October 2022 • PharmaTimes Magazine • 32-33
// PATIENTS //
One step beyond
Getting closer to the patient – pharma industry reputation in a post-COVID landscape
Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, the list goes on. We’re now as familiar with these brand names as we are with Apple, Coca Cola and Nike, and this shift has completely changed the playing field for pharmaceutical companies when it comes to growth.
Before the COVID pandemic, the general public was never so acutely aware of which organisations created their medicines or vaccines. National vaccination programmes are not new. The population receives routine vaccines from a few weeks old and – with the flu injection – into their later life.
We’re used to vaccines. And several times over. What we were, until very recently, not used to is knowing so much about who is making them, what is in them, where they are manufactured and how those responsible are making vaccines as safe and quickly as possible to serve a global population.
Due to the unparalleled need to make COVID vaccines and get them into the arms of people as quickly as humanly possible, people are so much more aware now of the pharma industry – and the pharma supply chain that has been instrumental in achieving this. And, while the patient population might not know too much more about the supply chain, the pharmaceutical supply chain is a lot more aware of its direct impact on its end-users – people.
Before COVID, although all the companies involved in the pharma supply chain, from the manufacturers to clinical research organisations, and packaging to IT partners, understood the purpose of the medicine or vaccine they were responsible for bringing to a population, that immediate impact was never seen.
COVID generated constant media coverage of vaccines going into arms, demonstrated how being vaccinated unlocked freedom for many populations and how the injection has directly saved lives. The speed that the entire pharma supply chain worked at to enable the delivery of a global vaccination programme is phenomenal - and has changed the sector forever.
This complete shift to being closer to the patient has been transformational.
Chain reaction
Elements of the pharma supply chain that didn’t traditionally engage with patients are now doing so and, from a patient point of view, expected to. And it’s not just COVID that’s changed the game. As technology advances, more pioneering medicines are being made.
Medicines that are highly precise and personalised to treat very bespoke conditions that patients suffer from and make the difference between life and death. Suddenly people care who the therapy manufacturer is, where it comes from, how medicines or vaccines are stored and what the side effects are. And this provides an immediate and huge opportunity for pharma companies to proactively market themselves, enabling continued growth.
The pharma industry is built around human life, the quality of life and saving lives. Now it can actively humanise, moving away from the stereotypical pharma perception of a sea of blue medicinal packets stacked high in a storage facility, to the development of a more mainstream, accessible image.
So, how can the sector capitalise on this opportunity?
Street cred
The current landscape enables pharma companies to raise their profile and develop their reputation by being transparent in how they work and why they deliver the work they do.
‘The speed to market, the unwavering pursuit of a vaccine, which was safe and effective to use in a hugely diverse global population, has been extraordinary’
We’re now in a position, as a sector, to lay bare our personalities, and show people what’s behind the business and what drives us. To deliver the COVID-19 vaccines at scale took real passion. For many pharmaceutical firms, the amount of investment and risks taken to get the vaccines to market was astronomical. If something had gone wrong, that would have been the end for many businesses. And that’s what people don’t see, and that’s where the opportunity is.
Science is not black-and-white regardless of how it is perceived. It’s such a nebulous pursuit, in that you could go down one path and find that it’s not right. So, you have to modify something and try again. It’s time for pharmaceutical companies to embrace being closer to the population they serve, utilise the greater societal contact the industry has, and be open about challenges, successes, and failures.
Pharma companies should highlight specific activities around good governance, for example or robust sustainability practices and strong ethics, connecting profits to purpose and, in turn, drive a stronger public image.
Scaled capabilities
COVID has shown all organisations, big and small, involved in the pharma supply chain what they’re truly capable of. Never before has a vaccine been developed, tested, approved and rolled out on a global scale in such a short, record-breaking time frame.
From the manufacturers, clinical trial organisations and patient volunteers, to the regulators and logistics transportation companies, to those storing the vaccines, and the licensing bodies responsible for ensuring vaccines meet the regulations of each sovereign country, it is truly a phenomenal achievement. An achievement that creates a huge opportunity moving forwards for growth.
The industry has shown what it can do against the odds. Now is the time to take these capabilities forward, learn from what went well and what didn’t, and apply it to other therapeutic processes and developments to drive and scale business growth.
Investment interest
Although we don’t generally hear about pharmaceutical companies shouting about the incredible work they’ve done, or the vital role they have played in monumental milestones in public health, their efforts have not gone unnoticed by investors.
The speed to market, the unwavering pursuit of a vaccine, indeed several vaccines, which were safe and effective to use in a hugely diverse global population, has been extraordinary. Consequently, this has created interest from investors and, most recently, revitalised mergers and acquisitions activity.
This is because pharma companies have shown their worth and, with an unexpected catastrophe like the COVID pandemic, they have demonstrated their resilience, reliability and innovation to deliver against the grain. The pharma industry has always been high risk from an investment perspective given its pioneering and experimental nature, but the space has more than illustrated what it’s capable of doing, which, in turn, has increased investor confidence.
Whether this proves to be short-lived or not only time will tell – but the industry has certainly raised awareness, cemented its credibility and attracted interest.
The industry is in a better position than ever to be brave about its brands.
Emma Banks is CEO at ramarketing. Go to ramarketing.com
PharmaTimes
PharmaTimes is the UK’s leading pharmaceutical magazine, tracking the trends and issues that affect the industry here in the UK, in Europe and across the world. We deliver independent, authoritative and trustworthy content through impartial, balanced and informed opinion and analysis.