Food for thought: Does a B.pharm make a better product manager?

Ok, I know this is a highly sensitive topic. but c'mon, this industry is swamped with B.pharms. It does seem like a very natural career option for a pharmacist to venture into. I mean does anyone knows drugs interactions, mode of actions, even the difference between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics like they do?

Thing is, it is unlikely that a PM with a B.mktg or BSc can win in an argument with a fellow B.pharm when it comes to pharmacology or pharmacy practice. However, being in a sales and marketing set up as most of us are, the critical question is does a B.pharm serves any additional advantages when it comes to devising solid strategies and working the market? Afterall, most of us are peddling clinical know-hows rather then pharmaceutics.

The pharmaceutical industry is a businesss organization much like all other businesses be it automobiles, aviation, consumer items, telecommunications. Does the general broad business principles and concepts apply differently to pharma?

Pharmacists are an important asset to the pharma industry, just like MDs or MBBS as they are known here. They provide the structural backbone for R&D and bridging that to marketing and operations. It remains to be seen, however, if they make better marketing or business brains.

Chew on it- Busy Busy Busy

Hadn't been diligent in writing this blog. Things had been rough lately.

Everyone has the same complaint on his lips. Busy Busy Busy. Sometimes i wonder what's up with that. Are there really so much to do that we hardly have time for a breather or are we simply trying to impress someone?

Busy with organizing this campaign, busy with scheduling a offshore meeting, busy with planning a local symposium, busy with training, busy with meetings, busy with budgeting, busy with customer visitations, the list goes on.

Truth be told, nobody likes to give an impression that he/she is not on the ball or worse, his/her job is rather redundant. My personal opinions are that there aren't redundant jobs, only redundant people.

I have to admit, at some points, I am guilty of professing incessantly how busy I am, but those are usually truthful thoughts brought about by an overwhelming load of responsibilities. So to avoid sounding like a broken record and incurring the ire of others, i recommend PMs to take a reality check and hang out with other executives from other industries and compare responsibilities, pay package, corporate structures and we'll humbly count our blessings.

Food for thought I

"It's about what we do for society, about how we build that social license, how we remember that the value we add back to society is what allows us to operate."E. Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company; Co-Chair, World Economic Forum on East Asia

Powerful and inspiring statement from a business maestro.

Food for thought: If the beverage industry can profess itself to be civic-minded and sentimental, why not pharma? for certainly, there is a more tangible link of direct benefits between pharma products and the result on the enduser than sweetened, fizzy drinks, no?