Japan wholesalers: Yesterday, today and tomorrow

By P Reed Maurer

Pharma companies in developed markets do not consider wholesalers key stakeholders in the delivery of drugs to patients or providers of drug information to physicians. Their added value is not respected thus easily replaced by selling direct to pharmacies, writes P Reed Maurer, long time pharma industry watcher who is president of International Alliances Limited, in his regular exclusive insight for The Pharma Letter.

Not surprising that for a very long time foreign companies doing business in Japan considered the entire business of selling through wholesalers a black hole and entrusted Japanese firms with the responsibility for distribution.