Pharma franchise companies these days commonly do not concentrate on new molecule creation or any value addition. They typically work on the principle of manufacturing me-too products and making these products available for marketing. Very basic marketing inputs are provided by the company in order to represent the brand.
The thought process behind PCD pharma companies is that they want to allow the marketing professionals to tap the same doctors that were catering to before with the same product range that they were marketing before. Thus Pharma PCD companies in India create a look alike me too product with similar packaging and brand name and MRP so that it can easily do replacement marketing. There is no innovation involved. This kind of a strategy will not be long lasting as there is nothing to differentiate. There are many companies giving the same range of products now and now slowly it has come down to cost competition.
Importance of differentiation: If a company can differentiate itself from the others it will soon have its own identity. Slowly the company will be able to grow its sale and allow brands to be established in the market with not much competition. In the doctors mind the company is slowly perceived as a company involved in ethical marketing and also contributing to better health care with innovative molecules. Thus it is not perceived as a Pharma PCD Company, but as a ethical company who is concerned about new and innovative ways to treat the doctor’s patients.
Once the PCD pharma company has got into the habit of differentiating, then by the time competition has caught up, there is something different that the company has created and is again ahead of the market.
Differentiation is not easy but unless some effort is put into making your company’s product different in the doctor’s mind, the product will die a slow death.
Thus all Pharma franchise companies should start small differentiation in either their product composition or their product packing. Because as they say: Differentiate or die.