Pharmaceutical advertising gallery from all over…

In a perfect world, we could take our time to meet challenges. Brand-name drugmakers, however, do not have that luxury. A new report, however, suggests some must believe otherwise. After surveying big pharma for its ?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ?Ä??Combatting Generics?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?묢 study, Cutting Edge finds that 66 percent do not begin counter-generics planning until at least two years after a product has launched.

Although product teams often feel that they should not be planning for generics until well after a successful launch and period of brand maturation, veteran brand managers consistently report that teams start counterinsurgency planning far too late in a drug?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?묢s life, according to the executive summary. (You can take a peek by starting here).

The research firm then goes on to say something recognizable: ?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ??¨The internal workings of pharmaceutical companies sometimes encourage the lack of planning.?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ¬¨?? Compounding the problem is a high turnover rate among brand managers. A newbie may arrive with just a couple of years of patent protection and no generic strategy, which means little chance to do anything other than react.

However, Cutting Edge did find that some companies do consider generics problems relatively early ?¬¢‚Äö?ᬮ‚Äö?Ñ?? 23 percent do conduct generics planning while drugs are still in clinical trials, and another 11 percent initiate a generic strategy during launch. Just the same, many wait until patent expiration is too close to explore their options.

A majority of drugmakers report they first consider generics within four years of patent expiration. Since R&D options can take at least that long to execute, Cutting Edge notes that drugmakers with a lifecycle management strategy that begins at least four to six years before patent expiration gives themselves the best chance to prolong brand life.