Having the "Global Mindset" Equals Success?

Often we assume that the United States is the supreme leader in the market and production of pharmaceuticals. That is a mistake, however. The United States was a primary focus for pharmaceutical companies until recently.

In recent times, the pharma industry has shifted its focus slightly from the United States to the new ever-expanding global market. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), one of the leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, has a sole focus on spreading its products to the Asian market. “It is ‘a significant opportunity for GSK to extend its commercial footprint and build operational scale in this fast growing Asian market,’ says Christophe Weber, GSK's senior vice president & regional director of Asia Pacific.” GSK’s mission statement page says “Broadening and balancing our portfolio, and moving away from a reliance on 'white pills/western markets'.” GSK is a UK-based company and it continues to show more and more significance in the world markets.

There is now a general consensus among the pharma leaders that foreign markets are worth investing in. Diversity in the market is now a trend among the leaders. Johnson & Johnson have pinpointed that “diversity” is their main focus. This has shown a great effect on its customers. In the 1990s, J&J was trying to expand in Brazil. However, the ethnocentric American culture proved futile. Brazil’s markets for J&Js products did not open up until the company reframed and restructured their values. The valued “global mindset” prevailed.

Pfizer Inc. has the biggest market share in the world currently. Their strategy is simple and direct, yet effective. At first, Pfizer’s aim was to have as many geographic locations, both offshore and nearshore, as possible. This created a sense that Pfizer is present in many different regions. Currently, the company’s aim is to expand in the Asian market (like GSK) including emphasizing on India. Recently, though, Pfizer has been investing heavily into research and development. This has played a crucial role to the company’s recent success. “Spending $8.1 billion in research & development (R&D) in 2007, Pfizer has the industry's largest pharmaceutical R&D organization: Pfizer Global Research and Development.” The R&D department is responsible for the innovation and creation of new drugs. This is a smart move by the company since several of its patents on blockbuster drugs expire this shortly. Not only is Pfizer physically expanding globally, they are also developing the most profitable products to reach out to the market.

-Djeki Bidjerano

Sources for the information posted:

GlaxoSmithKline:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/205264-gsk-expands-emerging-markets-reach-with-south-korean-investment

http://www.gsk.com/mission-strategy/grow.htm

Johnson & Johnson:

http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/diversity/faqs

http://knowledgenetwork.thunderbird.edu/research/2009/06/05/brazil/

Pfizer:

http://www.ngpharma.com/article/Pfizer-global-RD-today-and-tomorrow/

http://www.pfizer.com/investors/financial_reports/financial_reports_annualreview_2007.jsp

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/02/us-pfizer-idUSTRE7710KL20110802