Unlocking Endemic and POC Media: Why Access, Not Supply, Is Holding Back Pharma Performance
Pharma manufacturers increasingly want their brands closer to the point of care. Endemic and point-of-care (POC) media offer unmatched relevance and contextual alignment, making them some of the most valuable channels in the pharma marketer’s toolkit.
Rising demand, limited access
The demand for endemic and POC media has never been higher. Agencies and manufacturers know these channels drive impact where prescribing and patient decisions happen. And supply is readily available — across publishers, EHRs, and POC platforms. The challenge isn’t supply, it’s access. Too much inventory is locked behind legacy sales models and non-interoperable systems.
Challenges for agencies and DSPs
Agencies want to build effective media mixes, but endemic supply often sits outside their workflows. Manual processes drive up non-working costs. Publisher tech doesn’t integrate cleanly. Pricing can be opaque.
DSPs feel the same pain. They’re the infrastructure agencies depend on, but when endemic and POC supply isn’t programmatically enabled, DSPs are forced into workarounds — private deals, manual trafficking, or custom integrations — all of which undercut efficiency and scale.
Supporting the demand side
It’s not that agencies and DSPs prefer other channels — they’re choosing efficiency. Programmatic mechanics ensure more dollars flow into working media instead of overhead. The real unlock for endemic and POC publishers is programmatic interoperability. When their inventory integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, agencies and DSPs can invest more confidently and at greater scale — without losing the context that makes these channels valuable.
The path forward
This isn’t a problem of scarcity. It’s a problem of accessibility. Delivering endemic and POC supply through programmatic interoperability ensures pharma brands can reach high-value moments more efficiently, putting more working dollars to work and strengthening the overall media mix.