2015年01月24日
pharma 2015
This year has started out great, with lots of opportunities to think about
where the pharma marketing in Japan will be going in 2015 and beyond.
Here are some of my thoughts:
1) generics are for real - we have heard lots of talk over the past few years
about generics, but there were still nagging healthcare professional
concerns about quality & supply issues, as well as general skepticism
among patients regarding switching from branded products. Those days are
gone. The MHLW is pushing the point system hard, almost every major
pharma has its own generic subsidiary or tie-up, and authorized generics
have debuted. Commercial teams should realize that Japan has finally
caught up to the rest of the world in this respect - and talk about "defending"
products after loss of exclusivity has become largely a waste of time and
energy.
2) area strategies will be key - as the market demand for local healthcare
collaboration increases, pharma companies are responding by shifting more
budgeting and tactical decision-making to field management. That means
that head-office commercial teams are going to need to be more flexible in
offering options, and also more sophisticated in gathering performance results
from disparate combinations of initiatives to identify what works best and
share that back into the field.
3) multi-channel advantages await - physicians new CRM solutions are
everywhere, but very few are working well on an operational level. One key
reason is that marketers have not yet adapted their traditional approaches in
order to leverage them properly. Those teams that can leverage insights
generation in order to define a true needs-based segmentation scheme, and
then tweak their market messages and activities to deliver value to priority
segments - instead of relying on across-the-board share of voice - will help
their MR's stand out and create real synergies with the sales force.
4) "beyond the pill" value is required - this has become a recent buzzword,
but MR's lining up in hospital corridors to hammer home product-focused
messages are not going to get face time with their physician customers
anymore. Marketers need to help them talk about patient types, treatment
options, local healthcare networks, and other tangential issues, adding value
to each and every customer interaction in the process.
Exciting times are on the way, as market pressures will help to distinguish
clever, strategic marketing from yesterday's run-of-the-mill approaches.
2013年06月13日
future of healthcare in Paris - Doctors 2.0 & You
together a fantastic cutting-edge event exploring the outlines of the future
of healthcare, especially focusing on digital technologies (mobile, social
media, etc.) and the way these will help shape the evolving relationships
between patients, physicians, and other stakeholders. Thanks to Denise
Silber and everyone who arranged and contributed at @doctors20!
This was my first time to attend such an event outside the US, and I was
struck by the many similarities with the Japan market - single payer public
health-care systems, no branded pharma DTC, unclear regulatory
guidelines regarding the use of new technologies... Within that framework,
there are clearly some extremely motivated people doing some really
innovative things!
-The SickKids Hospital in Toronto that created a "Pain Squad" game for
pediatric oncology patients to better understand and deal with the
difficulties of their condition.
-The NHS Oxford Trust medical support team that officially recommends
that their new patients read the blog of Crohn's Disease ePatient
Michael Seres to inform them of what to expect from their treatments and
procedures...
-Professional physician communities, whether at the global level (with
Sermo going big!), the country level (such as iVrach in Russia or DXY.com
in China with over 1 million verified physicians - even bigger!) or the
specialty level (Dermaweb, etc.) that are moving more toward true
discussion and free information exchange rather than just one-way journal
lookups...
-Withings and their connected health objects (lots to learn here for
Japanese manufacturers looking to build an ecosystem to support self-
tracking initiatives), and of course Slow Control with their Hapifork that
buzzes to slow you down while eating... (So French!)
-And finally, a lineup of new start-ups looking to solve problems ranging
from patient loneliness and boredom during hospital stays to adherence
challenges in huge chronic disease conditions such as heart failure and
diabetes.
I also was privileged to give a short talk on the physicians' usage of digital
technology in Japan, and was delighted at the level of interest from the
other attendees. Most were very curious about the factors that had allowed
M3 and CareNet to build such huge e-detailing models in the country, and
also about the adoption of digital tools in the clinical sphere. I encouraged
them to come on over and pilot their products and services in Japan - after
all, this is the best place to learn about how an aging population and soon-
to-be-bankrupt single payer will handle the healthcare challenge. Whoever
can offer valuable solutions and prove them in the extremely unforgiving
Japanese market will be well-positioned to then cascade into the other
countries following closely along that graying curve.
There is much, much more worth mentioning, but not enough space to do
so. Check out the website at www.doctors20.com and plan to early to join
in the discussion next year!
2012年07月09日
The Future of Healthcare - Explore it With Me!
As a healthcare marketing strategist, I am always looking to learn about
future trends that will affect my clients' business in the coming years. Coming
up this September in the US are two events that caught my attention, and
that I want to share with everyone: the Medicine 2.0 at Harvard (9/15-16)
and Medicine X at Stanford (9/29-20). Each event will offer a great chance
to explore the convergence of truly cutting-edge ideas and the possibilities
for creative collaboration that will determine future success for companies in
the healthcare industry.
I plan to attend both events and would like to encourage as many peers as
possible from Japan / Asia to come along! We aren't a travel agency, so you
will need to register independently. But please let me know right away if you
can be there - I will be organizing a dinner at each event for Asia-Pac
attendees (and anyone else interested in how things might play out in this
region!) so that we can network more closely and continue the conversations
afterwards as well!
Either post here with comments, send me an email or find me on LinkedIn
or Twitter.
Some details:
Harvard Medicine 2.0: the 5th annual Medicine 2.0 conference, this time
hosted on the Harvard Campus. Over 300 presentations from academic
researchers, business practitioners, healthcare providers, social / digital app
developers... You name it! Almost sold out already, so get your seats quickly!
(The program has not yet been posted on the open site, but if you register
you can see the approved abstracts - or drop me a note and I will email them
to you.)
Stanford Medicine X: this conference looks like it is in its second year, and
offers very big-name presenters from the world of design, medical research,
digital / social media. A heavy emphasis on self-tracking applications with a
special full-day intro workshop dedicated to this on the day before the actual
conference. There are also other options, including a Silicon Valley start-up
visit / area tour, and a creative "design thinking" experiential workshop at the
famously innovative design company IDEO as well (you will find me there!).
VC's will also be in attendance. Lots to do in sunny California!
http://medicinex.stanford.edu/preliminary-conference-schedule/
Looking forward to seeing everyone in the US!