Chapter 1 | So You Want a Career in Pharmaceutical Sales Flashcards
Pharmaceuticals are arguably the most socially important healthcare products.
True
Quality of life and lifestyle enhancement have become more prominent goals of patients, healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry in recent years.
True
The industry reflects a complex amalgam of ____________and ____________.
science and business
Pharmaceuticals
Medicines and vaccines for human and animal use. Products may have a trademark (brand) name or be generic, and they may be prescription or over-the-counter.
Diagnostic
Equipment and supplies used in screening, detecting, and monitoring disease. Can range from simple home testing kits to sophisticated diagnostic imaging technologies.
Medical Devices
Advanced instrumentation and appliances used for medical therapy, such as joint placements, implantable defibrillators, and pacemakers. Also includes drug delivery devices such as syringes, infusion pumps, metered-dose inhalers, and transdermal patches.
Medical Supplies
Commodity, high-volume supplies such as surgical gowns and gloves.
Durable Medical Equipment
Reusable products for health-related use in the home, such as walkers, wheelchairs, oxygen equipment, prosthetics, and hospital beds.
Home-Based Care
Patients/Consumers and their family and friends; home health nurses and aides
Primary Care (Checkups and General Health Issues)
OBGYN, Family/General Practitioners, Internists
Secondary Care (Specialized Outpatient Consults)
Specialists
Tertiary Care (Inpatient)
Community hospitals, Academic medical Centers, Skilled Nursing Facilities
End-Stage Care
Skilled Nursing Facilities, Hospitals, Hospices
The global pharmaceutical industry represents a market that generates over _____ billion in annual revenue and employs over _____ million people.
$950 billion and 1.7 million people
Pharmaceutical sales are highest in what three countries?
U.S., Western Europe, and Japan
The U.S. accounts for roughly _____ of the world’s pharmaceutical revenues
one-half; 50%
Western Europe, the second largest world market, drug utilization is largely government-controlled.
True
Until recently, Japan, the third largest market, has had an unusually restrictive regulatory environment designed to favor Japanese manufacturers.
True
The worldwide scope of the pharmaceutical marketplace and the lack of standardization at the international level has helped contribute to the complexity of pharmaceutical enterprise.
True
What are two factors that have significantly contributed to recent growth in the pharmaceutical industry?
population growth and increased life expectancy
The biotechnology industry is
considered the newest and most advanced industry, and generates new scientific and technological developments throughout the year
Biotechnology companies will specialize in
gene research, genetically-altered drugs, and molecular biology
Prescription drug therapy is cost effective for insurance companies and healthcare providers.
True
Managed care has developed
HMOs (Health Maintenance Organizations) and PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers)
Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) act as intermediaries between which two entities?
Pharmaceutical companies and large drug purchasers
Prescription drug therapy is not cost-effective for insurance companies and healthcare providers.
False
Which branch of Managed Care act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and large drug purchasers, allowing them to manage the pharmaceutical benefits of large employers, nursing homes, hospitals, and other clients at a lower cost?
Pharmacy Benefits Manager
What is the common belief about innovation by those working within the pharmaceutical industry?
Do well by doing good.
What percentage of the total healthcare costs in the U.S. are related to expenditures for prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals?
8%
FDA
Food and Drug Administration
GMP
good manufacturing practices
The FDA streamlined the review process in what year?
1992
The average review time for a new drug is
18 months (down from almost 3 years in 1996)
What two main categories does the marketing of prescription drugs fall into?
Professional physician promotions and direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising.
Professional physician promotions include advertising in:
medical journals, conferences, seminars, direct email, etc.
Direct to consumer advertising refers to patient directed messages in:
television, radio, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Reasons for growth in DTC advertising:
- the FDA easing regulations on this type of advertising
- patients wanting to be more involved in their healthcare decisions, and thus more receptive to advertising that includes educational messages
- the public’s increasing medical and health literacy
- physicians’ increasing willingness to consider, and in many cases grant, their patients’ requests for advertised drugs
Geography of pharmaceutical sales territories:
-Headquarters: exec level sales managers; national account managers (who sell to MCOs and PBMs)
-Regions (5-10): supervised by regional manager
-Districts: supervised by district manager
Territories (8-12): territory reps
The sales team consists of:
-Territory Representative: the heart of the pharmaceutical sales team
-Specialty, Hospital, and Niche Representatives: sell exclusively to niche markets
-District Manager: coach and mentor territory reps; reports to regional manager
-Regional Manager: sets the strategy for a region and monitors sales activity
-National Account Manager: negotiates product purchasing with major MCOs and giant pharmacy benefit managers
Pharmaceutical sales rep base salaries
$45,000-$70,000
The most lucrative aspects of pharmaceutical sales are
bonus plans
commonly used measures to pay bonuses:
-market share
-actual sales
-actual sales vs. forecast sales
Benefits
-company car
-general benefits
-autonomy
-expenses
Pharmaceutical companies try to make the base salary _____% of compensation, with incentive pay accounting for the balance
75%
Compensation managers want to ensure they attract, motivate, and retain the most effective sales professionals while responding to market influences.
True
What is the most effective method for grabbing market share
the use of comparative selling
Reps should identify the big writers (of prescriptions) in their respective therapeutic areas, and convert these big writers to use their products instead of their competitors
True
With comparative selling, reps must ask the physician a series of questions:
Why do they prefer the competitor’s drug over yours?
What do they like and dislike about it?
Which patient types is the drug being used for?
What are the results and side effects, if any?
Selling for Market Share methods:
Comparative selling - most effective
Hard-sell the features and soften the approach with benefits
What is essential to the comparative sell?
knowing the patient demographics of the practice
Selling for volume
Expanding the use of a prescription within the therapeutic area - grow volume
