Cases - Business

Why is it that most companies really only think about marketing when their backs are against the wall? Driven by declining sales or slow growth, changing patterns in the

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ir (or their customer’s) buying behaviours and /or increasing competition, suddenly the penny drops! Marketing – oh yes maybe I should try that!

I know we all mean well

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

but as human beings we are not good at consistently driving for stretch or continuous improvement. We all know what we should have been doing but somehow there just wasn

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

’t enough time in the day. And the days turned into weeks, which somehow, turned into months!

Marketing is not a department within the business and, I believe, it is al

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

o not so much about what we do as it is about “how we consistently do it!”

I’ve come to the conclusion that the old adage “a rolling stone gathers no moss” is as true i

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

business as it is in life generally. Somewhere in our genetic make-up we are all pre-programmed to strive for that day when we can pull back and relax having “made it”.

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

There are many examples we can find by looking around us of companies which, having thought they had “made it”, suddenly have been thrown into hot water through changin

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

markets, changing economic scenarios and changing business structures. These are all marketing issues that need to be constantly monitored.

What can we do to ensure th

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

t in the good times we are using our energy to prepare for the rocky road that is sure to be just over the horizon? And, for those of you who are currently within the mo

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

unting storm, what can you do to minimize your risk?

I think there are a few fundamental blocks that need to be core to any organization:

1. If you are the captain (of

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

the company, the dept or the team) you must be up on the bridge and not constantly in the engine room. If you are down shoveling the coal you cannot be checking for the

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

cebergs!

2. Open your mind! It is not “their” problem, your future is not in “their” hands and it is not “their” fault! Start by looking inward in order to ensure your

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

personal marketing is in order!

3. Create time to check for operational excellence. No amount of marketing can cover for poor products/services, slow turnaround time, p

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

ocrastination, inefficiency or lack of care by the service delivery team.

4. Surround yourself with people who love challenge, push the limits and think outside the box

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

They are few and far between and, when you find one, ensure you really look after them. If your organization doesn’t have them internally, make sure you are networking

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

with people who will play devil’s advocate and challenge your thinking. These people should be helping you scan the radar from a holistic market perspective to establish

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

“where to next” - constantly pushing for stretch.

As mentioned earlier Marketing is not a department and it’s definitely not advertising! It’s about challenging the sta

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

us quo, checking the perceptions and needs of the customers constantly and working with the management team to adjust as necessary to build towards the ultimate business

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

objective – sustainability!

If your stone’s not rolling it’s gathering moss and the moss creates drag, clouds vision and stifles action –things we have all experienced

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

to a greater or lesser extent at some time. Give your stone a kick and get it rolling today – then you’ll really have something worth marketing!

Happy Marketing! Diann

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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