Cristina shares her perspective on global market trends, expansion strategies, and her vision for the future of Asac Pharmaceutical Immunology in the international area.
- Cristina, during your time at Asac Pharmaceutical Immunology, what has been the greatest challenge you’ve faced?
The biggest challenge in approaching sales in new markets is maintaining an open and flexible mindset. For example, a few years ago, we implemented a common registration strategy across all Central American countries; however, each country offered a different regulatory perspective, which was sometimes even incompatible.
- Over the years as an Export Area Manager, what are the main international markets you’ve worked with? What has been your contribution to expanding the company’s presence in those markets?
I have primarily worked with European countries. To contribute to the company’s expansion in these markets, we recently presented bacterial vaccines at an Infectious Diseases Congress in Albania, where they were very well received by healthcare professionals.
- In the various international pharmaceutical markets, how do you evaluate the opportunities and challenges that arise? What key factors determine the viability of a new market?
The goal is to highlight the benefits of sublingual vaccines, particularly their ease of administration and reduction of the most harmful side effects. On the other hand, there are several key factors in determining the viability of a new market: the prevalence of allergic conditions in the country, the main allergens causing such conditions, and the number of specialists and prescribers relative to the population percentage.
- When working with clients from different countries, how do you handle cultural and regulatory differences? How do you foster collaboration and cohesion in this internationally distributed work environment?
This is the most important challenge: flexibility and maintaining an open mind to find solutions that allow us to adapt to cultural and regulatory realities that differ from those in Europe. Brief monographic meetings of a maximum of 15 minutes help focus strategies across different departments and countries.
- Each market has specific requirements. How do you adapt marketing and sales strategies to meet these needs?
Local medical visits provide insights into the needs of local prescribers. With this information, we can develop the most appropriate marketing and promotional plans for the various destinations, tailoring them as much as possible to their needs and the specific characteristics and differences of each market.
- In your view, how does Asac Pharmaceutical Immunology add value to its international distributors? What sets us apart from the rest?
Immunotherapy is the only treatment recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as effective in changing the natural course of allergic diseases. Furthermore, our products are manufactured under European GMP standards, ensuring a high concentration of allergens. This is a key factor in the effectiveness of sublingual immunotherapy, as bibliographic evidence confirms that it is cost-effective.
