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In a rapidly evolving and competitive landscape, the pharmaceutical industry faces unique challenges when it comes to marketing its products and services. With stringent regulations, complex target audiences, and a need for trust and credibility, pharma companies need to employ effective marketing strategies to stand out in the crowd. In this blog article, we will explore some key marketing strategies for the pharma industry that can help boost their visibility, engage their target audience, and drive business growth. UNDERSTANDING THE UNIQUE LANDSCAPE The pharma industry operates in a highly regulated environment, where compliance and ethical considerations play a crucial role. Before diving into marketing strategies, it is essential to have a deep understanding of the industry's dynamics and the target audience. Researching the market, identifying patient needs, and studying the competitive landscape are vital steps in developing an effective marketing plan. EMBRACING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION Digital transformation has revolutionized marketing across industries, and the pharma sector is no exception. Embracing digital channels and technologies can significantly enhance the reach and impact of marketing efforts. Pharma companies can leverage social media platforms, create engaging content, and build online communities to connect with patients, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders. Implementing robust digital marketing strategies allows for personalized messaging, real-time communication, and targeted campaigns that resonate with the target audience.

Atorvastatin, a medicine to treat high blood cholesterol, is the most dispensed drug with 59 million items in England in 2022/23, revealed the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) on Thursday (8 June). While Apixaban (an anticoagulant) was the drug with the highest costs of £430 million. Apixaban 5mg tablets had the largest increase in cost between 2021/22 and 2022/23 in England, with an increase of £280 million. NHSBSA's annual statistics report 'Prescription Cost Analysis-England 2022/23' published also has revealed an eight per cent rise in the prescription items that were dispensed in the community in England. The report highlighted that in 2022/23, 1.18 billion prescription items were dispensed at a cost of £10.4 billion in the community in England, witnessing an increase of eight per cent from £9.69 billion in 2021/22.

Atorvastatin was the most dispensed drug in England in 2021/22 with 53.4 million items, revealed the annual Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) published by NHS Business Services Authority. According to the official statistics, Apixaban (an anticoagulant) was the drug with the highest cost of £401 million. The statistics revealed that the cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England was £9.69 billion, a 0.87 per cent increase of £83.7 million from £9.61 billion in 2020/21. "The number of prescription items dispensed in the community in England was 1.14 billion, a 2.58 per cent increase of 28.7 million items from 1.11 billion in 2020/21." FreeStyle Libre 2 Sensor kit (a glucose monitoring system) was the presentation with the largest absolute increase in cost between 2020/21 and 2021/22 of £69.8 million, from £2.84 million to £72.6 million.

Community pharmacists are readily accessible healthcare providers and medicine experts in the community setting and their counsel is often sought by patients and consumers on a number of subjects including the use of dietary supplements. Their role in the sale of and advice regarding natural health and drug alternatives has never been more relevant. The recent National Health Service (NHS) Interim People Plan calls for the NHS to put all staff front and centre of the way it operates and identifies pharmacists as a critical part of multidisciplinary teams, providing care across a wide range of increasingly complex patient needs. Despite existing demand to counsel patients on a vast range of medicines, more and more consumers are looking to their pharmacist to support and enhance their knowledge regarding the relevance of a growing range of supplementary nutrients now available. Nutritional supplementation is increasingly becoming the consumer's first choice for 'drug free' treatment or natural prevention that provides a true sense of taking control, which the prescription process often denies them. The vast and growing depository of information on the internet is certainly fuelling this, but as much of this is brand derived content, information, it can often be generic with a 'one size fits all' marketing message.

All four UK health services have committed to net zero carbon emissions, health secretary Sajid Javid announced today (November 9). Lauding the commitment, Javid said: "As a health community, we cannot simply sit on the sidelines - we must respond to climate change through urgent action, with global collaboration at its core." Health systems in the UK have already started work on being greener. On behalf of the profession, Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) joined the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) in writing a letter to world leaders who had gathered in Glasgow earlier last week to attend the COP26 summit, expressing pharmacy's commitment to tacking the climate crisis. RPS also signed a charter to guide effective and high-quality climate action by professional bodies in the UK.

Professional translators recreate texts, not simply matching word-for-word, but understanding the underlying meaning, purpose, and interpretation of the original language, and reproduce it using appropriate terminology and structure to ensure there is no potential for misunderstanding. An experienced technical translator addresses conventions to ensure the meaning of the information is preserved, using medical expertise and quality review processes to adapt documentation to meet the needs of patients, medical practitioners, and peers. Attention to detail is fundamental to medical translations and a non-technical translation is an unacceptably high risk for any organisation involved in publishing or circulating medical information of any kind. WHAT IS MEDICAL TRANSLATION? Medical translation is a technical process where capable translators reproduce content or documentation used anywhere in the medical industry, including psychiatry, systematic reviews, tuition and training, patient communications for pharmaceutical translation services. Important clinical trial translations can include labelling, prescriptions, medical devices and patient records, with millions of medicines and treatments used globally and written in multiple languages. Qualified medical translators must have exceptional linguistic skills but also a thorough understanding of medical sciences in all the native languages concerned. However, the complexity of translating one label or one document into several languages can mean that organisations may assume a simple translation is sufficient - when it is anything but!

