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Pharmaceutical marketing concepts in

Romania
"Pharmacy is the sister of medicine, not the daughter of commerce" (Carol
Davila, 1859)

Ovidius University of Constanta

Faculty of Medicine
Master MISMF
Masterand: Avram Anamaria-Roberta
Abstract

The pharmaceutical system in Romania is a competitive one, and in recent years, the
emergence of pharmacy chains with an aggressive marketing policy has led to the decline of
independent ones. Thus, it has been shown that it is not enough for independent pharmacists to
be professionally well-trained to survive in the market. Marketing is a new field that needs to be
understood in order to evolve. Marketing is a tool that will sometimes be used selfishly in order
to allow the pharmacy to have a larger flow of patients and to spend more money in the
pharmacy.
Understanding the buying process is very important for the pharmacist to be able to use
the marketing variables correctly afterwards so that they can achieve results, i.e. increased sales.
There are many theories related to marketing and less important which are the choices of the
pharmacist, but essential is to find the combination that will allow the pharmacy to create a
distinctive brand to attract and delight patients.

Introduction

The pharmaceutical market is a special market segment, representing the reference

market for medicines. It developed greatly in the 20th century, hence the century is also known
as the 'century of medicines', with medicines being one of the greatest achievements of the time.

The pharmaceutical market is currently saturated with supplements and medicines, with
very close competition between manufacturers, importers and distributors. Pharmaceutical
marketing, unlike other fields, is different in that the pharmaceutical industry creates and
produces the drug, which is a more special product in that it will not be bought freely or at will
(with some exceptions for those on the OTC list) at the consumer's convenience. The medicine is
a special product put at the service of the patient for the purpose of curing diseases, prophylaxis
and support of the patient's health.

Pharmaceutical marketing is about researching patient needs and maximising the satisfaction
of those needs in a more effective and attractive way than the competitor. The concept of
pharmaceutical marketing is the pharmacist's ability to provide the patient with the effective,

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quality medicines they need, in the quantities they need, at the right time. Pharmaceutical
marketing is a branch of marketing that can be defined as a process by which the market for
pharmaceutical products and services is updated. This definition has some advantages as it
focuses on pharmaceutical care, pharmaceutical services and not just the preparation and
dispensing of medicines.

All marketing activities and actions have one purpose - to sell. The pharmacy must fulfil its
fundamental mission of providing pharmaceutical services and medicines to patients, but being a
commercial entity means that it must generate enough revenue to cover its expenses and generate
enough profit to allow it to operate in the long term. Consequently, the pharmacy needs the
resources that are used in marketing (financial, human) to generate sales. Any other purpose is
not marketing, but possibly charitable, benevolent actions - otherwise welcome.

The buying process

 identification/recognition of need
 information search
 assessment of alternatives
 purchase decision
 post-purchase valuation

The classic formulas for successful differentiation could be summarised in the following ways:

1. Better quality. If we have diversity of products that are good, better pharmacy service, the best
looking pharmacy, etc., success should be guaranteed. In my opinion, the subject of prices needs
to be addressed because the patient in our country is sensitive in this respect.

2. Better additional services. To the extent that the pharmacy has better opening hours than
competing pharmacies or patients queue less or receive more valuable additional advice, it can
expect a significant flow of patients.

3. Lower prices. As mentioned earlier, price is a very sensitive element and pharmacies that are
able to offer lower prices (either on over-the-counter (OTC) and other products or discounts on

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prescriptions) will attract the attention and relative loyalty of patients. The low-price policy must
be sustainable in the long term because otherwise the patient will feel cheated and the whole
thing turns into a 'boomerang' effect.

4. Higher market share. Pharmacy networks have a visibility advantage over individual
pharmacies, because the patient has seen/heard of the name and knows what level of service to
expect. There are cases where independent pharmacists have 2-3 pharmacies and mistakenly
decide to have different names for those pharmacies.

5. Innovation. This is a very difficult mix to achieve because we are talking about a very
standardised industry and it sometimes takes a lot of money and size for a particular innovation
to be implemented by an independent pharmacy. However, it is the best way to avoid price cuts.
Successful innovation models in our country are Sensiblu and Catena, at national level.

