Pfizer has decided to buy Dendrite’s j-forceCOMPANION handheld solution for its Japanese salesforce.
Pharma giant Pfizer has decided to implement Dendrite’s j-forceCOMPANION for its salesforce in Japan. Sales reps will use the Dendrite system to help manage physician relationships. The system was developed specifically for the Japanese pharmaceutical market, where physicians have significantly different needs from other markets.
The Japanese pharmaceutical market is becoming increasingly attractive for foreign pharmaceutical companies, as regulatory guidelines evolve in support of innovation and the meeting of international standards of care. Greater opportunities for foreign pharmaceutical companies in Japan, which comprises approximately 13% of the world’s pharmaceutical market, have unsurprisingly driven interest in the market.
Historically, the pricing system was fixed to favor Japanese pharmaceutical companies, sheltering them to a large degree from foreign competition. However, as the government works to elevate the level of treatment available, foreign companies will gain an edge. This shift in the market dynamics makes it important for international, as well as Japanese players, to establish relationships with physicians in Japan.
As Japanese physicians serve both as prescribers and dispensors of medication, they have different needs in terms of support and information from pharmaceutical companies from physicians elsewhere. This means a locally optimized solution to managing physician relationships is vital.
Providing sales representatives with handheld devices offers them with a minimally intrusive mechanism to record information in meetings with physicians. The devices can then be synchronized with the sales representatives’ laptop computers so that data collected can be integrated with data from other sources, allowing efficient physician relationship management.
