Social Media Connectivity in Pharmaceutical Industry

Kiran PedadaHarish Shankar

Pranay Veer

Overview of Indian Pharmaceutical Industry

• 1990 - INR 5,000 crores• 2009-10 - INR 1,00,000 croresTurnover

• Domestic - INR 62,055 crores• Exports - INR 42,154 croresIndian Market

• Volume - World’s 3rd largest producer• Value - World’s 14th largest• One of the Lowest priced markets in the

world

Position

• 15.3% during 2011-12 to 2013-14CAGR (PE)

• More than 20% of the world’s generics Production

• Three out of the Global Top 10 fastest growing generic companies are from IndiaTop Companies

• Global Top 10 - Sales• Value - INR 2,50,000 crores Future (2020)

Active Users - 100 crores (Oct, 2012)

Active Users - 20 crores (Dec,2012)

Video Views a day- 400 crores (Jan, 2012)

To conduct a study to understand the connectivity of

Indian Pharmaceutical companies on Social Media

1 • Whether people use online sources for health related information

2

• Whether entering a social medial platform help a Pharmaceutical company

• 1. To share health related information 2. Create brand awareness

INTERNATIONA

L

COMPANY

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Likes Followers

Tweets

Subscribers

Video Views

AstraZeneca

GlaxoSmithKline

Johnson & Johnson

Merck (US)

Novartis

Pfizer

INDIAN

Dr. Reddys

Cipla

Ranbaxy (Volini, Revital)

Glenmark*

Sun Pharma

Lupin

INTERNATIONA

L

COMPANY

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Likes Followers

Tweets

Subscribers

Video Views

AstraZeneca 12009 17387 1053 126 25732

GlaxoSmithKline 69425 17405 1126 800 221683

Johnson & Johnson 38728 24507 3062 6493 7551651

Merck (US) 5866 8053 1087 206 19251

Novartis 20936 32190 2386 1688 561013

Pfizer 57721 36056 1100 501 733934

INDIAN

Dr. Reddys

Cipla

Ranbaxy (Volini, Revital)

Glenmark*

Sun Pharma

Lupin

INTERNATIONA

L

COMPANY

Facebook Twitter Youtube

Likes Followers

Tweets

Subscribers

Video Views

AstraZeneca 12009 17387 1053 126 25732

GlaxoSmithKline 69425 17405 1126 800 221683

Johnson & Johnson 38728 24507 3062 6493 7551651

Merck (US) 5866 8053 1087 206 19251

Novartis 20936 32190 2386 1688 561013

Pfizer 57721 36056 1100 501 733934

INDIAN

Dr. Reddys No Page 469 619 0 0

Cipla No Page 2117 67 0 0

Ranbaxy (Volini, Revital) No Page 566 12 34 39374

Glenmark* 75 No Page No Page 0 44

Sun Pharma No Page 544 126 0 0

Lupin 788 No Page No Page 0 0

Scope & Advantages of Social Media

High

ROI

Flexibility - Conte

nt

Targeting - Specif

ied group

Faster

feedback

loop

Cost per

contact -

Small

Offer a quick means to update information that is current and relevant to the target markets

Complement other communication channels

HUGE POTENTIAL

• Social commerce sales have the potential to bring in $30 billion each year by 2015**

• 50% of these social commerce sales will occur through social media**

**Mashable (Nov, 2012)

FDA GUIDELINES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTION• “All advertisements for any prescription drug shall present a true

statement of information in brief summary relating to side effects, effectiveness and contraindications, and there must be a fair balance in the benefits and risk information provided to consumers.” - FDA

The guidance document published by the FDA in May 2009 did not provide adequate guidance on the use of online technologies

Distinct features of non -print media add complexity

Defining information related to drugs with limited number of characters available in each ad is a difficult task