Principles and concepts of pharmaceutical marketing

The need for theoretical knowledge of pharmaceutical marketing is dictated by the new
conditions under which healthcare and pharmaceutical products are provided and distributed:

1.A large number of services and products

2. Differentiation of medicines according to brand.
3. Multiple co-marketing situations (existence of several products on the pharmaceutical market
containing the same active substance);
4. Excessive advertising (including through the media) for certain medicines;
5. Competitive "turf" struggle of some economic actors to win "their" consumers;
6. Creation of a starting point for new activities in the pharmaceutical company (medical
representation - in the pharmaceutical production and distribution company) etc.

Pharmaceutical marketing differs from generic marketing in the following characteristics:

1. it concerns the prescription drug market (the target of the effort is the doctor
for ethical drugs or RX.-prescription drugs);
2. the scope of the marketing effort is controlled by numerous restrictions and regulations
imposed by law, concerning the conditions of production, advertising and marketing of drugs;
drug manufacturers are also interested in marketing, but in a different way, their activity requires
a different approach;

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3. work with pharmaceuticals is not free, it is subject to obtaining a License for pharmaceutical
activity from the Chamber of Licensing (for work with narcotics, psychotropic substances it is
necessary to obtain an
additional Authorization from the Standing Committee for Drug Control); 4
. medicines currently on the pharmaceutical market have been registered in the National List of
Medicines;
5. production of medicines is strictly
controlled, batch by batch, both in the company's laboratory and by the LCCM (Laboratory for
the Control of the Quality of Medicines) of the MA (Medicines Agency); medicines prescribed
and prepared in the pharmacy, at the receiving table, are subject to close supervision by the
pharmacy inspection;
6. the pricing process for medicines is not free, but strictly regulated by the state;
7. advertising of
medicines (OTC medicines) is regulated and subject to perpetual control;
8. distribution of medicines is done through wholesale distributors - pharmaceutical warehouses,
after which medicines are brought to pharmacies and delivered to consumers;
9. prepares a complete file to apply for a license to manufacture pharmaceuticals;
10. the consumer of pharmaceuticals is not the one who decides - this is the significant
specification of the pharmaceutical industry regarding marketing;

The main pharmaceutical chains in our country are: Catena, Dona, Helpnet, Dr. Max,
Ropharma; followed by some independent pharmacy chains that are currently on the rise, of
which we can mention: Minifarm, Myosotis, Anamaria, Belladona.
Materials and methods

Marketing methods used in pharmacy:

1. Strongly promoted: the pharmacy benefits from strong promotion using both TV and radio
promotion campaigns and sponsorship of public events (e.g. Eurovision 2012, Popular Star). At
the same time, the chain also uses influencer promotion on social networks such as Facebook,
Instagram and TikTok, especially for dermato-cosmetic products and those aimed at young
people. The image of Catena pharmacy is also supported by various specialized magazines (e.g.
Farmacia ta, Galenus).

2. Own website - modern marketing concept. The company has its own website to easily
promote and market its products. Sales can be made both through the online shop and over the
phone, depending on the customer's order. Through these forms of marketing, the pharmacy aims
to attract customers with a busy schedule and retain them.

3. Good customer loyalty strategy - The main objective of the pharmacy is to build customer
loyalty and this is achieved by issuing loyalty cards to consumers of products offered by them,
cards with which customers receive price discounts from 3% to 22%, various promotions and
gifts. Another customer acquisition and retention strategy is to facilitate sales through an online
shop or by phone to extremely busy customers.

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4. Implementing various information campaigns about the risks a person may face - e.g. the
"Healthy hearts love more" campaign. In this campaign, participants were informed about the
risks of heart disease as well as methods to prevent heart disease. During the campaign, Catena
distributed 3,000 flyers containing information about a healthier lifestyle.

5. Unique - they have a number of competitions with great prizes:

Dacia car, colour TV, holiday spa, shopping basket etc.

Co-branding campaigns

Co-branding campaigns are also carried out in chain pharmacies. These campaigns
involve the manufacturer offering the pharmacy the lowest price on the market for the product
and TV/radio campaigns to promote that month's offer, in return the pharmacy buys a large
number of boxes of the product, for which it promises to provide turnover for the duration of the
campaign.
We will analyse the evolution of sales and therefore the impact of the cobranding
campaign on some of the products in the campaign. Monthly campaign material is produced,
presenting the co-branded products together with the full price, campaign percentage,
promotional price, pharmacy margin and some product details.

Results
We will make a comparison of sales in 2 different months for a batch of 5 products, in
one month they are in the TV campaign and in the other not.

