LONDON -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --

After years of low productivity, R&D in leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies is starting to deliver on its promises; the number of New Molecular Entities (NMEs) approved by the US FDA has leveled out and biotech companies’ share prices are rising, indicating profitable business models. Now is the time for launch. Arthur D. Little’s (ADL) latest viewpoint, ‘Launch excellence for new medicines,’ assesses the key success factors for the successful launch of new medicines.

According to ADL’s most recent project experience, launch excellence has the power to shorten time-to-market by four to six months and it can deliver additional incremental annual sales of up to €50m. In the past, it seemed natural for big pharma companies to launch NMEs in known business areas and territories. However, due to global market access challenges, companies need to transform their launch approach.

Healthcare delivery is undergoing a transformation due to the convergence of new developments in IT, telecommunications and medicine. Communications through social media, collaborations with telecommunications companies and joint software development with IT companies will become an integral part of future sales processes in the pharmaceutical industry. So how do companies manage the complexity of global product launch in a dynamic environment of emerging markets, new technologies and changing market access requirements?

“Launch organization is key,” say ADL’s Healthcare practitioners. “Companies need to establish a launch governance, a culture of transparency and information exchange; and provide the appropriate structures and tools. The launch status should be constantly tracked to ensure that early signs of delays or underperformance are detected and tackled in time.”

To be successful in NME launches, ADL says it is not enough to analyze the market in terms of epidemiology, competitors, prescribers and previous ramp-up curves. Instead, launching companies should finalize the value proposition of the drug five years prior to launch. To prepare for the successful market entry, commercial and operational launch teams should integrate into R&D teams and a launch plan must be developed and tracked to bring everybody up to speed. Finally, companies need to engage with stakeholders in key markets to ensure the new therapy will meet their launch requirements.

The full report can be downloaded at: www.adl.com/Launch_excellence

CONTACT:

Sue Glanville/Cate Bonthuys
Say Communications for Arthur D. Little
Tel: + 44 (0)20 8971 6400
arthurdlittle@saycomms.co.uk