“The pharmaceutical industry should be more ethical”

After taking several trips and attending the most important debates on the pharmaceutical market, the ABC Farma president, Pedro Zidoi, received Top Team for a long conversation at the head office of the Brazilian Pharmaceutical Commerce Association.

In good mood but criticizing the government several times, Zidoi suggested that there should be a regulamentation by The National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) so that the laboratories could expand marketing to drugstores. ´One´s pain reflects on the other. When I say that I mean resolutions and rules.´, he added.

During the interview, the ABC Farma president also talked about patent break, medical detailing and deals between drugstores and industries. Follow the entire conversation below:

Top Team: Have The National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) restrictions concerning promoting products in drugstores damaged the relationship between laboratories and drugstores?

Pedro Zidoi: The industry, wholesalers and retailers make up a family. One´s pain reflects on the other. When I say that I mean resolutions and rules. Both have certainly had their work stuck. In relation to product´s promotion, I agree on having a regulamentation but not power abuse by restricting laboratories, wholesalers and drugstores. I agree on providing a healthy regulamentation.

Top Team: How would it be?

Pedro Zidoi: The regulamentation should bring together Anvisa, industry, wholesalers and retailers. Within such leadership, we should meet Anvisa´s requirements, the people´s needs and the companies´ wishes. I do not have a project as it is supposed to be discussed by all the parts involved.

Top Team: We saw the patent break in the government concerning an anti-Aids drug by Merch Sharp & Dohme. The government says that will extend such measure to other diseases if necessary. What´s your opinion about it?

Pedro Zidoi: The government should verify if the patent assures the right of the person who discovered the drug. For that discovery a lot of money was invested and the industry must recover the amount within twenty years since the drug was registered. Which laboratory will invest a huge amount of money to discover a new drug if the Brazilian government may break the patent all of a sudden? No one will do that. We must respect the patent. If it is not so, no foreign investor will put their money in our country.

Top Team: By focusing on deals between drugstores and industries, can we say that we have lived a new moment?

Pedro Zidoi: Absolutely. In the past, all purchases were acquired straight from the pharmaceutical industry. The sales reps used to take the orders but they just came back to the drugstore after a month. As a consequence, we used to sell most products within a short period and had to wait for the sales rep in order buy more products. We ended up losing sales. Then the way of negotiating changed: wholesalers started to sell directly to the drugstores. It worked out because the product could be replaced daily. However, the pharmaceutical industry lost control of the situation as it didn´t have direct contact with the drugstores anymore. In order to change such situation, some industries set up sales teams to visit drugstores, show new products and take orders to the wholesaler. This is the new scenario.

Top Team: In your opinion, Is there an ideal partnership between drugstores and the pharmaceutical industry? Does it already exist?

Pedro Zidoi: I always say what I think. Some pharmaceutical industries were the responsible for requiring certain drugstores to shut their doors entirely. These laboratories came to the major chains and offered them up to 70% off. Those industries did it because they are not interested in contacting other drugstores as they are entirely satisfied with their sales. It is a low cost sale but very effective financially. I believe that the pharmaceutical industry should be more ethical. The condition they offer to a drugstore should be the same to the other ones.