Pharmaceutical Product Launch Evaluation Excellence

in this highly competitive and scrutinized marketplace, pharmaceutical and biotech companies have continuously examined the product launch process to cut costs and to increase performance. However, missing from the analysis is the last step of the process: evaluating the success or failure of the drug's release.

Excellence in product launch evaluation across multiple product launches sets protocols around the launch evaluation process, key performance measures and recalibration of targets post-launch. This research captures quantitative and qualitative data, yielding key findings and insights, around the current and future landscape of product launch evaluation at pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

Best Practices, LLC used both field surveys and interviews to complete this study. in all, 19 sales and marketing leaders contributed data. in-depth interviews were conducted with leaders from six of the participating companies.

NOTE: The data in this research are segmented into two groups: Full Benchmark Class and Large Pharma Segment.

Industries Profiled

Manufacturing; Pharmaceutical; Biotechnology; Health Care

Companies Profiled

Medtronic; Organon; Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd; Valeant; Theravance; Myriad; Actelion; Abbott; Boehringer Ingelheim; Bristol-Myers Squibb; GlaxoSmithKline; Novo Nordisk; Roche; Sanofi-Aventis

Study Snapshot

Assessing the success of product launches is a complex yet critical activity to improve both product and process performance. This benchmark study seeks to identify the full range of launch performance measures used to evaluate launch success and to develop benchmarks with which to inform and shape biopharma launch evaluations.

from interviews with executives at six companies, extensive survey data and insights drawn from 19 surveyed companies, this report provides executives, directors, and managers at pharmaceutical companies with actionable insights that will improve post-launch evaluation and strengthen future product launches.

Topics Covered in This Study Include:

• Understand Product Launch Evaluation Process
• Determine Role of Forecasting in Evaluating Success
• Identify Key Performance Measures Used
• Review Importance of Specific Launch Evaluation Performance Measures
• Describe Process and Timetable for Recalibration of Launch Targets

Key Findings

• Most companies do not follow a standard launch evaluation process.
• Managing expectations, beyond the forecasts, is critical to guiding post-launch activity.
• Frequent cross-functional launch team meetings (pre- and post-launch) are the best means of identifying and resolving performance issues.