NTRODUCTION

The biotechnology and pharmaceuticals companies are one of the largest industries sectors in the world with expenditures in excess of USD10 billion per annum in the US alone. Rapid advances in science, has fueled complex alliances between research and development leading to intense global competition, mega-mergers, and new regulations and shifts in policies.

In an ever-changing complex business environment and industry expanding their operations, the demand for qualified professionals has definitely shot up and well-qualified candidates with the right skill sets are being lapped up by the industry with open arms. Thus, the roles are becoming more diverse and pharmaceutical companies require staff to cater to the challenges of the market. Thus, an Executive Certificate in pharmaceutical marketing is an ideal route to enter the industry and make a winning career here.

DURATION

The program requires 60 hours of face-to-face lectures over six months. The programme delivery format is flexible to accommodate visiting lecturers.

COURSE SCHEDULE
The course is divided into six segments containing twenty four lectures as follows:

PART A: The Pharmaceutical Market

Session 1: Introduction
History of FDA
Healthcare systems and drug regulation
the Guiding Principles for small national drug regulatory authorities
How a drug becomes a pill, INDs and NDAs processes and requirements
Guidelines for establishing a national programme for essential drugs
Criteria for the selection of essential drugs

Session 2: Clinical Trials and Contract Research
Emerging Areas of Pharma Industry: Clinical Trials and Contract Research
Accelerating the drug development process
Guidelines for selection of Pharmaceutical dosage forms
Generic drug product development
Differentiate between brand vs generics and the conditions for interchange

Session 3: Pharmaceutical Industry Environment
Organisational structure and industry statistics
Impact of evolving regulatory and competitive environments
Interrelationships between stakeholders are presented and analysed

Session 4: The Pharmaceutical Marketing Environment
Role of marketing in society, and the marketing management function
The four Ps of marketing and their role in the marketing management process and environment.
Role of product management and medical marketing

Session 5: The Use of Essential Drugs
Quality assurance with respect to bioavailability, international pharmacopoeia and counterfeit drugs
Procedures to prevent and detect counterfeit products
Essential drugs and primary health care
Drug donations: The core principles and main concerns
Post-registration drug studies
Drug information and educational activities

PART B: MARKETING STRATEGY
We will discuss strategy components ranging from the need for cascade, the elements of marketing research, market segmentation, and the importance of competitor and situational analyses, to the concepts of position¬ing, targeting, profiling, product life cycle, new product development, and portfolio management methods. Furthermore, it discusses common competitive strategies, as well as the intensifying competition between ethical and generic drug manufacturers.

Session 6: What Is Marketing Strategy?
Introduces the reader to the definition of marketing strategy and its cascade from the corporate vision to local marketing tactics. The process of strategic planning and the relationship between strategy and tactics are also presented.

Session 7: Marketing Research
Overview of the marketing information systems.
Process and methodology of marketing research,
Primary and second¬ary sources of information for pharmaceutical marketers

Session 8: Market Segmentation
Gives the definition of a market and explains the need for distinct market segment identification and detailed analysis. Several segment strategies are discussed.

Session 9: Situational Analysis
Model for self-analysis of a firm's resources and competencies.
Resources and competencies of the competitors.
key success factors needed for any specific operational environment.
Competitor analysis and their benchmarking.

Session 10 Positioning, Targeting, Profiling
Concept of market seg¬mentation, leading into the process of product positioning, targeting, and profiling in order to gain and sustain the essential competitive advantage.

Session 11: New Product Development
Definition of a new pharmaceutical product,
The new product develop¬ment processes
Evidence-based criteria for pharmaceutical product selection
Modern pharmaceutical R&D strategies, and benchmarking.
Time-to-market parameter and the introduction of a new product.

Session 12: Product Life Cycle and Portfolio Management
Pharmaceutical product life cycle (from concept, patent protection, and development phases, through the introduction, growth, and maturity phases, and end¬ing with the inevitable decline phase or the eventual withdrawal.
Product adoption and diffusion models are presented, together with potential strategies for modifying existing products.
Portfolio assessment and management models

Session 13: Competitive Strategies
Deals with the ever-increasing rivalry among eth¬ical manufacturers,
Details the most commonly used competitive moves.
These are classified according to the method used, the competitor's industry position, or the industry life cycle stage.
Implications of ethical and generic manufacturers
Reasons behind therapeutic substitution factors driving generics internationally
Case study of competitive strategies

PART C: DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
Gives an overview of pharmaceutical distribution and presents modern distribution strategies implemented by industry members.

