Generics & Biosimilars · Hospital Field Sales · Executive Search

Clinic business expanded.

Q: What does the aut-idem box mean for biosimilar substitution in the pharmacy?

Aut idem, Latin for ,or an equivalent', refers to the box on the prescription: if the physician ticks it, the pharmacy must dispense exactly the prescribed product; if left blank, it may substitute a cheaper product with the same active ingredient. For generics this has been established practice for years. For biosimilars, substitution in the pharmacy was long not permitted and has only been possible since April 2026, governed by the new Section 40c of the Pharmaceuticals Directive. Importantly, and often misunderstood: it is not an automatic substitution as with generics. The pharmacy may substitute only under strict conditions, for instance the same therapeutic indication, identical strength and pack size and a matching container such as a prefilled pen or syringe, each with reference to the same originator product. Both physician and pharmacy can rule out a swap on medical grounds. This lever mainly concerns the retail pharmacy channel with self-injectables. In the hospital, the setting of this mandate, listing and use are instead decided by clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians.

ANDRIS Consulting fills a Key Account Manager Biosimilars for the clinic business of a biosimilar supplier. Less education, more reliable access to the decision-makers in the hospital.

Position

Key Account Manager Biosimilars

Market

Generics & Biosimilars

Environment

Biosimilar supplier

Mandate type

Permanent placement

Region

Germany

01 / The situation

Clout in the clinic business.

A biosimilar supplier needed clout in the clinic business. What was called for was less scientific education than reliable, direct access to the decision-makers who actually determine listing and use.

As patent protection expires, several biosimilars push into many indications at once. In the hospital it is then not the best data package that decides revenue, but whether a product is listed, purchased and actually prescribed. Those switches are set by clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians.

Classic Rx profiles with a pure education approach did not fit. They were trained to convince scientifically, not to convert relationships grown over years into a deal.

02 / Risk

The wrong profile does not sell.

In contested indications it is not the best data package that decides in the hospital but trust and access. The physician knows the indication; what needs explaining is the individual product and, above all, the reason to switch established patients to a biosimilar. That is exactly where the resistance sits. A scientifically strong but commercially reticent employee can present the evidence cleanly, but wins neither the switch nor the listing and purchasing decision.

Growth in the most important channel thus stalled. Without the direct line to clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians, a biosimilar stays unused even at a good price. The decisive course is set by those who list, purchase and prescribe.

03 / Our approach

Relationship beats education.

ANDRIS Consulting deliberately shifted the requirement profile away from the classic Rx educator and towards the closing-strong relationship manager. What was needed was someone from hospital sales who has known clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians personally for years and sells through trust.

These profiles are visible in no applicant database and rarely move via job ads; their value lies in relationships they do not give up lightly. We approached them discreetly and on equal terms and made the specific constellation of the mandate transparent.

What was assessed was not scientific depth alone but demonstrable closing strength and the quality of the existing network in the hospital.

04 / The result

Growth in contested indications.

The role was filled with a closing-strong relationship manager from hospital sales who has known clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians personally for years and sells through trust rather than education.

He activated his existing network in the hospital and converted long-standing relationships into concrete listing and purchasing decisions, precisely in the indications where several biosimilars compete for the same patients.

The clinic account business grew noticeably in these contested indications. The biosimilar supplier gained exactly the clout in the most important channel that it had previously lacked.

Profile

From Rx educator to closing-strong relationship manager.

Access

Direct line to clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians.

Growth

Clinic account business expanded in contested indications.

FAQ

Executive Search Biosimilar Sales.

Which positions does ANDRIS Consulting fill in the biosimilars market?

In the biosimilars business ANDRIS Consulting fills the commercial key functions of hospital sales: National Sales Director Biosimilars, Regional Sales Manager, Hospital Account Manager and Hospital Key Account Manager as well as clinic representatives. Clients are biosimilar suppliers with their own hospital sales force.

What distinguishes biosimilar sales from classic Rx sales?

In the biosimilar market, closing strength and direct access to the decision-makers in clinics, clinic pharmacies and purchasing groups count more than pure scientific education. The physician already knows the indication; what needs explaining is the individual product and the reason to switch patients to a biosimilar. Classic Rx profiles with a pure education approach fall short here.

What does the aut-idem box mean for biosimilar substitution in the pharmacy?

Aut idem, Latin for „or an equivalent", refers to the box on the prescription: if the physician ticks it, the pharmacy must dispense exactly the prescribed product; if left blank, it may substitute a cheaper product with the same active ingredient. For generics this has been established practice for years. For biosimilars, substitution in the pharmacy was long not permitted and has only been possible since April 2026, governed by the new § 40c of the Pharmaceuticals Directive. Importantly, and often misunderstood: it is not an automatic substitution as with generics. The pharmacy may substitute only under strict conditions, for instance the same therapeutic indication, identical strength and pack size and a matching container such as a prefilled pen or syringe, each with reference to the same originator product. Both physician and pharmacy can rule out a swap on medical grounds. This lever mainly concerns the retail pharmacy channel with self-injectables. In the hospital, the setting of this mandate, listing and use are instead decided by clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians.

Which sales and clinic roles does ANDRIS Consulting fill in the biosimilar business?

ANDRIS Consulting fills National Sales Director Biosimilars, Regional Sales Manager, Hospital Account Manager and Hospital Key Account Manager as well as clinic representatives. What is sought are profiles with demonstrable closing strength and reliable access to clinic pharmacies, purchasing groups and chief physicians.

How does ANDRIS Consulting identify candidates for hospital sales?

Through structured target-market analysis and discreet direct approach. The most valuable profiles are distinguished by a network in the hospital grown over years, which they do not give up lightly and which is visible in no applicant database. ANDRIS Consulting approaches them personally and on equal terms.

What sets ANDRIS Consulting apart from other recruitment firms in the biosimilars market?

ANDRIS Consulting works as a specialised executive search boutique with a consistent principal-only approach: the seniority that takes on the mandate also runs the search itself, approaches candidates personally and assesses them on the merits. In larger structures, additional interfaces, handovers and changes of contact person often arise, and off-limits rules can restrict the available candidate pool. In the tight biosimilars market, both are a real disadvantage. ANDRIS Consulting combines deep specialisation and market proximity in the biosimilars segment with modern search methods, without inflating the process unnecessarily.