Why is SunKalp campaign strategic for Sun Pharma?
ET Intelligence Group:, Indias largest pharma company with an 8.2% share of the local market, unveiled a special initiative of pledging Rs 100 crore for the welfare of doctors , their families, and the medical community, on the sidelines of Doctors Day on Thursday.The SunKalp campaign , to be rolled out in phases, involves mental health support for doctors and their families, webinars for doctors on mental health, donation of Covid medicines, post-doctorate educational sponsorship to encourage research and educational aid for the children of doctors who succumbed to Covid.The campaign manages to hit several chords at the same time. It serves to be a timely outreach to the doctor community during a critical period, a humane initiative exhibiting the companys social responsibility, an effective tool to forge a relationship with young medical students (prospective doctors) and a discerning engagement tool for its field force when it is difficult for medical representatives to reach out to doctors.The Indian pharma market is highly fragmented, and Sun Pharma is ranked number one by prescriptions with nine different classes of doctors: psychiatrists, neurologists, cardiologists, orthopaedic, gastroenterologists, diabetologists, dermatologists, urologists and consulting physicians. The company also commands the second highest number of prescriptions from nephrologists, ophthalmologists, oncologists and chest physicians.Amid the pandemic, as pharma companies are exploring novel ways of reaching out to doctors meaningfully, an initiative like SunKalp seems to be an effective move by the industry leader in a highly competitive market. This noble gesture will also help its field force of 11,000 medical representatives to engage better with doctors.The Sun Pharma stock closed 1.4% higher on Thursday and has appreciated 45% in the past one year on the back of encouraging quarterly performances.