Pharma Veterans

Pickings by Pharma Veterans Fortnightly Newsletter #30 – August 31, 2025 This newsletter is the offering from Asrar Qureshi, Founder of Pharma Veterans. It will bring to you a selection of Pharma Industry news and developments from Pakistan, region, and the world. It will be published fortnightly on alternate Sundays. For queries and sending information, please send email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com. SPECIAL NOTE The objective of this newsletter is to share important news from the US and Europe, where exciting new research and development in drugs is going on. News from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are included to show where Pakistan stands vis-à-vis the region. This is done in order that Pharma Industry in Pakistan may take necessary actions for course setting and long-term strategy making. PAKISTAN • Patients in Pakistan will soon have access to safer and higher-quality medicines as the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) has adopted international pharmaceutical sta...

Different Kind of Leadership – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1152 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1152 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Miguel A. Padrinan Credit: Pavel Danilyuk Preamble – How to Lead Like No One Has Led Before: Lessons from Marginal Leaders This blog post takes insights from a recent INSEAD article. Link at the end. The concepts embedded in this rather high-end article are alien to organizations in our part of the world. We are still stuck with the classic, conventional leadership style, where the end justifies the means. Nevertheless, these are interesting, intriguing, and refreshing. In most organizations, leadership is associated with clear metrics, performance goals, and hierarchical authority. Yet, a growing cadre of “marginal leaders”, those tasked with buildi...

Navigating Uncertainty – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1151 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1151 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: energepic Credit: Fox Credit: Andrea Piacquadio Preamble This blog post takes insights from a recent McKinsey article. Link at the end. In today’s rapidly shifting world, disruption is no longer a rare event; it is the norm. A recent McKinsey study revealed that 84% of business leaders feel underprepared for future disruptions, with geopolitical shifts standing out as a key concern. Geopolitical changes affect all organizations in all countries, not just global companies in developed countries. For example, a Pakistani company doing business only in Pakistan is not immune to global changes as it affects supply chains, exchange rates, local currency value, pr...

Technical Expertise vs Customer Experience – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1150 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1150 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Anna Shvets Credit: Pixabay Preamble I am a regular reader of a technology newsletter by Rob Howard at innovatingwithai.com.  A recent edition talked about the disaster created by OpenAI upon itself when they launched GPT5.0 and disconnected earlier versions. The consumers were confused and unhappy. The analysis is that being a technology company is one part, while being a consumer company is an altogether different area, where OpenAI did not exist. Similar situations are seen in Pharma industry when a high-tech, great product does not take into account user/consumer/patient experience. Some examples follow. Technology vs Commerciali...

AI Chatbots and Mental Health – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1149 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1149 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Ryanneil Masucol Preamble Couple of days ago, I read an article in New York Times Opinion from Laura Reiley titled ‘What My Daughter Told ChatGPT Before She Took Her Life’. The title says what the content is. It is a heartbreaking story but Laura as mother, is still quite unemotional and balanced in her write up. (Link at the bottom) Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened an investigation into artificial intelligence chatbot platforms, including Meta AI Studio and Character.AI, for potentially engaging in deceptive trade practices and misleadingly marketing themselves as mental health tools. These platform may be utilized by vulnerable individ...

Pharma Marketing by 2030 – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1148 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1148 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Timur Saglambilek Credit: Mikael Blomkvist Preamble I discussed how pharmaceutical selling is likely to change during the next five years. Now, this is a broad vision of how pharmaceutical marketing may look like by 2030, with a special lens on Pakistan. It is more complex than selling because marketing is the brain and it works for present and future simultaneously. What will change materially by 2030 Omnichannel becomes the default, not “digital vs. rep,” but both. HCPs increasingly want integrated experiences across rep visits, virtual touchpoints, portals, webinars, medical content hubs, and peer channels. Medical and commercial touchpoints will be o...

Pharma Selling in Five Years – The Shape of Things to Come – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1147 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1147 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Abdul Batin Credit: Antoni Shkraba Credit: Tima Miroshnichenko Preamble This is a broad vision of how pharmaceutical selling may look like by 2030. The Current Reality Pharmaceutical selling is still heavily relationship driven. Doctors, pharmacists, and hospital buyers trust sales reps who bring credibility, responsiveness, and personalized discussions. Unlike many other industries, face-to-face selling continues to dominate because: Prescribers rely on human interaction and nuanced discussions. Regulatory restrictions limit direct-to-consumer pharma marketing in many countries, particularly Pakistan Complex therapies (...

Pickings by Pharma Veterans Newsletter #29 – August 17, 2025 This newsletter is the offering from Asrar Qureshi, Founder of Pharma Veterans. It will bring to you a selection of Pharma Industry news and developments from Pakistan, region, and the world. It will be published fortnightly on alternate Sundays. For queries and sending information, please send email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com. SPECIAL NOTE The objective of this newsletter is to share important news from the US and Europe, where exciting new research and development in drugs is going on. News from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are included to show where Pakistan stands vis-à-vis the region. This is done in order that Pharma Industry in Pakistan may take necessary actions for course setting and long-term strategy making. PAKISTAN • Highnoon Laboratories Limited has entered into a strategic partnership with Beximco Pharmaceuticals Limited, a leading pharmaceutical manufacturer based in Bangladesh. This alliance marks a...

Pakistan at 78: Rising Together Towards a Brighter Future – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1146 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1146 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit. Muneeb Malhotra   Credit: Dr Photographer Credit: Hamayoon Riaz Preamble 14 August is not just another date in our calendar; it is the heartbeat of our national identity. It is the day when, in 1947, a dream was realized, a homeland where people could live with dignity, freedom, and self-determination. Today, as Pakistan celebrates its 78th Independence Day, we find ourselves reflecting on our journey, a journey filled with struggles, triumphs, and persistent challenges. We cannot deny that our nation has endured many hurdles: political instability, economic struggles, corruption, weak governance, and social inequality...

Underground AI in Workplace – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1145 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1145 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com . Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com   for publishing your contributions here. Mikhail Nilov Mikhail Nilov Preamble This blog post takes key insights from HR Dive’s article “Younger employees use AI at work but don’t want to tell their bosses”, and couple of other articles on the same subject. It reflects workplace trends, underlying anxieties, and steps managers can take to bring clarity and trust in AI adoption. When AI Goes Underground: What It Means When Employees Don’t Tell Their Bosses In workplaces across the U.S., a surprising trend has taken root: many younger employees are secretly using AI tools at work and deliberately keeping it under wraps. According to a recent HR Dive report, nearly half of Generation Z and millennial ...