COMMERCIAL STRATEGY

Commercial Strategies maximize revenue potential and value through understanding new priority indications, competitive landscapes, target physician segments, and emotional drivers of adoption.

  • Product Positioning and Branding
  • Lifecycle Management
  • Franchise Strategy
  • Physician Segmentation
  • Product and Market Analytics

Product/Market Assessments & Analytics; Lifecycle Management

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A range of qualitative and quantitative methodologies help clients maximize revenue potential and the value of individual products.

Read about how we helped a large Pharma/Biotech client:

SITUATION

  • Large, European pharma client sought a strategy to develop additional indications for a major pain product

OUR APPROACH

  • Reviewed scientific literature to narrow indications to those with highest feasibility
  • Used Key Opinion Leader interviews to further assess feasibility, identify unmet needs, develop robust TPPs and establish clinical trial design
  • Conducted research with “high prescribers” to measure likely market penetration
  • Developed financial model including development costs and revenue/profit projects to prioritize indications based on their risk-adjusted values

RESULT

  • Client implemented the proposed strategy across three new indications

Product Positioning & Branding

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Go beyond product features and benefits to tailor promotion to appeal to physicians' emotions.

Read about how we helped a small Medtech/Diagnostic client:

SITUATION

  • European biotech and a multinational nuclear medicine partner sought positioning/promotion strategies for a diagnostic for renal cell carcinoma

OUR APPROACH

  • Used in-depth interviews with specialists to establish clinical problem and identify important product benefits
  • Conducted qualitative in-depth interviews with "high prescribing" specialists to validate earlier findings and identify emotional drivers for prescribing
  • Executed a large web survey (n=~500) to prioritize product benefits and understand emotional appeal
  • Used structural equation modeling approach to determine critical message elements and to set a brand-specific benefit ladder

RESULT

  • Significantly expanded target patient segments from 20% to cover 50%-70% of the market
  • Identified the key benefits and emotional themes for optimizing product promotion

Physician Segmentation

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Identify the physician segments with highest potential to prescribe a product.

Read about how we helped a large Pharma/Biotech client:

SITUATION

  • Large, public, biopharma company sought to understand why reimbursement data indicated 40%+ of patients were discontinuing product use prematurely

OUR APPROACH

  • Used in-depth interviews with "high-prescribing" hematologist/oncologists to understand how physician psychographic factors affected willingness to prescribe, and to identify causes of discontinuation
  • Developed a segmentation scheme to identify high potential hematologist/oncologists and the required measures to minimize early discontinuation

RESULT

  • Recommended a significant expansion in sales force headcount
  • Developed a simple targeting tool that allowed sales force to identify high potential hematologist/oncologists
  • Re-oriented promotion efforts to emphasize the importance of treatment duration

Franchise Strategy

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Implement robust technical, clinical, and commercial metrics in prioritizing opportunities.

Read about how we helped a large Pharma/Biotech client:

SITUATION

  • Leading biotech client sought a strategy to expand its footprint in the benign hematology space

OUR APPROACH

  • Prioritized >15 adjacent indications based on:
    • Call point synergy
    • Understanding of disease biology
    • Unmet need/competitive pressure
    • Availability of L&A opportunities
    • Overall commercial opportunity
    • Clinical and regulatory feasibility
  • Drove alignment of cross-functional senior team comprising clinical, commercial, BD stakeholders

RESULT

  • Redefined near- and longer-term franchise focus and roadmap
  • Recommendations embraced by CEO and Board with resultant approval for franchise expansion

Lifecycle Management

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Evaluate and prioritize potential indications to pursue as part of a lifecycle management strategy for key growth drivers.

Read about how we helped a large Pharma/Biotech client:

SITUATION

  • Global biopharmaceutical company needed to prioritize and determine the commercial potential of several follow-on CNS/Autoimmune indications for their $1B+ cornerstone product

OUR APPROACH

  • Analyzed the scientific, clinical and commercial rationale for each indication to determine those with greatest feasibility and potential for return on investment
  • Used in-depth Key Opinion Leader interviews to develop robust TPPs and identify key barriers to success. Then further refined analysis with “high prescribers” to determine penetration
  • Calculated risk-adjusted NPVs based on our estimates of development costs, market position, pricing and revenue/profit projections to arrive at recommendations for high value indications

RESULT

  • Enabled client to quickly refine their clinical development plan and identify key indications to focus their preclinical work to demonstrate proof of concept

Proven

Results complete
the circle.

Here are some of the challenges Back Bay has helped our clients meet:

Global medical technology company with a $1B+ cardiac surgical presence required...
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Emerging biotech client sought to understand strategic options and optimal positioning...
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See all impact studies.

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