RESEARCH METHODOLOGYParticipants

Age Distribution N %

Below 15 2 1%

16-25 166 54%

26-34 87 28%

Above 35 55 18%

Gender Distribution

Male 238 75%

Female 72 25%

Occupation Distribution

Student 148 48%

Employee 138 45%

Business 11 4%

Housewife 6 2%

Others 7 2%

INQUISITIVENESS89% - Search

online for health related information

High Potential to increase their

reach on online platforms

SENSITIVENESS

64% - Information they found online

affect their decision to seek a

doctor

Users don’t take chances, but

approach a doctor for specialist

advice

RE-VERIFICATITION

Seek for a second opinion from

another doctor even after

approaching a doctor

Re-verify the advice on online

sources

ONLINE MEDIUM - SPECTRUM

16-25 years- 76% Facebook

Above 25 years - 74% Separate website by the

company

Youth - Facebook (Other SM)

Old - Company Website

SHARING HEALTH INFORMATION

79% - Shared or sent health or

medical related information

Care for others – Wish their friends

to read and get benefited from it

IMPACT OF HEALTH

INFOMATION

62% of the respondents had stated that there

was as minor impact on

them

Develop a web site

Satisfy people’s

need which could make a major impact

on them

FINDINGS IMPLICATIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Dedicated for providing health related information Leverage to build brand

Website & FB page

• In long run, it will widen the audience base

Provision of info.

• Based on the age groupsDifferent approaches

• Facebook - Small problems• Website - Deep issues (in

detail)Type of info.

• Clear guidelines for promotion• In India CDSCO should play a major role

Regulations - Social Media

• Application based service• SMS based service• Precautions, Symptoms to be taken for the diseases

Mobile Application and Service

• Pharmaceutical company Articles More awareness Users can take correct decisions

Authentic provider

RECOMMENDATIONS

OUTCOME

• Sample Size was limited

• The accuracy of responses could have been varied between different respondents

• The data available for Indian rules and regulations on social media platform is very limited as compared to that defined by FDA

Scope for Improvement

•Study conducted to understand the types of

health information they look for

• Frequent searched topics

• Satisfaction with information available

• Preferences on getting updates of

health information

• A study to understand

• Current focus and strategies of

international pharmaceutical companies

• Feasibility of replicating the same for

Indian companies

LIMITATIONS

CONCLUSION - From the study, we understand that people use online sources for health related information and pharmaceutical companies have a great opportunity to explore social media platform for marketing their products.

Appendix 2- References• Promoting online sales of dental supplies. Journal of Medical Marketing 8: 137 – 143, Gadish,

(2008)

• Promotion Audits, SDI Health, Yardley, Pennsylvania, (2009)

• Guidance for industry presenting risk information in prescription drug and medical device

promotion – Draft guidance. (Dec, 2011)

• The magical digital, Stephanie C. Ardito, (March 2012)

• Why Drug makers don’t Twitter, Businessweek, (Nov, 2009)

• 100% foreign direct investment regime in pharmaceutical sector, Economic Times (Oct, 2011)

• Estimating the value of internet marketing in the US pharmaceutical industry, Thani

Jambulingam, (2010)

• http://www.cliohealthcare.com/winners_media/2010/pr/pdf/401000796_1_supporting.pdf

• http://mashable.com/2012/11/01/facebook-sales/

• http://mashable.com/2011/08/16/social-media-marketing-stats-infographic/

References

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Commentary/2011/November/Pew-Internet-Health.a

spx

• http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Technology-and-social-networks/Summ

ary.aspx

• http://www.financialexpress.com/news/domestic-pharma-market-grows-13.7-in-a

ugust/1004076/0

• http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/pharma-life-sciences/publications/india-growth.jhtml

• http://www.pwc.com/us/en/press-releases/2012/pwc-report-forecasts-a-golden-er

a.jhtml

• http://www.pwc.com/us/en/press-releases/2012/pwc-report-forecasts-a-golden-er

a.jhtml

• http://theelearningcoach.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2010/06/using-twitt

er-for-business.pdf

• http://www.indianexpress.com/news/healthcare-spend-to-rise-to-2.5--of-gdp/9183

80

• http://mashable.com/2012/12/26/facebook-2012/

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/dec/18/twitter-users-pass-200-millio

n

• http://mashable.com/2012/01/23/youtube-4-billion/

Links

•Online Health Habits.xlsx•Abstract_IIM-C FINAL.doc•IIMC Full Paper - Social Media Connectivi

ty in Pharmaceutical Industry.docx