Industry concern rises over the spread of the medical strike

Sense of crisis rises within the pharmaceutical industry

KMA warns of a general strike on the 18th...The Big 5 and other major hospitals make moves to participate in the collective strike

Concerns that ‘loss in Q2 is inevitable' spreads..." De facto emergency management system in place"

"Difficult to introduce new products”…MRs in charge of sales at general hospitals “do nothing”

Some large hospitals are restricting access to pharmaceutical company employees’ access in the wake of a medical gap created by their resident doctors’ leave of absence.

The pharmaceutical industry's situation worsens as the medical community is threatening to take a collective leave of absence due to conflict with the government over increasing medical school admissions.

 

There are voices that say if the leave of absence, which is being made by doctors and some medical professors, spreads throughout the medical community, it will inevitably affect the industry’s Q2 performance results.

 

There are already reports of companies predicting operating losses for their second quarter and some entering a state of emergency management.

 

Medical representatives (MRs) in charge of general hospitals are on the verge of nervous breakdown, being unable to meet with medical professors.

 

Pharma industry closely monitors the development of the medical strike ..." de facto emergency management system in place" According to industry sources on the 13th, the Korean Medical Association will take a collective leave of absence on the 18th.

 

The association also announced a general strike at Yeouido Park in Seoul.

 

In addition to the Big 5 hospitals, an increasing number of university hospitals have announced their participation in the strike.

 

The faculty council of Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital decided to take a complete leave of absence on the 17th.

 

Doctors at Severance Hospital will also take an indefinite leave of absence from the 27th.

 

The Samsung Medical Center has also joined the collective leave of action, with other large hospitals also discussing plans.

 

The medical strike, which had been ongoing amongst doctors and some medical school professors, seems to be spreading to large hospitals and clinics.

 

The pharmaceutical industry is also watching the situation closely.

 

Industry insiders say that if the medical community continues to take a leave of absence, the move will inevitably hurt the industry’s second-quarter earnings.

 

Some companies are already forecasting losses for the second quarter and have effectively gone into emergency management.

 

"Since last week, meetings involving executives from all departments have been held frequently," said an official from a large pharmaceutical company, "and it has been concluded that the company’s Q2 results will fall far short of the original target.

 

We are currently discussing ways to minimize the damage." An official from another pharmaceutical company said, "If you look at our results through May, we're looking at a loss for the second quarter.

 

The problem is that we don't have a good way to make up for it.

 

We are keeping a close eye on the situation in the healthcare industry." An MR in charge of general hospitals confesses, "I haven't done anything for 2 months," The departments in charge of sales and marketing are also concerned about the spread of the medical strike.

 

Departments that have launched or are planning to launch new products are said to be particularly affected by the prolonged medical-government conflict.

 

An official from the marketing department of a domestic pharmaceutical company that recently launched a new product said, "Companies with existing products that have a high market share may not have a big problem, but companies that are planning to launch new drugs or new products are facing difficulties.

 

We originally planned a large-scale launch symposium, but it has now been postponed indefinitely." The official added, "Recently, many medications are being prescribed in the long-term, for 6 months, making it very difficult for new drugs to be prescribed.

 

This is a big risk for new drug sales and marketing teams." For departments related to general hospitals, the situation is worse as the MRs in charge could not meet with their medical professors since the start of the strike at the beginning of the year.

 

Some surgeons and residents have returned to work, but in the internal medicine department, most full-time doctors and residents have not returned, with faculty members on call 2-3 times a week in rotation.

 

An MR from a domestic pharmaceutical company in charge of a general hospital in Daejeon said, "I haven't worked since last month.

 

Before that, I was at least receiving training, but now I am doing nothing.

 

The company is just telling me to wait and see what happens.

 

I don't want to force meetings with professors because it could backfire." An official in charge of clinical affairs at a multinational pharmaceutical company said, "It is also difficult to enroll patients in global late-stage clinical trials.

 

Doctors are reluctant to attend even when we offer meetings to encourage participation in multicenter investigator-initiated trials (IITs).

 

There are many restrictions to them attending not only investigator meetings but also pharmaceutical company events held in the evening or on weekends."