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Pharma tweets, but lacks social media values

As a general statement its probably fair to say that people value health care. And that they trust that access to medications is an important part of ensuring health and defeating diseases in many cases. Yet paradoxically the manufacturers of sometimes life-saving medicines, the pharmaceutical industry, are generally reviled. Surveys have found that people hold big pharma in about as high esteem as they hold big oil and big tobacco.
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What gives? Several things, but central to this is the tension between social good and business practice. And social media and business practices provide a great, if somewhat oversimplified, case study into how this tension plays itself out.

Pharma widely touts the amount they purportedly invest in research and development because people respect that: It sounds like innovation needed to cure disease and maintain good health. (We’ll set aside for a moment the fact that most new drugs are in fact “me-too” products rather than new molecular entities, and that manufacturers increasingly buy innovative discoveries from smaller, more lithe and innovative up-starts.) They do not, however, divulge how much is spent on marketing. That sounds too much like profit maximization. The claim is that publicizing the amount spent on marketing would put them at a competitive disadvantage, since competitors would then have their marketing secrets to exploit. But that explanation likely leaves a bad taste in most peoples mouth.

So what does this have to do with social media? Every pharmaceutical manufacturer has a robust social media presence. But as presenters at the recent Justmeans conference on Social Media, Technology and Change so clearly pointed out, social media is about a lot more than linking a Twitter feed loaded with #pharma hashtags and Facebook page to your website. Those are just some of the tools. Social media in its truest sense is about creating values-based relationships. Its about embracing ideals of authenticity, transparency, and honesty. Its not enough to simply tell me you are doing good, I need to be convinced. I need to be able to interact with you and have it feel genuine.

India not to compromise pharma interest in EU pact: Khullar

New Delhi: Assuring the $22 billion generic pharmaceutical industry, the government on Wednesday said India will not compromise its interest while negotiating the free trade and investment agreement with the European Union (EU).

“I can give you assurance that I will not enter into any bargain…which binds me to a commitment that in anyway compromises my domestic policy,” commerce secretary Rahul Khullar told reporters.

He said the understanding to this effect was reached between commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma and EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht in Brussels on 29 November.

“It was agreed that all this business of generic (drugs) was off the table,” he said.

Indian pharma industry, which exports $10 billion worth of affordable medicines around the world, follows the multilateral WTO rules on patents (Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights).

Under TRIPS, the off-patent generic medicines can be manufactured and exported anywhere in the world. However, the EU regulations insists on extra binding regime.

European negotiators, in the ongoing Bilateral Investment and Trade Agreement (BITA) talks have insisted that India should follow TRIPS plus regime to enable the opening of the trade through the bilateral pact, which will reduce duties.

As the two sides are nearing the completion of BITA talks, several non-government organizations in India and even in Europe have raised concerns about impact on affordable medicines, in case India were to fall in line with the EU regulations.

Khullar said that while he would not like to disclose his negotiating strategy, “you must not judge me by what is being negotiated but (by) what the outcome is.”

He is leaving for Brussels on Wednesday night to join Sharma, who will be present for the India-EU Summit that will be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday.

Khullar said the communique issued after the summit would give a clear timeline for the signing of the trade opening agreement. He added that it is likely to be concluded in March next year.

EU is India’s largest trading partner with the two-way commerce of about $75 billion in 2009-10.

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