Session 14: Overview of Pharmaceutical Distribution
Main dis¬tribution channels (ethical, OTC, and Web)
Describe the steps in good dispensing practice(s)
Distribution channel characteristics and functions
Methods of selecting distributors and customer services nationally and internationally. Supply chain management principles

Session 15: The Drug Management Cycle: Distribution Strategy
Structure and extent of the various distribution channels
Critical elements in designing a distribution system
inventory processes within health facilities and reports used to manage inventory
Apply the EOQ model for reordering
Logistic management of drug distribution chains
Understand the port clearing process and key documents
Reverse distribution of expired goods.

PART D: Pricing Concepts and Strategy

Session 16: Pricing Strategy
The elements of price and range of prices in a single market.
The influence of government price control and reimbursements
Pharmacoeconomic studies in several markets.

Session 17: Pricing Strategy
Critical price-quality strategy consid¬erations
The price influencing factors
Price elasticity concept and pricing tactics for both new and established products
The impact of price discounting.

PART E: Communication Strategy

Session 18: Integrated Communications
The process of communication
The process for public education in appropriate drug use
Integrated communications plan
The elements of a communications strategy are dis¬cussed, and promotional planning is reviewed in detail.

Session 19: Personal Selling
Characteristics of personal sell¬ing and its main tasks and activities.
Various selling styles implemented by industry sales representatives,
Analysis of the structured sales interview concept are presented.
Sales force management is also discussed in depth
key account management principle,
Marketing and sales departments' interaction.

Session 20: Advertising
The idiosyncrasies of pharmaceutical advertising and the regulatory constraints
Various advertising channels and activities are compared
Advertising plan¬ning and development methods are presented.
Product life cycle and its affect on advertising planning

Session 21: Public Relations (PR) and Sales Promotion
Important public relations concept and common PR initiatives
Crisis management .
Drug promotion and the concept of sales promotion
Available ways and means of measuring the effectiveness of PR programs.

Session 22: The Internet
Applications for present-day marketers and the ethical and legal aspects
Methods of developing Web sites, and meas¬uring their effectiveness on pharmaceutical promotions
Incorporation of the internet into the overall marketing strat¬egy of a pharmaceutical firm

PART F: Forecasting, Planning, and Evaluating

Session 23: Forecasting and Planning
the critical issues in forecasting and quantifying drug requirements
Explain the four general methods for quantification
Apply the consumption-based method to estimate actual need and costs
Develop a basic spreadsheet for budget and forecasting models
The importance of proper forecasting on diverse organizational functions
Explain the management cycle and implementation strategies
Apply Gantt charts as a work planning tools
Design a monitoring system and appropriate indicators
Analyzes of the different forecasting process stages.
Various forecasting methods are presented
Development of forecasting scenarios in relation to forecast evaluation methods used.
Detailed marketing plan: from introductory executive summary to the required appendices.
A variety of planning tools and models are presented and discussed.

Session 24: Evaluating Marketing Performance
The marketing audit
Common analysis tools (market share, sales, cost, profit, contribution, variance, customer satisfaction, per¬formance, and return-on-investment analyses, as well as the insights they provide into the whole marketing planning process.

THE OBJECTIVES

1. To provide a specialized, high quality education as preparation for professional positions in pharmaceutical business, marketing and industry.

2. To develop entrepreneurship skills to run a unit of operation or production and to develop entrepreneurship abilities for small scale drug sales and marketing.

3. To develop entrepreneurship skills to run a unit of operation or production and to develop entrepreneurship abilities for small scale drug sales and marketing

4. To gain and apply knowledge of scientific aspects in drug sales and marketing

5. To impart systematic knowledge of basic and applied of pharmaceuticals marketing

COURSE ADMISSION

To pursue an Executive Certificate in Pharmaceutical Marketing, one has to be a graduate in any discipline, though science and pharma graduates are preferred. However, for the past few years even, non-science graduates are also opting for pharma marketing careers as the companies are now more open to hire even non-science graduates for the marketing and sales positions in the industry. Highly interested participants in final year of their degree can also apply. Please note also the English proficiency requirements for our programmes.

CAREER PROPECTS

The career avenues in pharmaceutical marketing are huge. Marketing executives are the key players in pharmaceutical marketing sector and the Executive Certificate in Pharmaceutical Marketing will prepare you for lucrative jobs in pharmaceutical marketing division. Starting career as a medical representative or business development executive, one can easily advance to become Area or District manager after two to three years of experience in this field. With an experience of over six years, one can become a regional manager in a pharmaceutical company. Thus, there are options galore after joining the pharma industry.

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