P&G look to pharmacists
November 25, 2011
PHARMACISTS can play an
important role in addressing the
over-riding healthcare needs of
Australians, according to Siobhan
Keenan, Leader of Personal Health
Care Research and Development
for P&G Asia.
Currently around 80% of
Australians have a Procter and
Gamble product in their
households, a figure that P&G do
not take lightly, and to that end
spend millions of dollars a year on
customer research and
development.
Speaking yesterday at a media
conference about that R&D,
Keenan said that the number one
megatrend in Australian healthcare
is ageing, a trend which
pharmacists are often on the
frontline of for patient care.
“It’s not really about people
getting older, it’s about people
getting older but wanting a better
quality of life as they get older,” she
said.
“And consumers are prepared to
pay for that and invest in that quite
significantly,” she added.
However according to her
research, consumers also want
some of the complexity of life taken
away from them, and this is where
pharmacists can play a greater role.
“The number of options and
pieces of information that get to a
consumer every single day is huge,”
she said.
“What we’ve heard from
consumers is that they really want
someone to help them figure their
way out through that, figure out
how to make more simple choices
that they know are good for them,”
“In Australia this is a place where
consumers will use the pharmacist
a lot because they take away that
complexity and help them to make
really good choices,” she added.
A further mega trend,
according to Keenan, is the
financial burden to government as
consumers get older and
populations increase.
As such, the opportunity for P&G
Keenan said, is to find better ways
for consumers to be able to treat
their healthcare.
“Not without going to the doctor,
but being able to treat those minor
coughs, colds and stomach
problems with the help of the
pharmacist,” she said.
MEANWHILE Keenan also
confirmed the finilisation the deal
between P&G and Teva
Pharmaceuticals, the number one
generic pharmaceutical company in
the world.
The deal, announced earlier in
the year, will see the pair merge
their consumer healthcare
businesses outside the US including
P&G’s Vicks and Metamucil with
Teva’s OTC pain, allergy and cold
medications.
“This partnership will combine
our core strengths – especially in
the area of brand building,
consumer-led innovation and goto-
market retail capability – with
Teva’s world-class capabilities in
health care – especially in R&D,
regulatory and product supply,” a
P&G statement said.
“This partnership will also give us
access to Teva’s 1,500 existing
active ingredients to help us grow
our current respiratory and
digestive wellness businesses and
build entirely new global health
care brands,” P&G added.
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