Developing end-of-lifecycle strategies.

Pharmaceutical and biotech products progress through predictable lifecycle stages: early development, prelaunch, launch, growth, maturity, and finally, decline. The basic pattern is immutable, but crucial opportunities arise along the way to increase uptake rates, attain higher peak revenues, or extend brand life. This is the final column in a six-part series from Campbell Alliance, discussing how to best prepare for and manage the various stages of the product lifecycle.

During the final 12 to 24 months before a product patent expiry, a pharmaceutical or biotech company will typically, depending on the market, begin to manage the brand like an annuity. The brand team is scaled down, and resources are redeployed to other, more lucrative products or to future product launches. Now, the objective of the brand team is to maximize the asset's remaining commercial potential.

If the organization employed the lifecycle management techniques, a next-generation product (with distinct advantages over the first-generation product) may be headed for launch. Regardless of whether the company has more than one molecule in the portfolio, it must determine how to optimize the initial molecule to maximize franchise revenue. For instance, the original product can be moved OTC. If a next-generation product is available, it may be wise to withdraw the original product entirely and switch relevant patients to the newer product.

A pharmaceutical company may also opt to release an authorized generic version of the product, or wait for a competitor to go generic and simply discount the price of the branded product to match the generic option. Regardless of the path selected, it is important that the organization designate a single individual responsible for providing overarching management to address difficult trade-off decisions.

Best Practices in Lifecycle Management

Best practices in brand management vary. Certain organizations have established a reputation for being especially savvy regarding their commercial strategies. Although the industry has advanced its brand management capabilities, marketers must still address the issues in areas needing improvement.

Take a Rigorous, Structured Approach. Although good marketers can rely on intuition or gut feelings, this approach has great potential for error. Marketers must develop a more thorough, structured approach to identify, prioritize, and conduct appropriate research to address key unanswered questions. Utilizing the "art of marketing" will result in the development of winning strategies.

Translate Market Research Into Meaningful Strategy. Many companies conduct a great deal of market research, but often fail to translate this information into meaningful, actionable insights that can be used to successfully drive strategies. They must implement an approach that includes a broad-based, cross-functional team to make sure their stakeholders understand the market, specific opportunities and barriers, and the rationale behind any and all commercial strategies.

Translate Strategy Into Effective Tactics. Companies often fail to translate their excellent strategies and strategic objectives into executable tactical plans. Alternatively, some will create elaborate tactical plans without a clear understanding of what the brand is trying to realize. Both examples highlight the need to effectively align strategy with implementation.

[Editor's Note: The entire six-part series can be found by visiting the PMT website at www.PMToday.com. This marks the conclusion of Campbell Alliance's Lifecycle Strategies column, which comprised the six lifecycle stages: (1) early-stage product planning, (2) late-stage commercial planning, (3) product launch, (4) early revenue maximization, (5) leveraging new indications, and (6) end of lifecycle.]

Darius Naigamwalla

Senior Vice President

Campbell Alliance

245 First Street, 18th Floor

Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142

Phone: [phone], ext. 7220

www.campbellalliance.com