GlaxoSmithKline revamps global sales and marketing policies.
GlaxoSmithKline has just announced a major change to the way that it compensates its sales force, with removal of individual sales targets over the next year.
The global policy change will also see the end of direct payments to healthcare professionals for speaking engagements or attendance at medical conferences by the beginning of 2016, with the moves aiming to “further align the company’s activities with the interests of patients.”
GSK Australia Pharmaceuticals gm Geoff McDonald said “the changes GSK are making today are some of the most significant changes to sales and marketing practices in our industry for some time.
“This builds on the work we have been doing to be more transparent and increase trust in our industry. In Australia there is widespread community expectation of increased transparency in commercial relationships between pharmaceutical companies and healthcare professionals, especially in the way our sales employees operate,” he said, adding that the changes will give greater confidence to the community that the company’s interactions are focused on patient needs.
During 2014 GSK will implement a new compensation system for all of its sales staff who work directly with prescribers, under which they will be evaluated and rewarded for their technical knowledge, the quality of the service they deliver to support improved patient care and the overall performance of GSK’s business.
And over the next two years the company will undertake a consultation process towards stopping direct payments to healthcare professionals, at the same time increasing its focus on alternative approaches to enable it to continue to provide appropriate information about its products and to support medical education.
Rather than funding individual healthcare professionals to attend medical conferences, the company will instead pay for education through “unsolicited, independent educational grant routes”.
GSK will continue to provide appropriate fees for services for sponsored clinical research, advisory activities and market research, as well as investing in community programs to strengthen healthcare infrastructure.
GSK ceo Sir Andrew Witty said “we believe that it is imperative that we continue to actively challenge our business model at every level to ensure we are responding to the needs of patients and meeting the wider expectations of society”.
More details in tomorrow’s issue of Pharmacy Daily.
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