Matthew Herman

Matthew Herman is the editor-in-chief of Pharmaceutical Representative magazine.

Just a few short years ago, bringing in a lunch for a doctor was, well, something of a production. You had to find a restaurant that could meet your needs, place an order well in advance and make sure it was on time – not to mention pay for it, keep track of your receipts, and so on and so forth. Reps sounded a familiar refrain: I am not a caterer!

It's been just over five years since the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) released its "Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals," which effectively changed the way sales representatives and drug companies thought about leave-behinds.

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Has the pharmaceutical and biotech industry overextended its signature sales model? Is the selling field now overgrazed and producing less bounty for all? Could the inaccessible-physician problem be customers' way of telling the pharmaceutical industry that the current state of personal promotion is not meeting their needs as well as in the past? Data from RepReview 2007, a study of pharma and biotech sales reps, conducted by G & S Research in partnership with Pharmaceutical Representative magazine, indicates ... maybe.

An emerging industry of pharma-centric, Web-based lunch providers has recently sprung up, all of which exist to take the headache and hassle out of trying to find and arrange for an office lunch.