Law of Succession News South Africa

Industry news: Pfizer breaks into generics

To enhance the quality of life of more people in South Africa, Pfizer SA recently launched Pharmacia, focusing exclusively on the provision of original generic medicines to specifically address some of the country's critical disease areas.

To increase awareness of the division's products, Pfizer has enlisted the skills of software company, X/procure®, to advertise its range directly to pharmacists.

Through an intensive seven month campaign on X/procure®'s advertising screens, found in over 1500 pharmacies, Pharmacia's offerings will be included at the point of ordering, dispensing and sales via unique advertising content.

"To communicate the availability of Pharmacia's three initial product offerings to pharmacists we will be utilising the Announcement Screen and Intervention Advert platforms," says X/procure® MD Deon Lewis.

"The Announcement Screen simply communicates the existence of Pfizer's subsidiary and its available products while the Intervention Advert is a particularly clever device that ensures the Pharmacia product is made known to the pharmacist, even if it wasn't initially queried."

"While there is a risk that generic medicines can cannibalise their originals, this is a lucrative market segment that Pfizer has chosen not to ignore. In line with government regulations in facilitating the sale of affordable medicine - we believe that Pharmacia is about to change the current medicinal climate," says Deon.

About X/procure®

X/procure® Software specialises in the delivery of electronic ordering and advertising technology to a wide segment of the South African Healthcare industry. To the pharmacists X/procure® Software offers a premium ordering system, to the pharmaceutical manufacturers an opportunity to place advertising on the computer interface at the point when the buying decision is made in the form of banners, intervention adverts, watermarks and pop-ups amongst others.

For more information visit www.xprocure.com

Issued on behalf of: X/procure® - Deon Lewis
Tel: +27 11 562 6500
Primedia Unlimited - Ken Varejes
Tel: +27 11 562 6666



Editorial contact

Claire Dowdle
T: +27 11 234 6520

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