Right Drugs Reach the Right Doctors in this Social Market
When a large pharmaceutical company wanted to
release a new drug, it did not market it by sending samples to doctors.
Instead, it launched it on a social networking platform for doctors.
“By the
virtue of an online launch, we created awareness about the drug through
educational videos that reached over 2,00,000 doctors, and those who wanted
samples or more information about the drug posted enquiries on the Curofy
platform,” said Nipun Goyal, cofounder of Curofy, the Roundglass
Partners-backed social networking platform for doctors that counts Abbott
Laboratories, Cipla and Phi lips among clients. Platforms such as Curofy, Daily
Rounds and Docplexus are helping device makers and pharma companies
reduce cost overheads by enhancing the efficiency of medical representatives
and helping them connect with doctors.
While digital marketing for pharmaceuticals
is the main source of revenue generation for these platforms, what makes them
interesting is that these platforms are helping the pharmaceutical industry
target doctors as per their exact requirement at any given point of time, using
the tried-and-tested model of social ad networks, such as Facebook.
The medical devices and drugs marketplace has
remained a fairly offline and unorganised segment that operates by selling to
doctors through human agents.
“We are
trying to target and hit the sweet spot between what doctors require and what
pharma companies can provide,” says Phanish Chandra of Pune-based
Docplexus, which connects doctors via a website and a mobile application. The
startup claims to have over 1,50,000 doctors in its network, of which 6,000 are
monthly active users. Chandra said it's important for such platforms to keep
adding value to a doctor's professional life. Doctors practising modern
medicine in India seek evidence-based advice, a requirement fulfilled by these
networking platforms, where doctors spend considerable time every week.
The cost of a single doctor visit for a
pharma representative is between `700 and `1,000 and it doesn't always
translate into sale, said Goyal of Curofy. By marketing through platforms like
Curofy, the information about the drug reaches doctors across various cities
without shooting up marketing budgets.
Bengaluru-based DailyRounds, a social network
for doctors that counts GE Healthcare and Pfizer among its pharmaceutical
clients, follows a studio approach “to serve different requirements of the
pharma industry“, said cofounder Deepu Sebin, a doctor.
Accel Partner-backed DailyRounds maintains
records of clinical cases and drugs and also provides data insights to the
pharma industry. While knowing information about a doctor's requirements
through their case studies and group discussions provides potential leads for
drug makers, Sebin said the information also helps medical representatives
improve and modify their sales pitches to doctors. According to reports, over
$20 billion will be spent on doctor outreach in India by 2020, signalling an
increase in demand for such platforms.
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