Best Practices Pharma Launch Playbook

So, the question arises - what does it take to launch a successful product in the pharmaceutical industry?

Best Practices, LLC has worked with many of the leading pharmaceutical organizations in the past two decades to help them successfully bring their drugs to market. We have created the ultimate pharma launch playbook - providing years of insights from effective launches, and showcasing where exactly many of the renowned brands missed the mark - through our extensive primary benchmarking research studies and secondary research.

This playbook covers a myriad of factors that go into the launch of a successful product – including the critical launch activities and their timing; use of digital technologies; involvement level of various functions such as regulatory, commercial, managed markets, medical affairs, market research, sales, etc.; staffing; budgeting; key competencies; and internal collaboration. It also looks at many case studies of successful and unsuccessful launches.

If looking for a comprehensive guide to a successful launch in the pharmaceutical industry, this Best Practices, LLC playbook is all you need. This playbook not only provides you with all the success factors for an effective launch but also delves into the pitfalls you must certainly avoid.

Industries Profiled:
Health Care; Pharmaceutical; Diagnostic; Biotech; Medical Device; Biopharmaceutical; Manufacturing; Consumer Products; Chemical; Consulting; Media; Clinical Research; Laboratories


Companies Profiled:
Abbott; AbbVie; actavis; Actelion; Alcon; Alkermes; Allergan; Almirall; Altus Biologics; Amgen; Arbor; Astellas; AstraZeneca; Auxilium; Axon Pharma; Baxter BioScience; Baxter Healthcare; Bayer; Bayer Healthcare; Beltone; Biogen Idec; Boehringer Ingelheim; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Celgene; Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc.; Cochlear; Cutanea Life Sciences; Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co.; Ltd.; Eisai; Eli Lilly and Company; EMD Serono; Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc.; Genentech; Genzyme; GlaxoSmithKline ; Grifols; Grunenthal; Human Genome Sciences; Incyte; Inspire Pharmaceuticals; Insyght; Insys Therapeutics; Ipsen; Janssen; Jazz Pharmaceuticals; Johnson & Johnson; LFB; Lundbeck; MannKind Corporation; Medi-Media; Medunik Canada; Merck; Merz Pharma; Nektar Therapeutics; Novartis; Noven Therapeutics; Novo Nordisk; Onyx Pharmaceuticals; Ortho Biotech; OTSUKA; Pfizer; Pharmacyclics; Phillips; ProStrakan; Purdue Pharma; Regeneron; Roche; Sanofi; Sanofi-Aventis; Sebela; Servier; Shire; Solvay Pharmaceuticals; Stiefel; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd; Theravance; Ther-Rx; UCB Pharma; Upsher-Smith; Valeant; Victory; Xenoport; Zydus Cadila

Study Snapshot

This comprehensive pharma launch playbook from Best Practices, LLC delivers a medley of insights required for a successful new product launch, right from the development stage to post-launch. Benchmarks and insights presented in this playbook have been collated from many of Best Practices, LLC’s benchmarking research studies around launch excellence in the pharmaceutical industry.

Key Findings

Select key insights uncovered from this report are noted below. Detailed findings are available in the full report.

• Top Methods for Working with FDA: Building strong formal relationships with the FDA and utilizing external communication techniques are integral to the success of working with the FDA during asset development and NDA milestones.

• Begin Building Digital Infrastructure & Analytics in Phases II & III: Best-in-class companies incorporate a digital strategy component for new assets early on (e.g., Phase II analytics and internal training). This allows NPI teams to leverage successful approaches from other recent launches and franchises, inform asset development plans, and begin building critical digital infrastructure and capability within product teams.

• MSL Staffing Levels Affected by Existing Knowledge Level: Existing knowledge within a therapeutic area influences the number and timing of KOL relationship building, which in turn affects Medical Affairs MSL staffing levels.

• Brand Strategy Activities: Global Brand Strategy groups first engage on generic naming activities in Phase I and then commence trade name and positioning activities in Phase II. The US Brand Team commences most brand strategy activities in Phase III.

• Create Competitive Assessments for Both New & In-line Products: Though competitive and clinical landscape assessments are crucial to the success of new products, it is important to keep executive committees, boards, and investors informed about established products. Currently 83% of companies produce competitive assessments for both new and in-line products alike.