Posted on Fri, Aug 13, 2010 @ 11:39 AM
After the business challenges of 2009 and what remains a 
precarious economy this year, we at JFK Communications feel fortunate to be growing again in 2010. And it's starting to look like while the national unemployment numbers remain unacceptably high, the US economy is at last beginning to show signs of improvement.
To me, the US healthcare industry in general and the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology industries in particular have always been bright spots on the economic landscape, whether times were good or bad for the country overall. The past few years, however, have been a very different story as we all know.
On the jobs front, I was both surprised and disappointed to learn recently that for the first half of 2010, the US pharmaceutical industry has eliminated approximately 35,000 positions. This is on top of the nearly 60,000 pharma jobs that were eliminated during 2009.
Industry pundits will offer up many reasons for why these job cuts had to be made, not the least of which is the dire economic conditions. But the pharma bloodletting started well before the US economy tanked, and job eliminations in the pharmaceutical industry look set to continue in spite of improving economic conditions.
I think many of the industry's current woes are the direct result of the seemingly endless drive toward consolidation, attempts to create "economies of scale" and getting bigger because it seems that well, that's all big pharma can think to do right now to try to fix its problems.
Consider the following questions:
- Has the US pharmaceutical industry become a more dynamic, enjoyable and opportunity-rich place for people to work, or has it become less so as the result of increased consolidation?
- Is the world really better off without such great companies (and places to work) as Pharmacia, Lederle, Parke Davis, Warner Lambert, and Searle, to name just a few?
- Are more innovative drugs being brought to market in the US as the result of pharma industry consolidation and the existence of fewer, but larger pharmaceutical companies?
- Has industry consolidation improved the overall financial health of big pharma companies over the past 20 years?
- What about healthcare costs? Are patients paying any less for their drugs these days?
The culture of consolidation permeating the pharmaceutical industry has impacted every operational area, including how these companies purchase creative services such as advertising, public relations, market research, digital communications and graphic design. In many cases, smaller to mid-sized independent healthcare communications agencies have lost out to mega-sized communications conglomerates such as WPP Group, Omnicom, Publicis and Interpublic Group. These groups have all benefited by entering into "preferred provider" agreements with big pharma companies. I like to think of this trend as the "Walmart-ization" of healthcare communications.
Do marketing directors and brand managers at pharmaceutical companies with preferred agency networks enjoy being told which agencies they have to work with?
And last but not least, it makes me wonder: when has removing competition from the equation ever been good for business?
--David Avitabile
Posted on Tue, May 26, 2009 @ 12:35 PM
Everybody’s got plans…until they get hit.
-- Mike Tyson
Iron Mike was devastating in the ring but wasn’t generally known to be much of a philosopher. But boy did he nail it with the above quote.
Let’s look at Mike’s words of wisdom as they apply to the pharmaceutical industry, 
shall we? The US pharmaceutical market is expected to contract in 2009 according to IMS. For the first time in more than 50 years, a market that regularly produced double-digit growth will shrink due to the economic downturn and other factors affecting its business.
Few could predict the severity of the economic hurricane that’s blowing through this country right now (and hopefully we’re starting to see signs of the storm subsiding). Pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical technology companies, and the consultants that support them, have historically been fairly recession proof. Not this time unfortunately. Our industry has been hurt just like everybody else, with estimates of pharmaceutical jobs lost to date hovering around 80,000.
As bad as things are, there is still room for optimism. When things are at their worst, leadership is often the difference between survival or the alternative. Smart companies with strong leaders are identifying opportunities and seizing them. Some strategically sound deals are being made. Companies are reading the tea leaves regarding healthcare reform, and some are choosing to position themselves as leaders in the effort to improve access and reduce cost (rather than whining about the inevitable). The recent meeting between representatives of the healthcare industry and President Obama at the White House, at which they promised to slow the growth of health spending by 1.5 percent a year, is evidence of that. And consider GE Healthcare’s healthymagination program. The company is clearly embracing change in ways that few of its competitors have and positioning GE as leading the charge of healthcare reform.
The changes that we’re experiencing have not been easy for any of us. As healthcare communicators, we can help our clients embrace these changes and hopefully benefit from them. Remember, we always have a choice. We can either grow and adapt, or die. The time for leadership is now.
David Avitabile
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