Planning for the Complexities of Product Launch

Pharmaceutical and biotech products progress through predictable lifecycle stages: early development, prelaunch, launch, growth, maturity, and finally, decline. The basic pattern is immutable, but along the way, crucial opportunities arise to increase uptake rates, attain higher peak revenues, or extend brand life.

In this article, the issues product managers may face in planning for the complexities of product launch are addressed.

Prior to discussing launch complexities, let’s sum up ‘Lifecycle Strategies’ that involves the management of the second stage of the product lifecycle and the need for a brand team to have a comprehensive understanding of the current market to develop commercial strategies for their product. The third stage of a product’s lifecycle spans from the filing of a new drug application or biologics license application—when the organization has collected and analyzed its phase 3 trial results and committed to marketing the product—through its commercial launch, typically within a period of 12 to 18 months.

To support the launch, a cross-functional launch team (including the complete brand team) is assembled. Owing to the intense demands of this stage, individuals who are involved often find themselves extremely busy doing important work without having a complete understanding of their priorities, what the critical interdependencies are, and what deliverables other launch team members are completing.

To manage this important phase of a brand’s lifecycle and set the stage for a successful launch, the launch team must develop and execute a defined work plan that will realize the following key objectives:

•       Identify the functional areas (sub-teams) involved in launch

•       Determine the key deliverables to be completed by each sub-team

•       Define the deliverables to ensure transparency across sub-teams

•       Assign realistic start and stop dates for each deliverable

•       Outline the specific activities that must be conducted to complete the deliverable

•       Identify critical interdependencies within and across sub-teams

•       Assign individual accountability

Since the launch team is often cross-functional, it is also important to employ a project-management tool that includes two features:

(1)    Project management functionality that allows individual deliverables to be tracked and issues addressed before they become critical and

(2)    A reporting system that provides summary “dashboards” to senior management and team members.

The overarching objective of the myriad deliverables (typically hundreds) included in a launch plan is to generate market excitement for the coming launch. The “market conditioning campaign” that began earlier now goes into high gear, and key data are communicated at scientific meetings to position the product appropriately—and preempt the competition.

(Abstract from the source: “Planning for the Complexities of Product Launch’” by Darius Naigamwalla, Vice President, Brand Management Practice | Campbell Alliance, Woodland Hills, California - www.campbellalliance.com)