| The main challenges pharma faces in managing the lifecycles of their brands are: |
- Development times getting longer, as concerns about safety move up on the regulator's agenda
- Extending patent life has become more challenging because defensible patenting and regulator exclusivities are increasingly limited
- The drug approval rate is under pressure as a result of increasing focus on safety
- Product uptake slowing down because of pricing and reimbursement hurdles and more restrictive treatment guidelines (e.g. NICE)
- The level of market penetration, and therefore the peak sales potential, is reduced by the presence of more and better competing drugs on the market
- Therapeutic substitution results in an earlier sales decline in the brand’s lifecycle
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| You should first ask yourself 3 questions before even engaging in developing an LCM plan: |
- When: what timing should be considered?
- Who: who should drive the process, and who should make the decisions?
- How: are you going for a formalised team or have it integrated in the existing structure; will it be a core process or an add-on?
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| Once you have answered the above 3 questions, you will have to gather the necessary critical assets: |
- Strong market intelligence
- Involvement of the leadership team
- Buy-in of both marketing and development
- Creativity and flexibility (‘out of the box’ thinking)
- Strong corporate memory (previous ideas and strategies)
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| In later stages of a product’s lifecycle, evidence of a well-managed product lifecycle should include: |
- A defined positioning of the brand in both the pre- and post-patent expiry period
- A portfolio of lifecycle management options (developmental, commercial, regulatory) available to affiliates to adopt a tailored approach to patent expiry
- Affiliate level action plans to manage the brand/molecule in the patent expiry period that recognize the local dynamics likely to shape the new competitive environment
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A good preparation will allow you to optimize your different LCM strategies when marketing your brand in today’s challenging market. |
