JLH Pharma: New Product Portfolio Launch

Key Issues and Challenges

JLH Pharma (a pseudonym) was in the process of developing a product portfolio and professional sales team in three distinct areas: podiatry, ophthalmology, and gastroenterology.

The company’s focus was on mid-sized product opportunities and corporate management planned to acquire these products through co-promotion or acquisition and internal development. Consequently, future products would likely be under/non-promoted single-source brands, molecules with orphan drug exclusivity, and known molecules improved through new forms or release profiles.

The senior management team at JLH Pharma engaged The Brooks Group to provide them with directional insights regarding emerging product concepts, identification of price points (elasticity) and reimbursement issues related to the products, and development of the enterprise’s “go-to-market” strategy and value proposition.

 

Our Approach

We believed that the key to this project was a deep understanding of podiatric, gastroenterology (GI), ophthalmology, and optometric practices’ needs and opportunities. JLH Pharma’s value proposition and product portfolio needed to be in alignment with its customers’ true therapeutic and business needs.
The Brooks Group assembled two podiatric advisory boards, two gastroenterology advisory boards, and three ophthalmic advisory boards. These advisory boards were segmented by general geographic area.

The functions of the advisory boards were to (1) confirm any assumptions or conclusions generalized from previous qualitative and quantitative research on products under consideration, (2) examine acceptable price points for patients and providers, (3) test JLH Pharma’s value-based messaging, and (4) obtain customer feedback or directional information regarding product concepts and an initial go-to-market approach.

The Brooks Group managed all aspects of the advisory board member recruitment, logistics, and meeting planning. We also worked with JLH Pharma to make sure that the appropriate providers were recruited.

 

The Results

The Brooks Group’s advisory board work and primary data report enabled JLH Pharma to make immediate decisions regarding several products under consideration. Based on our findings, negotiations for co-promotion of these products were either accelerated or terminated. Data regarding pricing and reimbursement issues also gave the company a basis for negotiations and sales projections. We recommended JLH Pharma plan advisory boards and assess provider perceptions every 12 to 18 months to determine change against baseline perspectives, awareness of JLH Pharma, and to monitor market trends over time.