Pharma firms in India lag behind in digital evolution, says report

Most pharmaceutical companies in India, both domestic and multinational, are yet to tap the full potential of the digital space, according to a report release by D Yellow elephant, a digital marketing pharma company.

The report, called 'The Indian Pharma Digital Health Report 2015', mapped the digital health of the pharma industry to "help them identify the loopholes, design a roadmap and help them incorporate digital medium in part of the decision making process".

The report was based on a survey of the performance of 40 pharmaceutical companies in India over a period of two weeks, across 10 key digital parameters, ranging across websites, apps and 10 social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, etc.

The companies were categorised in three categories: Digital Primes, Aspirants and Onlookers. The report pointed out that while all pharma companies are present or registered on most social media platforms, their level of engagement remained significantly low.

 

• Only nine out of 40 companies managed a score above 50 out of 100
• LinkedIn, most popular social media platform, but only 14 are active
• Google+ has high presence of 87 per cent, but only one company is active
• Only eight companies have India-specific Facebook page
• Twitter showcases 52 per cent active management (India and global handles)

Only nine companies, which include pharma bigwigs like GSK, Sanofi, and Novartis, were categorised as Digital Primes and scored more than 50 out of 100. These companies "have established a strong foothold in the digital realm and have a sound presence across various channels," the report said. Eighteen companies were categorised as Aspirants-though they were making their presence felt across most channels, there is a lot of room for expansion and innovation. Thirteen companies had taken a back seat in terms of digital presence and were categorised as Digital Onlookers.

 

Aman Gupta, Managing Director, D Yellow Elephant, said in a press release, "The pharmaceutical sector in India is at least 5-7 years behind their global counterparts and if compared to other sectors, the time lag could go up to 10 years and above. Ironically, some of these same companies abroad are seen to be proactively using digital platforms to engage with health care professionals (HCPs) and patients."

Interestingly, LinkedIn emerged as the most used social media platform, with 38 of the 40 companies having a presence on the website but only 14 companies showed active engagement. Chandni Dalal, Lead, Digital Strategy , D Yellow Elephant said, "For their part, pharmaceutical companies in India are venturing on the digital highway, but basic building blocks like having an India specific website is still amiss." Only 30 per cent of the companies surveyed had an India-specific website.