Pharmaceutical firms ‘slow to adopt web marketing’

Pharmaceutical firms are being slow to embrace online marketing and run the risk of failing to engage with their consumers, a new report has suggested.

A study released by research and analysis organisation Datamonitor has noted that pharma customers are using the web to research and source information and products.

However, it claims that pharmaceutical companies have not responded sufficiently and risk being left behind by failing to engage with their clients online.

“The exploration of other communication channels is necessary if pharma is to keep in touch with its customer base and maximise its return on its marketing spend,” the organisation warned.

Earlier this year, Datamonitor warned that the pharmaceutical sector faces a “glut” of patent expiries of major products for targeting infectious diseases, upsetting market stability.

It suggested that some pharmaceutical firms may be reconsidering their core competencies in response and may even move their resources to other market sectors.