Agency calls to reduce medical sales reps in Australia
One of the main consumer associations in Australia has called for a reduction in the numbers of medical sales reps.
Not surprisingly the medical sales industry has responded by suggesting the association are not qualified to assess pharmaceuticals and should stick to washing machines. The research interviewed over 180 GPs and produced the less than surprising findings that medical sales operations focused no newer more expensive drugs.
It's not commercial rocket science to realise that pharmaceutical companies, having spent a fortune on the research required to produce medical advances, do need to make a profit from their sales in order to keep medical progress moving forward, and it is this where the pharmaceutical companies have a point.
It is somewhat short sighted and naive to think that removing a pharmaceutical companies vehicle to make a profit is a good move as ultimately this will impact upon medical progress. Cost saving measures preventing the advance of a new type of washing machine may be seen as good strategy, I'm not so sure the same approach should apply to the development of life saving medicines.
In the UK there often are calls from minority quarters to ban medical sales people. To date, the powers that be appear to be appreciative of the crucial role of the medical sales rep in the cycle of drug development and medical progress.
Concern over medical sales at pharmacies
