European pharmaceutical companies are likely to sharply cut their sales staffs in the next few years and adopt a more targeted approach to boosting drug prescriptions, according to a survey by Roland Berger, the strategy consultants.

From a sample of 236 pharma and related industry executives, nearly a third said the number of sales representatives would fall “significantly” in the coming two years as the previous “arms race” of new hiring to compete with rivals for business comes to an end.