A pair of pharmacist brothers, who also own a popular restaurant in Kent, have started an innovative initiative 'Jabs with Kebabs' to encourage their community in England to come forward and take their Covid-19 vaccines. Rav and Raj Chopra, who own V's Punjabi Grill, an Indian restaurant in Gravesend, established the walk-in vaccine site after their father, Jagtar Chopra, became unwell with Covid-19 last year. The duo is among thousands to volunteer for the National Health Service (NHS) vaccine programme. Talking to the PA news agency, Raj said he was inspired by the experience of his father, who got infected with the virus and has fully recovered since then. "From a personal point of view, it was very debilitating to see Dad like that," said Raj Chopra. "It got everyone's emotions in play.

Whether it's the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and those suffering with long Covid, or the financial pressures of rising living costs, these hard times can affect absolutely anyone's mental health. Mental health problems have worsened across all age-groups in the last few years, from lack of social interaction, unexpected bereavements or the significant impact of a physical injury or long-term illness taking its toll on mental wellbeing - these challenging experiences and situations that we face throughout life leave a big strain on the population. Ultimately, there is an urgent need to reduce rising levels of mental ill-health in our society. As a pharmacist with 25 years' experience in healthcare, I feel I have an obligation to my patients to support them with their healthcare needs, and mental health should be treated just the same as physical health. Despite efforts to improve NHS mental health services, patients may still not be receiving the appropriate immediate care as they are often provided with online counselling or an App for long-term support (online support introduced since the pandemic). Community pharmacists are in a unique position to be advocates for patients with mental illness as they are the healthcare professionals' patients see most often. This is a good opportunity for pharmacists to speak to patients face-to-face and give them advice in a more practical way rather than potentially waiting weeks for an GP appointment.

The National Health Service will begin its autumn Covid vaccine program next week, a month earlier than planned in response to the spread of a new variant dubbed Pirola. Covid vaccines will be administered to care home residents and housebound individuals from Monday onwards, while over-65s and other vulnerable groups will receive their appointments the week after. On Aug. 30, NHS England shifted the autumn vaccination drive to start on September 11 in response to the new Covid-19 variant, BA.2.86, detected on August 18. The primary groups can book through a national system upon receiving an invitation from the NHS. Some people may get an earlier call from their GP, and a few have already scheduled Covid vaccinations alongside their flu jabs. The NHS will begin inviting other eligible groups from Sept. 18. However, it is important to note that not everyone will receive a call at the same time. These groups will include individuals aged 65 and over, those aged six months to 64 years in a clinical risk category, frontline health and social care workers, and individuals aged 12 to 64 who are carers or household contacts of those with immunosuppression.

LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare, a leading provider of home healthcare services in the UK, on Monday announced the appointment of Paul Adams as the company's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Before assuming his role at LPCH at the end of last year, Adams was leading transformation efforts at DD Group, formerly known as Dental Directory. With a career spanning over two decades, Adams has held influential positions at Diageo, Smith+Nephew, and served as a CEO for various Private Equity companies. He has also co-authored "The Little Black Book of Change." Adams will lead the LPCH's mission to pioneer the delivery of specialist clinical treatment therapies to patients, thereby enhancing patient outcomes within homecare and community settings while improving accessibility.

In a remarkable turn of events, the NHS App has emerged as a financial saviour for the National Health Service, slashing costs by over £1 million in the last year alone. The revelation comes as a testament to the app's growing significance in streamlining patient communication and service delivery. Throughout the fiscal year 2023/24, a staggering 22.5 million messages traversed the NHS App, a feat previously reliant on traditional methods like text messages or letters. This monumental shift not only signifies a boon for efficiency but also heralds substantial savings, with each text message costing an average of 5p. Drastically reducing these expenses has amounted to a commendable £1.1 million in savings, marking a pivotal milestone in NHS expenditure management.

NHS England is rolling out a range of tech and data solutions, including an artificial intelligence (AI) system, across the health service to tackle winter pressures. The AI system will be used to identify patients at risk of hospital admission so community NHS teams can get to them first and reduce pressures on A&E departments. On a trial basis, four GP practices in Somerset have started using the innovative technology which can highlight registered patients with complex health needs. Health coaches, nurses, or GPs will then reach out to the people most at risk, and provide them with a range of preventive care such as monitoring, food parcels, cleaning, shopping, as well as escalating care to specialist doctors.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) is probing major concerns arising from Boots' communications to pharmacists regarding the company's recently announced pension arrangements. In November, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), the parent company of Boots, transferred the Boots employees' pension scheme to the financial service provider Legal and General (L&G) in a £4.8 billion deal. Boots notified staff that terms allowing an unreduced pension from age 60 have ceased immediately, following its agreement with L&G. The PDA highlighted member concerns regarding Boots management's announcement that an unreduced pension from the age of 60 is a discretionary benefit and not guaranteed under the Boots Pension Scheme (BPS), contrary to some members' assumptions.

Seven NHS trusts in England are set to begin trials of new wireless technologies to help improve patient care and strengthen connectivity in A&Es and ambulance bays. They have been awarded around £1 million as part of NHS England's Wireless Trials programme, which aims to leverage advanced wireless technologies to enhance patient care and experiences while freeing up more staff time. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust will introduce an innovative approach of combining satellite and cloud-based wireless solutions to enhance connectivity across its 10 hospital sites and wider community services. At Mid Cheshire and Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS trusts, wireless trackers will be installed on medical equipment and hospital beds. This will allow real-time monitoring and location tracking, enabling easy accessibility for staff to locate necessary items promptly.