Australian medical sales criticised
An Australian consumer agency has produced a scathing report of medical sales operations suggesting reps should be replaced by independent drug advisors.
At present there are 1000s of medical sales reps in Australia versus only 150 or so independent drug advisors. In a survey question 180 GPs the agency claims that pharmaceutical companies are guilty of only promoting newer more expensive medicines and not older, but perhaps as or more effective ones.
The survey seems to to to great lengths to prove that medical sales operations are indeed aimed at generating profits for their companies, and that this is in some way wrong. The conclusion is that medical sales reps should be replaced by the current minority of independent drug advisors.
What the report fails to acknowledge is that profitable medical sales operations are the foundation for the continued research and development necessary to keep medical progress moving forward, to find those ground breaking new treatments in the future. Like all investments, they cost now for benefits later. If such agencies are successful in removing pharmaceutical companies opportunities to make profits, they will also be successful in reducing, or indeed removing any further medical progress and companies and their shareholders will no longer be prepared to pursue the risks of R & D without the opportunities to recoup their costs through medical sales.
