Roche Pilots Patient-Centric Model by Eliminating Sales Targets for MabThera Team

These Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Are No Longer Burdened with Quotas

According to the WeChat official account “Yaosila,” Roche recently issued an internal email notification announcing that, with the BUO1 MabThera team as a pilot, it will comprehensively roll out a “patient-centric” business model. The MabThera team will be restructured in its entirety into the “Lymphoma Subspecialty Innovation Team.”

Additionally, according to insider feedback, starting from October 1st, MabThera will cancel the quota system, and the specific assessment method is currently under consideration.

Pharmaceutical promotion professionals analyzed for Saibailan that the new assessment scheme may focus on promoting academic activities, by evaluating metrics such as the number of new patients and the number of academic conferences held. After eliminating performance indicators tied to product sales volumes, medical representatives’ responsibilities will become more detailed under the new assessment framework, with potentially more evaluation dimensions. In addition to product sales, there are more aspects to balance.

Jog Ge, a contributing writer for Cyblue, pointed out that in the future, pharmaceutical sales representatives will evolve towards more refined, academic, solution-oriented, and service-driven approaches.

As for why the Roche team was chosen to test the waters, Shen Yong, Chairman of Beijing Shengshi Kanglai Traditional Chinese Medicine Marketing Planning Co., Ltd., who has worked at both leading multinational pharmaceutical companies and domestic pharmaceutical companies, told Saibailan that there may be two factors influencing this decision:

One factor is the approval of two new indications for MabThera in China at the end of last year, necessitating strengthened academic promotion; the other is the competition MabThera faces from biosimilars, which may lead Roche to decide on a shift in its promotional strategy.

Rituxan was launched in the United States in 1997, and its patent expired in 2018. Currently, there are two biosimilars available: In February 2019, Hanlikang, the first rituximab biosimilar, was approved for marketing in China; on January 23, 2020, Ruxience, the rituximab biosimilar developed by Pfizer, was officially launched.

In the first quarter of 2020, MabThera/Rituxan generated revenues of CHF 1.389 billion, representing a 15% year-on-year decline, with revenue downturns observed in its three major markets: Japan, Europe, and the United States.

Fosun Pharma’s 2019 annual report showed that Hanlikang began sales in mid-May 2019 and quickly gained market recognition, with annual sales of approximately RMB 150 million, which also impacted the domestic sales of MabThera to some extent.

Shen Yong believes that, unlike some Chinese proprietary medicines with long life cycles, most drugs have a limited lifespan from market launch to withdrawal. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies need to establish different performance indicators tailored to the specific challenges of product promotion at various stages of each product’s life cycle.

For instance, early-stage metrics for a product may include the number of hospitals where it is developed; mid-stage metrics may focus on sales volume; and in later stages, process management becomes increasingly important, with pharmaceutical companies typically emphasizing strategies to increase patient adherence and prolong treatment duration. In summary, pharmaceutical companies determine the appropriate promotional strategies for their products at different stages based on the specific challenges and practical needs they face.

Multiple Multinational Corporations Take Action to Abolish Sales Targets

GSK was the first multinational pharmaceutical company to announce the elimination of sales targets. Following the exposure of its bribery scandal in China in 2013, GSK officially announced adjustments to its global sales force compensation system, primarily including:

Eliminate individual sales targets for pharmaceutical representatives; their compensation will be linked to the quality of services provided to physicians, professional expertise, and the company’s overall business performance, rather than being tied to physicians’ prescription volumes. Gradually cease direct payments to healthcare professionals invited to deliver speeches or attend medical conferences.

GSK executives in China have stated to the media that the company’s medical representatives merely convey valuable medical information to physicians, and their compensation is linked to the quality of services provided to physicians, their professional expertise, and the company’s overall business performance.

On May 24, 2019 (Beijing Time), the Financial Times of the United Kingdom disclosed that, in accordance with relevant policies, GSK would reintroduce performance-based bonuses and adjust its existing compensation system.

Fabio Landazabal, Senior Vice President of Emerging Markets and Head of China Operations at GSK, announced that a series of changes to the sales representative bonus policy issued by GSK’s headquarters would not apply to the Chinese market or other emerging markets. This means that GSK will continue to uphold its model in mainland China that eliminates individual sales targets for pharmaceutical sales representatives.

Previously, UCB also stated to the media that it had eliminated the position of pharmaceutical sales representative, with former representatives transitioning into roles as Pharmaceutical Information Partners. This shift means that UCB’s performance evaluations for these employees no longer center on sales targets; instead, they assess how effectively these individuals collaborate with physicians to ultimately deliver better treatment options for patients.

Should Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives Be Held to Quotas?

Opinions Vary Within the Industry on Pharmaceutical Companies Eliminating Sales Targets for Medical Representatives

Grace, a contributing writer for Cailan, stated today that, from the current perspective, at least mainstream medical device companies manage their sales based on targets—typically annual sales revenue quotas broken down from overall targets—and there has never been a scenario without such targets. Grace further pointed out that apart from the pharmaceutical industry, sales roles in any industry are required to meet performance targets.

As for the elimination of representative performance metrics, she stated that this will not become a trend in the short term, and may not even occur within the next 5–10 years. However, it is a growing trend to assign certain personnel from the sales force to roles such as “Key Account Management,” “Clinical Advisory,” and “Professional Education.” It should be noted that these individuals remain part of the sales force, and this segmentation primarily aims to provide diversified support to help the sales team achieve their targets.

Generally speaking, in addition to mere sales target achievement, some medical device companies also evaluate the performance of key products and new products. For frontline representatives, assessments may include the number of departmental meetings or product presentations conducted. For managers with supervisory responsibilities, staff turnover rates are also evaluated. In summary, these are flexible policies centered around performance-related metrics.

Some pharmaceutical sales representatives also support the elimination of sales targets, arguing that their role is not merely about sales but requires substantial professional expertise, rather than just marketing skills.

From the perspective of national policy orientation, this is indeed the case. In 2017, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Several Opinions on Further Reforming and Improving Policies for Drug Production, Circulation, and Use," which explicitly stated: "Strengthen the management of medical representatives, establish a registration and filing system for medical representatives, and promptly disclose filing information. Medical representatives shall only engage in activities such as academic promotion and technical consultation, and shall not undertake drug sales tasks; their acts of dishonesty shall be recorded in personal credit records." The latest draft for comments on the Administrative Measures for the Filing of Medical Representatives has once again reaffirmed the aforementioned requirements.

Regarding the issue of pharmaceutical sales representatives being assigned quotas, Shen Yong argues that this cannot be generalized; instead, it requires a case-by-case analysis that takes into account different pharmaceutical companies, different products, and the various stages of the product life cycle.

Finally, setting aside factors related to enterprises and products, with the advancement of the generic drug consistency evaluation policy, the “two-invoice” system squeezing out inefficiencies in distribution channels, the continuous implementation of national centralized volume-based procurement for drugs, the renewed solicitation of public comments on the registration system for medical representatives, and the joint establishment of a credit system by multiple departments to combat commercial bribery in the pharmaceutical sector, pharmaceutical companies appear compelled to adopt new strategies in product sales management.