Pharmacy is the science and technique of preparing and dispensing drugs. It is a health profession that links health sciences with chemical sciences and aims to ensure the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs. The scope of pharmacy practice includes more traditional roles such as compounding and dispensing medications, and it also includes more modern services related to health care, including clinical services, reviewing medications for safety and efficacy, and providing drug information.
Pharmacists, therefore, are the experts on drug therapy and are the primary health professionals who optimize use of medication for the benefit of the patients. Pharmacists practice in a variety of areas including community pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, extended care facilities, regulatory agencies and sales & marketing of pharmaceutical drugs.
Community pharmacies usually consist of a retail storefront with a dispensary where medications are stored and dispensed. Hospital pharmacists are experts in the field of medicines, how they're used and their effect on the human body. As well as being responsible for dispensing prescriptions, pharmacists are involved in the purchasing and quality testing of medicines. Clinical pharmacists work directly with physicians, other health professionals, and patients to ensure that the medications prescribed for patients contribute to the best possible health outcomes. Pharmaceutical sales representative are salespeople employed by pharmaceutical companies to persuade doctors to prescribe their drugs to patients.
Pharmaceutical marketing, sometimes called medico-marketing or pharma marketing in some countries, is the business of advertising or otherwise promoting the sale of pharmaceuticals or drugs. Marketer which is also called as product manager or brand manager has to build strong equity of concerned brand in the market.
Pharmacists are majorly involved in and employed for manufacturing pharmaceuticals .Presently, a number of art and science graduates with no basic knowledge about pharmaceuticals work in pharmaceutical industries. Some measures are taken by PCI to improve pharmacy practice should be prohibiting physicians from storing medicines in absence of a pharmacist, compulsory mention of the name of the pharmacist who dispensed the prescription along with the name of the physician who issued the prescription, making hiring of pharmacists mandatory in addition to procuring a pharmacist licensure in pharmacies run by non-pharmacists and trying to limit working hours for practicing pharmacists to a maximum of eight hours per day.
Global pharma industry
Pharmaceutical companies may deal in generic or brand medications and medical devices. They are subject to a variety of laws and regulations that govern the patenting, testing, safety, efficacy and marketing of drugs. Thus, its immense importance as a global sector is inarguable. Total pharmaceutical revenues worldwide had reached over US $ one trillion , with North America responsible for the largest portion of these revenues, due to the leading role of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry. However, as in many other industries, the Chinese pharmaceutical sector has shown the highest growth rates over previous years.
More than any other industry, the pharmaceutical sector is highly dependent on its research and development segment. Pharmaceutical companies invest 20 per cent and more of their revenues in R&D measures globally. The global pharma industry is set to witness a push toward increased development of personalized medicine in 2016. According to the US FDA, personalized medicine (or precision medicine) is about providing “the right patient with the right drug, at the right dose at the right time”.
The global pharmaceutical giants are projected to lose approximately US$ 17 billion from expired patents in 2016. As a result, these giants are expected to focus on acquiring/collaborating with fast-growing businesses such as innovative biotech companies to maintain their pace of growth. Considering how small biotech players find it challenging to raise funds to continue the development of promising drug pipelines, the deals between biotech and large pharma players seems to have great potential in 2016.
Pharma industry & social media
Social media are computer-mediated technologies that allow the creating and sharing of information, ideas, career interests and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks. The variety of stand-alone and built-in social media services currently available introduces challenges of definition. In 2015, the number of consumers with at least one medical, health or fitness app on their smartphones doubled to 32 per cent from 2014. Due to the rise of apps and digital devices, consumers are expected to give the highest priority to privacy and cyber security. For instance, 73 per cent of US consumers consider data security more important than easy accessibility to digital platforms.
Indian pharma industry
The Indian pharmaceutical sector accounts for about 2.4 per cent of the global pharmaceutical industry in value terms and 10 per cent in volume terms. India accounts for 20 per cent of global exports in generics. In FY16, India exported pharmaceutical products worth US$16.89 billion, with the number expected to reach US$ 40 billion by 2020.
The country’s pharmaceutical industry is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.89 per cent over 2015–20 to reach US$55 billion. The generics market stood at US$26.1 billion in 2016 from US$ 21 billion in 2015. India’s generics market has immense potential for growth. India has become the third largest global generic API merchant market by 2016, with a 7.2 per cent market share.
The Indian pharmaceutical industry accounts for the second largest number of Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs), is the world’s leader in Drug Master Files (DMFs) applications with the US. Biosimilar’s sector is expected to touch US$1.4 billion by 2016 and the sector is expected to grow annually at a rate of 30 per cent in India.
The government has also taken many initiatives. Under the Union Budget 2015-16, government has announced to set up three new National Institutes of Pharmaceuticals Education and Research in Maharashtra, Rajasthan & Chhattisgarh and government is also planning to set up one institute of Science and Education Research in Nagaland & Orissa each. In 2016, the government has planned to set up six pharma parks at an investment of about US$27 million. Pharma Vision 2020 by the government’s Department of Pharmaceuticals aims to make India a major hub for end-to-end drug discovery.
In the coming decades, pharmacists are expected to become more integral within the health care system. Rather than simply dispensing medication, pharmacists are increasingly expected to be compensated for their patient care skills. In addition to patient care, pharmacies will be a focal point for medical adherence initiatives. There is enough evidence to show that integrated pharmacy based initiatives significantly impact adherence for chronic patients.
(The author is a pharmaceutical & healthcare marketer)