June 2008

The Power of Possibility - Concept Testing for Medical and Surgical Devices
By Rebekkah Carney, Associate Vice President, GfK Market Measures

Medical and surgical device development is gaining status as the place to be in health care manufacturing. It's fast-paced, offers some relief from the current frustrations in the pharmaceutical environment and there's ample opportunity to be the next great innovator. However, the very circumstances that make this arena a great place to launch a product - speed to development, speed to market and engineering enhancements for optimizing outcomes - make bringing the right product to market an enormous challenge.

Assessing the Potential

Prioritization is the problem. When assessing which potential project will optimize ROI in the context of the market and your current franchise, you may be faced with dozens of possibilities, all technically feasible, all supported by physician experts, enthusiastic R&D teams and company champions. All the options may resonate with hope and promise for your bottom line. Selecting the right initiative is critical to companies and careers, so a rigorous, data-driven method for selection is essential.

The Structure and Function of the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Agency of the Future
This month's published document for The Orange Pages sets forth some of the issues that should be considered in establishing, managing, joining or contracting with a pharmaceutical marketing research agency that will best be able to deal with change in our industry. In particular, it spells out 10 dimensions that will need to be evaluated in determining a marketing research organization's ability to provide optimal performance in the age of Pharmaceutical Marketing 2.0.

The key takeaway of this module for company, associate and client is that each of these issues, and perhaps several others as well, should be considered to ensure a match among agency, associate and client considerations and concerns. Failure to do so early on can lead to significant disappointment later, and both the pharmaceutical industry in general and marketing research agencies in particular are already under sufficient pressure from a number of sources that they have little or no time to deal with mismatches in such important areas.

Forecasting the Future: Highlights From GfK's PMRG Annual Conference Presentation

According to GfK U.S. Healthcare Companies Group CEO Richard B. Vanderveer, Ph.D., "Pharmaceutical companies in the next year will be looking at things differently, and we as agencies are going to have to respond to this." Speaking to a group of more than 100 people during his recent presentation at the Pharmaceutical Marketing Research Group's Annual National Conference, Dr. Vanderveer elaborated on this statement by painting a picture of the form and function pharmaceutical marketing research agencies will assume in the future.

Noting that spending on pharmaceutical marketing research was down 25 percent in the last year, Dr. Vanderveer proposed that the only way to bring business back up would be through significant - and quick - change on the part of agencies. With the seismic shifts occurring in the pharmaceutical industry, the traditional agency business model can no longer work.

Did You Miss the May Issue of Topline?
Click here to read the issue, which includes:

  • Standard and innovative methods for tracking brand performance
  • Conducting efficient marketing research
  • Risk analysis, choice models and early-stage forecasting
  • Data Download research highlights: oncology and antibiotics

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    The Size and Shape of Pharmaceutical Marketing Research

    As this is being written, it is a matter of public record that GfK, our parent company, and longtime mega-competitor TNS are in negotiations to consummate a "merger of equals," in which no money would change hands but stock would be swapped on a one- for-one basis to yield equal ownership of the joint company, named GfK-TNS, by the current shareholders of both companies.

    Also a matter of public record is a series of cash offers for TNS, being made by competitor WPP, which have been summarily rejected by TNS management as significantly "undervaluing" the company. Although the outcome of this drama is not yet clear, the most recently announced timeline is that the GfK-TNS deal will be consummated by the fourth quarter of this year, yielding the second-largest marketing research company in the world.

    While this unfolds, it is important to note that health care constitutes a relatively small percentage of each major player's practices. Although we all see this through the eyes of health care marketing researchers, we must remember that the real financial play here is in areas like TV audience measurement, advertising effectiveness, etc., with health care marketing research largely along for the ride.

    While the GfK-TNS merger would marry two of the world's largest marketing research firms, the major progeny of this union, the financial press tells us, would be the enhancement of TV audience monitoring through a combination of technologies and differential geographic regional strengths. All interesting, fascinating and important. But how about health care?


    Richard B. Vanderveer, Ph.D.
    Group Chief Executive Officer
    GfK U.S. Healthcare Companies



    Research Highlights: Psychiatry, Cardiology and Neurology

    Data Download provides highlights of recently released data from GfK Market Measures' Therapeutic Class Studies (TCS). Based on primary market research, TCS provide in-depth analysis of market trends, physician practice patterns and competitive brand positioning.

    This month's selections cover research from studies conducted in the areas of bipolar disorders, ACS and migraines.