The pharmaceutical sector is a field that shows growth and development regardless of contingent economic conditions, proving itself capable of withstanding periods of economic crisis. To take full advantage of the opportunities in this area, however, it is essential to invest in the professional translation of all research and product-related documents. This article will explore why translation can be an investment with excellent economic returns for pharmaceutical companies.
The pharmaceutical sector, which shows a behavior that is radically different from that of many other areas of manufacturing and industry, has shown remarkable resilience even in the midst of the worst economic downturns. Taking a closer look, it is not that difficult to see what the reason for this resilience is, which is found in the nature of the industry itself: the demand for medical care and drugs remains constant, or even increases, regardless of the general economic conditions. With regard to essential drugs in particular, this principle is even more true, as people will continue to demand and purchase them despite economic fluctuations.
However, the resilience of the pharmaceutical sector is not only related to this basic condition: the mechanism of continuous innovation and progress in medical and pharmaceutical research also contributes to it. New drugs and treatments are being developed all the time, and inevitably this creates new growth opportunities for companies in the field at a very fast pace.
Translation, as we have seen, can play a crucial role by leveraging the growth of pharmaceutical companies, helping them to take advantage of the resilient conditions in the field we have described. If we want to list more precisely the ways in which translation can benefit these companies, we can point out:
Access to New Markets: Translation is a key element in the expansion of pharmaceutical companies into new markets, and this is because each market has its own language (and often neither researchers nor, much less, end consumers have a good command of a lingua franca such as English) and unique regulations that must be taken into account. Therefore, it is never just a matter of translating the text in a grammatically and lexically correct manner in order to present it to the audience of another nation, but also of understanding the cultural context and adapting to it. This, in practical terms, involves a massive amount of work, involving knowledge of local medical practices, labeling norms and conventions, and local consumer preferences - all of these data and mental attitudes that a pharmaceutical company does not necessarily have, but certainly can be found in the expertise of translation workers. Accurate translation and localization work, carried out in a professional manner, can help companies comply with these specifics, improving the acceptance of products by the local market and thus contributing considerably to the success of ongoing business expansion.
Respect for rules: The pharmaceutical industry is, necessarily and fortunately, one of the most regulated industries in the world, with strict laws and regulations that can differ greatly from one country to another. In order to get approval to sell their products in different countries, companies must then gear up to make sure they comply with these regulations in every respect: and that means, in practice, a huge amount of paperwork, applications, regulatory documents, product specification sheets, clinical study reports, and official labeling. The absolute accuracy required for such a task can only be found among the expertise of professional translators, and can therefore ensure that every element of the necessary documentation is translated with total accuracy and puts the pharmaceutical company in a position to fully comply with local regulations.
Product Promotion: Marketing and product promotion are as critical to sales growth in pharmaceuticals as in any other trade and industry; and as with any other business, reaching different language audiences requires a massive amount of work to translate marketing materials, including websites, brochures, press releases, and product information. Marketing translation, however, is never merely transporting a text from one set of grammatical rules and lexical terms to another; it is also vital that the marketing message resonates with the local culture and sensibilities just as it did in the original language. Experienced translators and localizers have the specific skills and sensitivities needed to help pharmaceutical companies optimize marketing materials for different markets.
International Collaboration: Pharmaceutical companies often collaborate with international partners in research, development, manufacturing and distribution. As is easy to imagine, collaborations of this kind often and inevitably involve the sharing of sensitive and complex data, which makes clear and precise communication all the more necessary, not to say essential. Here, too, translation can play a crucial role, reducing the risk of errors or misunderstandings and ultimately ensuring that all parties involved correctly understand the information being shared.
Investing in translation, therefore, is virtually a guarantee of subsequent significant economic return for companies in the pharmaceutical industry, starting with the fact that it is an almost mandatory requirement. Obviously, it can help companies reach new markets, leading to increased sales, but in a more indirect way it can also reduce the risk of misunderstandings or errors due to language problems, which can lead to costly delays or even lawsuits.
Photo by Gerhard Bögner on Pixabay
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