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Managing relationships across healthcare professionals (HCPs), healthcare organizations (HCOs), and complex regulatory requirements makes choosing the right CRM critical for pharmaceutical companies. Whether you’re tracking drug samples, coordinating clinical trials, or ensuring compliance, pharmaceutical companies benefit from CRM systems with features that support their specialized workflows.
This guide examines four leading CRM solutions that help pharmaceutical businesses streamline operations and build stronger relationships with healthcare stakeholders. We‘ll compare essential features like regulatory compliance tracking, sample management, HCP engagement tools, and multichannel capabilities. You’ll discover how each platform addresses industry-specific needs, from pricing structures to integration capabilities.
Wondering what a pharma CRM can do for you? Healthcare company Fatebenefratelli generated over 350,000 sessions and 4,000 leads in a year using HubSpot Smart CRM.
AI tools generated the initial draft of this article. All content has been thoroughly reviewed, fact-checked, and revised by a HubSpot staff writer to ensure accuracy and quality.
Table of Contents
A pharmaceutical CRM is a customer relationship management software designed to manage the complex relationships between pharma companies and their stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, healthcare organizations, patients, and medical science liaisons. While some platforms like Veeva are built specifically for pharmaceuticals, others like HubSpot provide flexible CRM foundations that healthcare companies can configure for their pharmaceutical operations.
CRM | Best For | Key Features | Pricing | Free Trial Available |
HubSpot | Growing pharmaceutical companies seeking an all-in-one platform that scales from startup to enterprise | Contact and activity management, advanced marketing campaign tools, communication and workflow features | Free CRM. Paid plans start at $15/seat/month. To store sensitive information and enable HIPAA-supporting features, you need the Enterprise plan for its products, which starts from $150/month/seat for Sales and Service Hubs. | Free plans available |
Creatio | Mid-size pharmaceutical companies wanting a platform with pharma-specific features and no-code customization | Field force features, compliance features, Copilot AI assistant | Starts at $25/user/month | 14-day free trial |
Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud | Enterprise pharmaceutical organizations requiring a platform with life sciences-specific features | HCP engagement features, clinical trial participant management, patient services features | Starts at $325/user/month | 30-day free trial |
Veeva CRM | Large pharmaceutical companies seeking a CRM and suite of software purpose-built for the life sciences industry | Compliance features, mobile and offline support, AI features | Contact for pricing | No free trial |
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Best for: Growing pharmaceutical companies seeking an all-in-one platform that scales from startup to enterprise
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Best for: Mid-size pharmaceutical companies wanting a platform with pharma-specific features and no-code customization
Creatio has modular pricing that allows you to build a solution based on the products and features you need. You can add on sales, marketing, or service products, plus AI tokens, additional user types, and support plans. There is a minimum purchase of $10,000/year for new customers.
The platform plans are as follows:
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Best for: Enterprise pharmaceutical organizations requiring a platform with life sciences-specific features
Salesforce Life Sciences Cloud pricing is as follows:
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Best for: Large pharmaceutical companies seeking a CRM and a suite of software, all purpose-built for the life sciences industry
Contact Veeva for pricing. No free trial.
Improved communications: CRM platforms enable teams to track interaction history and preferences to deliver more relevant communications. DocPlanner, a healthcare marketplace, uses HubSpot to enter new markets quickly by cloning and translating templates, cutting time and ensuring cohesive messaging.
Unified data management: CRM platforms centralize all customer data in one accessible system, breaking down silos between departments. HubSpot’s unified customer platform spans sales, marketing, customer service, operations, and commerce.
Streamlined operations: CRM systems centralize data management and provide workflow automation capabilities. Teams can use these platforms to manage various processes from marketing campaigns to field activities, though specific features depend on the chosen platform and configuration. Emergency medical information service MedicAlert Foundation Canada replaced its disconnected systems with HubSpot, achieving implementation costs that were “10X less than Salesforce,” according to MedicAlert’s CEO.
Data analytics and reporting: CRM platforms provide reporting and analytics features to help teams track performance and make informed decisions. Most platforms offer dashboards and custom reporting options, though the depth of analytics varies by solution. Cancer software platform CancerIQ uses HubSpot’s Dashboard & Reporting Software add-on to enable better data-driven business decisions.
Step 1: Map your workflows. Document current processes for HCP engagement, sample management, medical inquiries, and compliance reporting. Identify pain points where manual work slows teams down or creates compliance risks. Include input from sales, medical affairs, marketing, and regulatory teams.
Step 2: Identify must-have features. Based on your workflow analysis, prioritize features that address your biggest challenges. Consider regulatory requirements in your markets, integration needs with existing systems, and mobile capabilities for field teams. Distinguish between immediate needs and future requirements.
Step 3: Evaluate user experience and support. Request demos and trials to test actual functionality with your team. Check vendor support options and whether they have pharmaceutical industry expertise.
Step 4: Check cost at scale. Look beyond initial licensing to understand total cost of ownership. Factor in implementation, training, ongoing support, and integration costs.
Step 5: Select a platform that meets your needs. Choose a CRM based on your specific requirements and budget. Look for one that is flexible enough to be configured based on your unique needs. 258,000+ customers across various industries in over 135 countries use HubSpot to grow their businesses.
The best CRM depends on your company’s specific needs, size, and budget. HubSpot offers a strong option for growing pharmaceutical companies with its flexible platform and scalable features.
Look for CRM features such as contact and interaction tracking, marketing automation, and multichannel engagement tools. Additionally, consider mobile access for field teams and integration capabilities with existing systems. Remember that many advanced features may require configuration or additional modules.
HubSpot provides a strong foundation for pharmaceutical companies with its healthcare-focused features. It has features that support HIPAA compliance. Pharma companies can configure this flexible, reliable platform to fit their needs and access powerful marketing and sales tools.
CRM costs for pharmaceutical companies vary significantly. HubSpot offers a free CRM, but please note that HIPAA-related features are available only on Enterprise plans. To bundle all of HubSpot’s tools at the Enterprise plan level (marketing, sales, service, content, operations, and commerce), you can get the Enterprise Customer Platform for $4,700/month, which includes seven seats. When evaluating costs, consider implementation, training, and any required add-on modules for pharmaceutical-specific features.
HubSpot provides a scalable CRM platform that pharmaceutical companies can customize for their needs. The platform combines core CRM functionality with marketing and sales tools that teams can configure for pharmaceutical use cases.
Healthcare company Santagostino grew its customer base from 90,000 to 830,000 contacts using HubSpot’s CRM and marketing tools. Mesa Labs increased conversion rates by 20% by implementing HubSpot’s Google Ads integration.
Ready to explore how HubSpot can support your pharmaceutical operations? Get started with HubSpot’s free CRM.
Disclaimer: This blog post is not legal advice for your company to use. Instead, it provides background information to help you better understand pharma CRMs and compliance. This legal information is not the same as legal advice, where an attorney applies the law to your specific circumstances, so we insist that you consult an attorney if you’d like advice on your interpretation of this information or its accuracy.
In a nutshell, you may not rely on this as legal advice, or as a recommendation of any particular legal understanding.
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