Patient-centric proposals that deliver
unique Santen value
—MR team takes on challenges while
continuing to grow

Medical Representatives (MRs)* provide information about Santen pharmaceutical products to doctors and other healthcare professionals. They play a vital role in connecting Santen with the medical community and delivering our products to patients. Santen MRs around the world work hard every day to support the eye health of individual patients through activities that include gathering information from the medical community and then proposing solutions.

To learn more about how Santen MRs approach their work, we spoke with Kenji Haruna, an MR from the Kagoshima Miyazaki Sales Office, Japan Sales and Marketing Division, who has earned the trust of medical professionals and colleagues alike and embodies the company’s vision and values on the front lines. We asked him about his daily activities and passion for his job.

A childhood experience is the reason I decided to become an MR. My grandfather developed glaucoma, and I watched him gradually lose his sight as the disease progressed until he could no longer even see a spoon right in front of him. Seeing my beloved grandfather in such a state was heartbreaking, and it made me deeply aware of the importance of maintaining good eye health.

Later, while job hunting, I became interested in the profession of MR and discovered Santen. I was attracted to the variety of work that a pharmaceutical company specializing in ophthalmology could offer. Santen covers a wide range of ophthalmic diseases and handles a large number of products, enabling us to provide multifaceted and comprehensive proposals to medical professionals regarding their patients’ symptoms. I felt that supporting the eye health of patients throughout their lives—from disease awareness to treatment—was something that only Santen could offer. During my job search, I was also deeply moved by the integrity and passion that I saw in Santen employees, and I was determined to work alongside them.

Since joining Santen, I have come to realize that the field of ophthalmology includes numerous unmet medical needs, and I have gained a new appreciation for the depth and complexity of this field. The role of an MR is not simply to convey information about medications. It involves identifying challenges in clinical settings through conversations with physicians, healthcare professionals, and Medical Sales representatives, and then considering how Santen’s products, data, and information can contribute to addressing those challenges. Another important role we play is participating in academic conferences and planning/organizing seminars to build relationships and communicate the characteristics of our products to even more healthcare professionals. Every day, through my conversations with physicians, I am reminded that there are still many areas where Santen can make a contribution to eye health.

For an MR, collaborating with colleagues is critically important. At the Kagoshima Miyazaki Sales Office, teams are comprised of six members and, working under the team vision of “Reach Beyond,” we hold regular meetings, role-playing exercises, and encourage each other to look beyond seniority and actively exchange opinions. The ability to grow together as a team is one of Santen’s strengths.

What particularly stands out in my memory is the launch of Alesion LX (anti-allergy eye drop) in 2019. Initially, I focused on promoting the characteristics of the drug, but doctors remained reluctant to adopt it. When I took a chance and brought the issue to my team members, they told me that my proposal failed to convey how the product could help doctors and patients. I realized that the proposal focused too much on the product itself and failed to take into account the perspectives of patients and physicians. So, I began collecting information from doctors and pharmacists about the types of patients they were treating and the problems they were facing, and after extensive discussions as a team about the best options, I was able to present a proposal that was accepted by physicians.

“Patient Centricity” and “Achieve Together” are two of Santen’s four Values (the other two are “Integrity and Trust” and “Continuous Advancement”). That experience helped me realize what is important as a Santen MR, and it led to a major change in my mindset and work style. I began to proactively share problems or good examples with my team members and to communicate closely with them. I feel this was a significant opportunity for growth, and my colleagues noticed the change in me, saying, “Kenji has really changed.” Even now, whenever I face uncertainty, I return to our Guiding Principle and Values to ensure I stay true to what it means to be a Santen MR.

Today, I am convinced that by offering proposals tailored to each patient, I can earn the trust of doctors, help them to adopt the treatment, and ultimately deliver the treatment to patients. Seeing these results has given me confidence in my work.

In the future, I would like to aim for a position in charge of university relations. University hospitals influence core hospitals, so in that position I would be able to deliver treatments to more patients and build relationships of trust with the young doctors who will be responsible for the future of healthcare. I would also like to actively engage in developing new markets, such as myopia and ptosis, and become an MR who can have a positive impact on the team and the area.