Giddi Pharma: Putting the 'Special' into Specialty Pharma

"Sometimes being a distributor feels like being a babysitter," says Louis Chiang, president of Giddi Pharma. "You help a child to grow and then when it has grown up the parents get it back, and you have to find another baby to take care of. We know there will be a day when we have grown the child very well, and the parents will take it back, but we are very happy to see these children grow well and successfully. That's the reality, the fate of the distributor. All we can do is try to build a reputation for being a good babysitter."

Louis Chiang, President of Giddi Pharma

Giddi Pharma is a Taiwanese distributor whose main principals are specialty pharma companies such as Genzyme, for whom Giddi distributes 13 products in the Taiwanese market. Like many Taiwanese distributors, Giddi is looking to diversify its service offering in order to grow its business in a comparatively small market. Spotting the trend for an increasing number of drugs to be marketed towards self-pay markets due to the increased purchasing power of the Taiwanese population, and their desire to have access to the most innovative drugs on the market, Giddi has focused its attentions here: "The self-pay market is growing in Taiwan, and we have made sure not to miss this opportunity. We have seen that the industry is moving in that direction, because while the government continues to cap budgets and stick to reference prices, technology continues to grow and develop. A point will be reached where people want good products and are willing to pay the difference. This is why we wanted to incorporate these products into our product line."