A stricter stance on the licensing of new drugs by the USís Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) and NHS reform is impacting on pharmaceutical sales jobs in primary care and on contracts, according to Audrey McCulloch, Head of Search Consultancyís scientific recruitment division ñthough the UK market remains buoyant for now.
Tighter regulation of licensing, combined with loss of exclusivity on certain products, has forced many pharmaceutical firmsí to re-evaluate future sales projections, prompting many of the larger companies to make redundancies or change permanent staff onto fixed-term contracts.
A recent report published by IMS Health, the worldís leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, showed that growth of US pharmaceutical sales slowed to 3.8% in 2007, down from 8% in 2006. However, IMS predicts growth of between 3-6% for 2008.
In addition, many NHS Trusts in the UK are focusing large parts of their drug expenditure on specific diseases so some companies are suffering, while plans to reduce the number of health boards in Scotland will also impact on pharmaceutical sales.
Audrey said: ìMany pharmaceutical firms are worried that they wonít see as many drugs making it through the licensing process as quickly as they would like, which is making them cautious over their projected sales. In addition, several firms have lost exclusive rights to produce certain drugs which is further diluting sales.
ìThis is having an impact on sales reps in the UK who are at higher risk of being made redundant or being moved to temporary contracts.
ìThe stricter regulations have come after drug scares with stories of adverse side-effects and products being recalled. The FDA is also looking for new drugs to show better efficacy than existing products before it is willing to license them.î
Audrey stresses that the UK market isnít too badly affected at present, and that recruitment among small and mid-sized firms remains strong but the industry is keeping a close eye on developments in the US.
She said: ìThe UK pharma sales market remains robust at present though obviously another poor sales performance this year could have a major knock-on effect in the UK. For now at Search we are not seeing any fewer opportunities in the market, but they are increasingly with smaller and mid sized organisations and are more likely to be fixed-term contracts.î
Market slowdown in US hits pharmaceutical jobs
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