Did you know that over two-thirds of new drug launches do not meet sales expectations in the initial year? Only 65% of the drugs that make it past the first year continue to realize market growth in the second year. For these reasons, you must implement a well-thought-out drug launch strategy to foster your pharmaceutical launch success. If you are thinking about introducing a new drug to the market, here are three tips to help you achieve a successful product launch. Let’s get started.
- Understand your target audience’s needs
The first step to an effective drug launch is understanding the patient’s needs. Luckily, modern patients are more expressive about their health wishes and experiences. According to recent research, around 87% of patients share their health information on social media.
Consider leveraging AI-powered consumer intelligence tools to familiarize yourself with patients’ needs, interests, and pain points through social media listening. A BCG study shows that most patients need transparency, demonstration of drug trial outcomes, and commitment to pocket-friendly access. By capturing the patient needs in your launch, you increase your product success rate.
- Build a cross-functional team
The secret to a successful launch is creating a cross-functional team. With the right team, you can make the best decisions for your brand and your target audience, fostering launch excellence. Your drug launch team should cover the following functional areas:
- Market access: Ensure your drug is under the payers’ formulary plans coverage or the list of prescription medicine covered by insurance plans.
- Compliance. You need to put in place a team that establishes whether or not your drug is compliant with pharmaceutical codes and regulations. Contact Early Access Care LLC to ensure compliance with new legislation regarding compassionate use or expanded access to avoid legal implications.
- Marketing: Your sales team should be able to share your product’s story with your target audience, the patients. However, they should not solely focus on commercializing the product. Ensure they also highlight the value of your drug in the patient’s life.
- Regulatory. These employees work hand-in-hand with the FDA to finalize your drug’s label.
- Legal. You have spent thousands of dollars manufacturing your product and ensuring it is FDA-approved. Protect your intellectual property by hiring a legal team.
- Target drug prescribers
One of the most significant causes of pharmaceutical launch failures is failing to understand doctors’ concerns and prescribing behaviors. With the intensified competition in the pharmaceutical industry and an average of less than eight years of drug dominance, you must communicate your drug’s clinical and non-clinical benefits to prescribers and patients. This allows you to create new differentiation factors because, with the increased new drug launch rates, you cannot solely rely on Phase III clinical trial data outcomes to differentiate your product to prescribers and regulators.
Be sure to gather extensive prescriber data in your target locations and use the information to gain insights into prescribing trends and Integrated Delivery Networks (IDNs). You could also use the data to nurture healthy relationships with physicians, which is critical to your drug launch success.
Endnote
Introducing a new drug in the market can be challenging and expensive. Understand your target audience, build a cross-functional team, and target drug prescribers for a successful launch.