“The first thing out of everyone’s mouth when they come to my table is, ‘How are you handling the new PhRMA guidelines?’” said Tammy Kornfeld, senior account manager of Beyond Branding at Compas. The new marketing code is set to take effect in January 2009.

Kornfeld said the company is distributing flash drives with presentations explaining the tactics pharma companies can employ under the new regulations. “Reps may not be able to pass out pads and pens anymore, but there are many things that they will still be able to do,” she said. Kornfeld also added that, though the gifts are gone, corporate material can still be distributed.

Times have dramatically changed for the industry, said Chris Adams Kaufman, senior director of marketing operations at King Pharmaceuticals, from when she began as a sales representative more than 30 years ago. “When I started, profits were huge, sales were going up all the time, the drugs were all patented,” she said. “And now it is more of a challenge.”

Kaufman says differentiating your brand in the face of generic competition and selling products in an increasingly restricted managed healthcare system are the major issues confronting marketers. And while the new PhRMA guidelines will pull back on the activities companies can conduct (and the number of pens that they can pass out), Kaufman believes the industry can easily overcome that barrier with a little creativity. Despite a shrinking sales force, she says, reps are still integral to delivering a brand. And we shouldn’t forget it.

“There are business clichés that say there are two jobs in America: You either make it or sell it,” said Kaufman. “Being a sales rep demonstrates you have the intelligence to do the job, learn the therapeutic category, learn the marketing place, understand the clinical studies, and acquire both oral and written communication skills.” She’s sure that reps can learn how to maneuver in the new environment as well.

The trends that surfaced today are clear: It’s time to prepare to enter a new era of marketing to physicians, be cognizant and ready for the inevitable challenges, and remember the invaluable service of our sales force teams.

Reporting to you from Chicago at the Sixth Annual Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association leadership conference, where the story—set in this city of the new US President—is all about change.

The Pharm Exec crew arrived in a surprisingly tranquil Windy City—the only explanation that it was the calm after the storm of Tuesday’s election. Certainly, many HBA members had been up all night watching the election, with a dozen members who took to the streets and joined the rally for Barack Obama at Grant Park.

“It was like being at Woodstock,” said Nancy Larsen, President of PROmedica Communications, who was part of a group that attended the rally. “Even though we were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in this massive crowd, it felt serene to be with all these people—it gave me goose bumps.”

“It’s not watching history—it’s actually being a part of it,” said Eve Dryer, Principal and President of Vox Medica Public Relations.

Yet even with the election front-and-center in the nation’s consciousness, executives here seem more focused on pharma’s patent cliff crisis and the latest round of layoffs, instead of major healthcare reform.

“We get the sense that there is some pent-up demand for talent,” said one attendee. “We think people might begin hiring after the election—we’ll be able to tell by year end if that is happening. People may begin hiring because we don’t get the sense that Obama will get to healthcare first.”

The focus of the conference is leadership development, and many conversations and presentations were peppered with concern over how tough times will affect careers in pharma, particularly for those who have been traditionally underrepresented.

“Many of the banks were at the forefront of setting up on-ramping and off-ramping career tracks for women—they had to—and really paved the way for other industries,” said Meryl Zausner, CFO of Novartis. “But now, those efforts will be hampered.”

Still, it seems that many companies are trying their best with programs to bring up women and other minority groups. Novartis CEO Ludwig Hanston accepted the HBA’s 2nd Annual ACE Award on behalf of the company for  its Empowering Women Impacting Novartis and Women in Leadership program.

Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson (the 2007 ACE Award winner) had a chance to take the stage to talk about how it is seeking to expand its workplace program for women, all 60,000, with new efforts to focus on its European affiliates, sales force in Japan, and even to its group in Cape Town, South Africa while Adrian Sax, who heads business development for King Pharmaceuticals, spoke about the grassroots efforts for inclusion happening at smaller companies.

And for the rest of us? Well, at least there’s the Healthcare Businesswoman’s Association (HBA) and its annual Leadership Conference. The event is being held next week in Chicago (and if it’s the hometown of the President, we expect it to be all the more exciting). With more than 600 attendees already registered, it will be the largest meeting of its kind. One-third of these women are vice presidents and above, so for the ladder climbers in the industry, this is the place to be.

Pharm Exec will be doing on-site blogging—so stay tuned for regular updates. In particular, we’re looking forward to the panel of “Hard Lessons, Sweet Successes,” moderated by Charlotte Sibley, HBA’s 2008 Woman of the Year. Charlotte shocked the luncheon crowd in May when she revealed her own story of the ups and downs of working in the pharmaceutical industry. (To read her story, click here) This time, she puts tough questions to an esteemed panel including Dierdre Connelly, President, Lilly USA; Len Kanavy, Vice President, Commercial Operations of Genentech; Renee Tannenbaum, Global Head, Commercial Operations, Novartis AG; Eisai’s President Lonnel Coats; and Ginger Graham, Two Trees Consulting, former CEO Amylin.