful brands create trust with doctors, encouraging them to prescribe more often. When doctors consistently choose a company’s medications, it leads to steady, reliable revenue growth. Colimex Drops by Carter-Wallace is a great example of a trusted product among pediatricians. This trust extends to other brands, leading to more prescriptions for Carter-Wallace brands.
Cardace was a brand which was built on emotions and science. Well-established brands can command higher prices. Doctors are willing to prescribe more for brands they trust and perceive as high-quality. Such brands tend to capture larger market shares, which can lead to economies of scale in production and distribution.
Strong brands have inherent value, contributing to a company’s overall worth. This can attract investors and potentially increase stock prices.
Established brands make it easier to introduce new products or enter new markets, as consumers already trust the brand name.
Strong brands indeed form the backbone of a healthy company, as exemplified by Hindustan Unilever’s success with household names like Surf, Lux, and Liril. In the pharmaceutical industry, this principle holds even greater significance.
Robust pharmaceutical brands built on Good Marketing Practices (GMaP) govern the health of a pharma company. Brands built on GMaP foster trust among healthcare professionals and patients alike. They represent consistency in quality, efficacy, and safety – crucial factors in medicine. For instance, brands like Dr. Reddy’s Omez, or Januvia / Janumet of Merck (MSD) have become synonymous with their respective treatments, fostering patient and doctor loyalty and preference.
Moreover, powerful brands facilitate the introduction of new products under the same umbrella, leveraging existing trust to gain quicker market acceptance. That’s how Sun Pharma was built leveraging Monotrate in cardiology and Famocid in gastroenterology.
Ultimately, a portfolio of strong brands built on prescriptions translates to sustained revenue streams, increased market share, and enhanced company valuation – all indicators of a robust and healthy pharmaceutical organization.