Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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Research on pharmaceutical demand in developing countries.
The demand
for pharmaceutical products in developing countries is expected to grow much faster
than in developing countries (IMS
2010
). These countries are characterized by very
different clinical and economic characteristics. This suggests great potential for
research projects that identify appropriate marketing strategies that are tailored to
the specifi c needs of the pharmaceutical markets in the developing world. In com-
parison to developed countries, increasing category demand is still very relevant for
developing countries, hence, the type of research that we reviewed in Sect.
20.2.1
is
very relevant for managers and policy makers that are working in these countries.
Future studies may want to focus on which policy measures enhance category
demand. Another potential research area results from the low incomes in developing
countries where price is likely to have a stronger infl uence on pharmaceutical
demand than in developed countries (see Sect.
20.2.4
), and consequently (generic)
competition is likely to be fi erce. In some countries (notably India) we already
observe many competing branded versions of the same drug—for example, there are
over 200 branded atorvastatins on the market varying fi vefold in price and with a
number of companies marketing more than one brand. It will be an interesting chal-
lenge to study how best to market drugs under such conditions. Related topics
include the analysis of diffusion patterns and dynamics in emerging markets.
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Research on regulatory changes.
The increasing healthcare costs in many
countries because of ageing societies and worldwide growth in prevalence of
chronic diseases puts greater pressure on healthcare budgets that are already
stretched (Kaiser Family Foundation
2010
). To contain costs, health care policy
makers and payers (insurers, but also patients) increasingly infl uence physicians'
prescribing behavior. This restricts the choice sets of physicians, which will lead to
a further reduction in effectiveness of pharmaceutical promotion. This is confi rmed
by studies that fi nd that physicians do not consider communication by the industry
to be most infl uential. Instead, regulatory boundaries, peer opinions, and scientifi c
information are deemed to be much more important to their prescription decisions
(Babor et al.
1996
). However, physicians' opinions on this point are known to be
biased (Wazana
2000
).
With the more dominant role of insurers and other intermediary agents it is likely
that new reimbursement plans emerge which encourage prescription of cheaper
alternatives (including generics). Also, other countries may follow the examples set
by Italy and France to tax pharmaceutical promotional expenditures. As a conse-
quence, drug manufacturers will increasingly have to compete on price, and this
will provide researchers with excellent opportunities for investigating (changes in)
price sensitivity. Some studies have begun to appear in this area such as Stremersch
and Lemmens (
2009
) who study the effects of regulatory changes on sales growth.
Many questions remain unanswered and present topics for future research: How do
regulations change category demand? How do they infl uence generic uptake? How
long does it take for the market to fully absorb a regulatory change?
Another highly relevant future research avenue would be to assess the conse-
quences of regulatory changes for the optimal allocation of pharmaceutical
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