The future of Menarini Asia Pacific between digital marketing and online healthcare
Menarini’s Asia Pacific division is one of the fastest growing of the entire group.
The Florence-based multinational company strongly believes in the possibilities of the global market and continues to consolidate business relations in the Asian continent, a frontier of new opportunities.
Menarini’s presence in Asia is rather significant. From South Korea to Kyrgyzstan, from China to India: there are production facilities, research centres and distribution channels in dozens of countries on the continent.
The strategic partnership recently signed between Menarini China and a Chinese start-up offering a leading hospital platform for online healthcare is also part of such a growth-oriented scenario.
Menarini, which started production in Asia in 2011, regularly invests in research activities and brings a variety of products to the continental market, mainly for respiratory, cardiovascular and dermatological problems.
Today, the Italian company with one of its main locations in Singapore employs more than 3,000 people and has chosen to take a further step: to guarantee a cutting-edge digital medical service by applying its knowledge in digital innovation projects.
China represents a reference market where the needs of the population are met by Menarini’s pharmaceutical proposal. Thus, in addition to the simple distribution of new products, Menarini wants to collect feedback from health professionals and doctors, with the idea that the use of artificial intelligence and a remote healthcare platform can help the company achieve another goal: increasing public awareness of the accessibility of medication and diagnoses, as well as facilitating the relations with the national health system.
In this historical phase, Chinese institutions have confirmed a renewed focus on the main medical and health issues through the drafting of the “Healthy China 2030” plan, a comprehensive national project that aims to improve the health of the population to the same level as high-income countries by 2030.
The establishment of a clear framework of long-term objectives allows Menarini China to focus on development strategies that are increasingly projected into the future: the rich integrated medical and healthcare ecosystem (both online and offline) can expand market coverage, and explore the potential of a platform for managing patients’ health as well as a method to provide preventive healthcare. Thus, the service will cover the entire relationship between doctor and patient: from online consultations and assistance to prescription renewal, online purchases of medication and direct online health management.
Dong Minsheng, General Manager of Menarini China
The company’s vision, in the words of Dong Minsheng, GM of Menarini China, is geared towards the challenges of the present day. “Menarini has adopted a diversified business model and a multi-channel approach to product promotion, both of which are important growth elements. We use this system for our entire portfolio: whether it is a medical supply or a prescription drug, we are in public hospitals, private hospitals, retail pharmacies and online pharmacies; we develop every channel available. This means that each type of product is experiencing rapid growth. As more digital platforms are able to provide new tools for doctors, digital marketing becomes an important way to reach the patients. Therefore, digital marketing is the future for the industry.”