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Takeda Announces Shift in Pharma Marketing for Japanese Units

February 24, 2014

Takeda Pharmaceutical said Monday its plans to adjust its marketing system by springtime to allow for specialized representation of therapeutic areas rather than all Takeda products.

Beginning April 1, sales reps will be only be responsible for one of three therapeutic areas:

  • Cardiovascular/metabolic diseases;
  • Gastrointestinal, central nervous system, urological and bone/rheumatic diseases; and
  • Oncology.

Managers will still continue to engage in informative activities tailored to their region’s unique characteristics, the Japanese company said.

The move comes as other drug companies are changing their marketing practices. GlaxoSmithKline recently unveiled new compensatory frameworks for its global sales force last year in the wake of Chinese bribery scandals.

The U.S. Department of Justice, wanting to rid the industry of pay-for-performance sales compensation packages, also is trying to change the way drug companies compensate sales reps. The department is increasingly using corporate integrity agreements to remove companies’ pay-for-performance practices, which it believes fuels fraud, off-label marketing and other deceptive behaviors. — Nick Otto

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