Pharma Sales & Marketing: Experts Sound Alarm on Data Gaps, Profit Decline

The 2025 Pharma Sales and Marketing National Conference, organised by the Society for Pharmaceutical Sales and Marketing of Nigeria (SPSMN), brought together key stakeholders, executives, and industry thought leaders to chart a new direction for Nigeria’s pharmaceutical sector. Held on Wednesday, 22 October, 2025, at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alausa, Ikeja, the conference focused on the urgent need for innovation, training, and data-driven strategies in the industry’s sales and marketing landscape.

In his welcome address, Pharm. Tunde Oyeniran, president of SPSMN, reaffirmed the Society’s commitment to advancing professional capacity within the industry.

“SPSMN will continue to offer sales and marketing training in the pharmaceutical sector,” he declared. “Without a strong foundation of sales and marketing knowledge, the pharmaceutical industry will not make much progress. We are going to be serious with training as we have already started training medical representatives.”

Oyeniran’s remarks underscored a growing consensus in the industry—that the future of pharmaceutical marketing in Nigeria depends less on aggressive promotion and more on structured professional development. His comments set the tone for a conference that sought to merge commercial goals with ethical marketing practices and evidence-based strategies.

Pharm. Moses Oluwalade, managing director of Miraflash Nigeria Ltd. and chairman of the conference emphasised the need to align marketing efforts with profitability and business sustainability. He cautioned that while training is essential, financial prudence must remain a core focus.

“Marketing without profitability is not a good thing for the Nigerian pharmaceutical industry,” he said. “The low profitability index in the industry is worrisome. Marketing executives and management must find a convergent point to create a win-win situation.”

Oluwalade’s position resonated with many participants who have witnessed rising operational costs and shrinking profit margins in the wake of Nigeria’s challenging business environment. His remarks called attention to the delicate balance between building brand equity and sustaining financial health in an increasingly competitive market.

Echoing these sentiments, Pharm. Dimeji Gbotosho, managing director of Global Healthcare Ltd. and guest of honour, stressed that profitability remains the lifeline of the sector.

“The bottom line of every business is profitability,” he noted. “Pharmaceutical business is not an NGO.”

Gbotosho, however, pointed to a more systemic issue, insufficient competence among frontline sales personnel. He attributed part of the industry’s financial strain to poor sales representation and weak customer engagement, urging firms to invest in continuous capacity-building. He also lamented huge revenue losses due to the shenanigans of some sales and marketing representatives.

“We must train our medical sales representatives better,” he said. “They are the interface between the company and the market. If they fail, the entire chain suffers.”

Delivering the keynote lecture titled “Shaping the Future of Pharma Sales and Marketing in Nigeria: Data-Driven, People-Centric”, Pharm. Mathew Azoji, managing director of Riverside Healthcare Ltd., painted a sobering picture of the sector’s technological and structural challenges.

He identified low technology adoption and poor access to reliable data as major obstacles limiting the growth of pharmaceutical sales and marketing in Nigeria.

“Low technology adoption in the Nigerian healthcare ecosystem is a huge challenge,” he said. “To succeed in the pharmaceutical sales and marketing landscape, we need to be people-centric. We need to continue to innovate and network in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Azoji’s address served as both a warning and a call to action, urging industry leaders to integrate digital tools, market analytics, and customer-centric models into their operations. He maintained that the next phase of pharmaceutical growth in Nigeria will depend on the sector’s ability to merge data intelligence with human insight.

The conference concluded with a renewed commitment by participants to foster collaboration, continuous learning, and technological innovation as pathways to a more resilient and profitable pharmaceutical industry.

As SPSMN’s President, Pharm. Tunde Oyeniran, aptly summarised, the industry’s transformation must begin with knowledge, evolve through innovation, and culminate in sustainable profitability, a triad that could redefine Nigeria’s healthcare marketing future.