Abstract:
Sri Lankan pharmaceutical industry is a one of the largest profit making industries in the country with a turnover around 50-60 billion rupees. Indian drug companies dominates the industry and lesser than 25% of multinational companies with a few local manufactures are sharing the profits from the industry. Due to the competitiveness of marketing the branded medicine, each player is following various methods to grab a higher market share and profitability. In pharmaceutical market with a litter of merchandise, it is not possible for a doctor or physician to remember all brands. Companies are using a direct selling approach with medical representatives and sales representatives approaching doctors for promotional purposes where they detail the drug and request the doctors to prescribe their brands. Awarding sponsorships to a doctor and getting a commitment for the prescription of the particular brand had become a trend for all Sri Lankan as well as global drug manufacturing companies.
This research was carried out in order to investigate the different aspects of drug company promotions and their impact on branded medicine prescribing patterns of doctors. In literature, five main methodologies used by organizations to promote the pharmaceutical brands were identified. Researchers selected 60 practicing medical professionals as the sample from the Western Province and distributed a selfadministrated questionnaire in order to investigate the professionals’ opinions on the brand promotional techniques carried out by the pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors and the impact of these brand promotional mechanisms on professionals’ brand endorsement behavior. Findings revealed that the most influential factor leading towards doctors’ branded medicine prescription behavior was sponsorships offered by the pharmaceutical firms. At the same time gifts and the interaction between the doctor and the company representatives also mainly encourage doctors to prescribe medicine.
