Pharma’s Digital Retail Platforms: The Future Standard for Selling Drugs Online?

Pharmaceutical companies have tried out a variety of new digital business models in recent years. The digital retail model is one of the newest. PfizerForAll and Lilly Direct are already on the start line. Is the value proposition good enough and will other pharma companies follow?

The Pharma Digital Retail Model (PDRM) is a cutting-edge sales strategy in the pharmaceutical industry that leverages digital platforms to enhance patient access to medications, drive drug sales, and gather valuable insights into patient behavior. By streamlining the patient journey from recognizing health concerns (“What is my problem?”) to obtaining prescribed medication (“When and how do I get my medication?”) this model offers significant convenience and support. Read also “Digital Retail Platforms: The new concept of Pharma to sell directly to patients

PDRM delivers a one-stop-shop value proposition through four core components and an additional supportive element, creating a seamless, end-to-end experience for patients. It focuses on specific therapeutic areas and integrates the pharma company’s own medications to provide a more tailored healthcare journey.

Key Components of PDRM

1. Be Informed

  • Provides essential information on diseases and treatments within selected therapeutic areas.
  • Content is focused on the medications promoted via the service, which may include both the company’s own drugs and, in some cases, competitors’ products.

2. Find HCPs, Schedule Consultations, and Obtain Prescriptions

  • Helps patients locate healthcare providers (HCPs) nearby.
  • Enables easy scheduling of video or onsite consultations, ensuring direct access to medical professionals.
  • Video consultations are offered at a fixed price (e.g., $35 per session), during which doctors can issue prescriptions.

3. Optimize Reimbursement

  • Assists patients in understanding reimbursement and co-payment options, helping them navigate healthcare costs.
  • Offers savings programs through pharmaceutical companies’ medication platforms.
  • Provides authorization services when required.

4. Order and Shipment

  • Allows patients to order medications online for home delivery or pharmacy pickup.
  • Especially beneficial for individuals with mobility challenges or those in remote areas.

5. Treatment Support

  • Encourages treatment adherence and behavior change through ongoing support.
  • Patients can subscribe separately to digital health solutions for additional guidance and tracking.

By integrating these components, PDRM enhances medication accessibility and provides comprehensive support to patients, reinforcing their adherence to treatment plans while improving overall health outcomes. This model represents a transformative shift in how pharmaceutical companies engage with patients, making healthcare more accessible, efficient, and patient-centric.

Benefits for Pharma:

The Digital Pharma Retail Model offers several key benefits to pharmaceutical companies, primarily driving increased drug sales, gathering valuable patient data, and enhancing retail margins.  

  1. Increase Drug Sales: Drug sales are achieved by simplifying the entire drug procurement process. The business model is based on the idea that direct access to telehealth doctors for prescriptions, combined with simplified procurement through online pharmacies, encourages more frequent ordering. It is also expected that doctors will prescribe the pharmaceutical company’s drugs more frequently to patients referred via the platform adherence and behavior change tools used increase medication intake and thus medication sales. As soon as the patient uses these tools, this demonstrably leads to more medication sales.
  2. Get Patient Data: Users are asked to log in and share some personal data. In addition, partner online pharmacies report back purchase data. This allows pharmaceutical companies to gain insights into patient’s demographics, adherence, purchasing patterns, and changes on health status (if symptom trackers are used).
  3. Increase Retail Margins: The model allows the pharmaceutical company to bypass traditional resellers and potentially increase its sales margin. In addition, the model also offers margin enhancement through the conclusion of selective contracts with online pharmacies and the use of revenue sharing agreements with telemedicine and partner apps.

The overall benefit depends on the size of the target group, the price of the medication, and the expected frequency of medication use. The number of medications and therapy areas on the DPRM platforms currently available on the market is still very limited. Therefore, expectations on the pharmaceutical side should remain realistic. This also considers another key aspect of DPRMs: the significant reliance on outsourcing.

Benefits for Patients:

The Pharma Digital Retail Model (PDRM) offers significant benefits to targeted patients, with convenience being the most notable advantage. By integrating essential healthcare services into a single platform for selected treatments, PDRM removes logistical barriers, provides cost-saving opportunities, and enhances health outcomes through adherence tools and behavioral support programs. This approach empowers patients to manage their health more effectively by ensuring convenience, affordability, and better care.

  1. Easy Access to Medications (Convenience): PDRM streamlines the entire medication journey, offering end-to-end support for specific therapeutic areas, such as migraines or diabetes. Patients can: Find healthcare providers, receive prescriptions, place orders, have medications delivered to their homes. This seamless process reduces logistical challenges, making healthcare more accessible and efficient.
  2. Cost Saving: The model also provides financial relief by optimizing reimbursement options and offering discount programs. By reducing out-of-pocket expenses, PDRMs make essential medications more affordable, easing the financial burden on patients.
  3. Better Health Outcomes: With a strong focus on treatment adherence and behavior change, PDRMs recommend third-party digital health solutions to help patients adopt healthier habits and stay on track with their treatments.

From the patient’s perspective, the main drawback of PDRMs is the limited range of treatment options available. This model is particularly beneficial for patients who require ongoing medication, such as those with chronic conditions. However, as seen with Pfizer and Eli Lilly’s platforms, even medications requiring annual appointments or prescriptions are supported, expanding accessibility beyond just monthly refills.

Overall, PDRMs revolutionize patient access to medications, offering a more convenient, cost-effective, and supportive healthcare experience.

For pharma companies, DPRMs offer a relatively low-risk way to engage directly with their target customer base and drive sales. The success of this model will depend on which medications or medical devices prove best suited for it. It is likely that other pharma companies will follow suit, adopting similar platforms for their own businesses.

To learn more about the new business mode and how to implement it, download the new report here