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 Medicine No. of boxes No. of boxes
(monthly sales report (monthly sales report in
during cobranding absence of campaigns
campaign)
Detrical 2000 IU x 60 film 36 8
tablets
Gastimax Med x 30 tablets 11 2
Redoxon vitamin C 1000 5 1
mg orange flavour x 30
tablets eff.
Redoxon Triple Action x 10 16 3
tabs eff.
Redoxon vitamin C 1000 4 1
mg orange flavour x 30 tabs
eff.
Uractiv forte x 10 cps 34 6
Uractiv forte x 10 cps + 5 1
uractiv test
Vitamax Q10 x 30 caps. Me 12 3
Vitamax x 15 softgels 20 12
Vitamax x 15 softgels 1+1 10 1
with 40% discount
Vitamax x 5 softgels 5 2

Discussions
Comparative analysis of the two sales reports shows an increase in turnover for the five
products analysed, which highlights the importance of both TV promotion campaigns and the
impact of price reduction.

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 The production of medicines until the Second World War did not exceed consumption.
Production capacities were limited and the supply of medicines was only in the final phase.After
the war, production capacities increased and generic manufacturers appeared. Production
outstripped consumption and the need to correlate the two arose.
Pharmaceutical marketing emerged as a need to harmonize the two, i.e. between the
production and consumption of medicines.Because the pharmaceutical market is not a market of
free consumer choice, pharmaceutical marketing has some peculiarities that differentiate it from
regular marketing.
The manufacturer cannot generate "demand" (spread of diseases in the population) for
medicines. Production and marketing is not free, but requires prior authorisation and
registration.Most medicines are only available on prescription (ethical). Medicines that are
dispensed without a prescription (O.T.C.) are subject to a strict process of control in terms of
advertising to the general public. Pricing is not free (Competition Council, Ministry of Health
intervene in price regulation).
Distribution is not free, it must go through several stages: manufacturer-pharmaceutical
warehouse-pharmacy. It takes years to produce a new drug, and it takes 8-10 years to prepare a
pharmaceutical dossier and obtain a manufacturing licence. After its introduction into medical
practice, a medicine is kept under strict control all its life (the manufacturer, through the quality
control department, analyses each manufactured batch and the NMA).The pharmaceutical
industry makes the medicine, which is a different product from other products on the market; it is
not bought freely or for pleasure.

The pharmaceutical market is a prescribing market and not a buying market, it is not the
user who decides. A set of regulations, restricts the consumer's scope of action (e.g. ethical
medicines). For the C.T.O., the consumer has freedom of choice, but the manufacturer is subject
to regulations regarding advertising and publicity which is approved by the N.M.A. (National
Agency for Medicines), and for prescription medicines, advertising and publicity is addressed to
doctors and pharmacists.

Advertising must be objective, in the sense that the medicine must live up to the promises
made in advertising. Any deviation from the quality of the medicine brings negative publicity to
the manufacturing company, because the medicine is aimed at human health. It is a moral duty
for manufacturers to inform doctors, pharmacists and patients accurately. It is anti-productive for
the drug company and damaging to public health to pass over an important discovery in silence,
but also to give false hope or to pass over confirmed risks in silence. Correct information enables
the doctor to take responsibility for prescribing a medicine in full knowledge of the facts.

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 The manufacturer's commitments cover all aspects of pharmaceutical marketing,
including Drug Quality Assurance, as well as all aspects of information to prescribers and
dispensers.

Conclusions
Building a name on the pharmaceutical market depends on the quality of the products or
services offered, on the unified image that the patient forms of the whole establishment and
embodies the sum of all the experiences and perceptions that the customer has about the services
offered, the products dispensed or the pharmacists.
Promoting pharmacy, attracting, retaining and retaining patients requires a lot of patience,
perseverance and commitment from all pharmacy staff. At the same time, it is important that
they benefit from good prices and various promotional campaigns properly promoted to achieve
the desired results.

Bibliography

Pharmaceutical Marketing- Liliana Dogotari , Mihail Lupu, Anatolie Peschin

www.anm.ro

www.bursa.ro

www.ziarul financiar.ro

www.forbes romania.ro

www.catena.ro

www.pharma-business.ro

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www.medichub.ro/reviste-de-specialitate/farmacist-ro/instrumente-de-marketing-pentru-
farmaciile-independente

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