Prioritise patient safety over profit, pharmacists tell drug marketers

Pharmaceutical industry leaders have urged sales and marketing professionals to put patient safety above profit and uphold the highest standards of professionalism and scientific integrity.

They challenged members of the Society for Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing of Nigeria to move beyond sales targets and become trusted transformation leaders who put patients’ health and welfare first.

The experts also urged them to embrace technological innovations, including artificial intelligence, to improve efficiency, strengthen stakeholder engagement and raise professional standards.

They gave the charge at the 2026 National Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing Conference of the SPSMN, held in Lagos.

The conference, themed “From Sales Rep to Trusted Transformation Leader: Raising Professional Standards and Capacity in Pharma,” aimed to equip sales and marketing professionals with the skills to move beyond traditional sales-driven approaches to a modern, information-based model that puts patients at the centre of pharmaceutical marketing.

The conference examined the changing responsibilities of pharmaceutical sales representatives amid growing concerns over counterfeit and substandard medicines, rising operational costs and declining public trust.

The stakeholders stressed that patient welfare must remain central to pharmaceutical marketing strategies to promote trust, safety and responsible medicine promotion.

The keynote speaker and Managing Partner of Savante Consulting Limited, Sola Solarin, said pharmaceutical sales and marketing professionals must embrace fundamental changes to raise professional standards and become transformation leaders.

He said they must shift from being product dealers to clinical educators, from pursuing sales targets to transforming health systems, from individual operators to ethical institution builders, and from being controlled by company interests to becoming strategic champions.

Solarin, a former National Chairman of the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria, said pharmaceutical companies should assess sales representatives not only by sales volumes but also by the number of healthcare providers they had trained, pharmacovigilance reports they had facilitated, and patient education programmes they had supported.

“Our industry today is in a state of flux. The changes we are witnessing will reshape the landscape for years to come, and only companies that adapt will survive. Your role as sales reps is to leverage your market knowledge to help shape your company’s strategic direction and safeguard its going concern status.

“I want you to remember that you are not just a sales representative carrying a bag; you are a trusted transformation leader carrying the health of a nation and the survival of your company,” he said.

Solarin urged the professionals to shun shortcuts, uphold scientific integrity and strengthen their expertise through conferences and certification programmes.

He also advised them to master the diseases their products treat, rather than focusing solely on the drugs, and to uphold professional standards and embrace collaboration.

The guest of honour and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Charterhouse Pharmaceutical Limited, Ope Oyinola, described sales representatives and marketing professionals as the driving force of pharmaceutical manufacturers and strategic partners in the industry.

He urged them to understand the products they promote and make patient safety their top priority.

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“They must see themselves as strategic partners of manufacturers in the industry and as the key note-takers in sales and marketing of pharmaceuticals.

“They should go and learn about the products and put the safety of patients first in everything that they do. They must learn to put patients first. That is the secret of sales. If you put patients first, the issues of quality, sales and profits will be history,” he said.

Oyinola urged the professionals to embrace artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and transform pharmaceutical marketing.

“Let us use AI not as an answer, but as a tool to the answer by using it as a tool for efficiency and safety,” he added.

The pharmacist said artificial intelligence and other digital technologies could improve efficiency, medicine traceability, inventory management and quality verification.

The SPSMN President, Tunde Oyeniran, cautioned members against unethical practices, exaggerated claims and misinformation that could undermine confidence in individual medicines and the pharmaceutical industry.

“For us, it’s about knowing your product, knowing your market, and saying exactly what you can do, not one more word,” Oyeniran said.

He said the society was established to give pharmaceutical sales and marketing professionals in Nigeria identity, dignity and direction.

Oyeniran described pharmaceutical sales and marketing as a distinct profession, noting that the society had set a benchmark for professional conduct in the sector.

He identified drug counterfeiting as a major threat to market integrity and consumer safety, calling for stronger measures to detect and prevent the circulation of fake medicines.

He urged the government to increase funding for regulatory agencies, including the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, to strengthen efforts to combat counterfeit medicines.

The SPSMN president also stressed the importance of mentorship, regular professional engagements and strict enforcement of ethical standards.

He said the society was working to improve members’ competence and integrity through its code of conduct, adding that professionals must take responsibility for their continuous development.

Oyeniran urged sales representatives to pursue professional training, adopt ethical practices and make patient safety their overriding priority.

He also emphasised the importance of regulatory compliance in the pharmaceutical industry, urging members to ensure that their marketing activities met established professional and legal standards.