The Business Challenge
A global pharmaceutical company was preparing to make critical decisions about the future of a legacy oncology asset as they prioritized their portfolio. The global head of the business needed a strong, candid perspective on the opportunities and headwinds for the product to focus resources and make strategic short- and long-term choices.
While the goal was clear, the environment was murky both in the marketplace and within the organization. Launched over a decade ago as a novel first-in-class therapy, the product now faced significant competition and eroded share from treatments within its class and beyond. Additionally, internal management of the product had become fragmented as resources were withdrawn in favor of other assets. The organization was considering next steps for the product as it approached LOE and needed a clear picture and plan for potential late horizons of growth, or it risked sunsetting a product before its time.
Capabilities Applied
- Growth Playbook
- Knowledge Synthesis
- Global Qualitative Insights
Approach
We embarked on an extensive internal knowledge gathering and coordination process, reviewing existing brand plans and customer research, and connecting with local teams across major markets for knowledge download and hypothesis sharing. Our work integrated the unique characteristics of each market’s payer approach to branded products and LOE transitions with nuances in approvals, promotional approaches, physician behaviors, and patient preferences to provide a 360-degree perspective of the ecosystem for the product. Ongoing touchpoints on learnings with the core team uncovered internal disconnects, facilitated knowledge transfer, and produced a first set of potential drivers for product growth.
A focused customer insights program with prescribers in three core markets provided opportunity to test these hypotheses iteratively, evolving discussions and incorporating potential messaging as we learned more about where the market was today and where the product might play. Our ongoing summaries of learnings allowed the client team to walk hand and hand with us during this process, enabling them to carry critical insights back through the organization to complementary initiatives for the product.
Impact
The client team gained a crystal-clear picture of the challenging global environment for their product given their allocation of resources to date. A growth playbook identified target prescribers, patient types, and messages to leverage to stimulate growth globally, as well as locally in key markets. The playbook also included longer-range strategies for the organization and/or commercial partners to explore as the product approached LOE in some, but not all, markets and indications.
The engagement equipped the global head of the business to confidently lead forecasting and brand planning for this mature asset. Learnings also facilitated greater connection between the global and local brand teams and helped local teams better pursue existing goals while larger strategic decisions were being made.
