Zebra is regularly asked about what type of research and intelligence should be explored at different stages of the drug development cycle. We have therefore created a series of posts that look to provide some answers, including those pertaining to early price reviews. The posts in this series will follow the different phases of the drug development process. Therefore, we have created an image showing the key commercial activities throughout the drug development pathway. Please click here to download the graphic that follows along with these posts.
Compound Selection: Preclinical Early Price Reviews and the Competitive Landscape
Throughout development, it’s important that companies track not only the major players in a disease area, but also in other areas where the asset may have a clinical benefit. Identifying opportunities and threats and monitoring those during development is critical. Many compounds are developed in one area and then used in others (breast cancer products are one example of this).
At this stage, the preliminary information required to have an initial view of each disease option you are targeting and each mechanism would include:
- PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological change)
- Profile corporations and pipelines
- Review of the mechanisms in development and agree on the compounds for monitoring
- Assessment of gold standard therapy now and in the future
- Cost and pricing issues
- Long-range scenario planning
You can glean the majority of information for price benchmarking and competitors with publicly available information through literature reviews, congress posters and trawling of the internet. Cost comparisons and pricing issues tend to be harder to acquire due to the confidential nature of this type of data. Additionally, obtain top level prices through preliminary discussions with payers.
You will need this information when developing a forecasting framework to build upon during the development process. At this stage, the information will be preliminary and include:
- Disease and market demographics (value and share)
- Disease area potential identification of key uncertainties
- A review of assumptions
Moreover, use of competitor product summaries (launch dates, growth, price, indications) would be useful as input into this early forecast.
In addition, the forecast framework is used to identify information gaps that would require additional work over the next forecasting period and which would need to be incorporated into any activity plan.
How We Can Help
Zebra can support with monthly or quarterly competitor tracking and yearly comprehensive updates depending on where you are in the development process. In addition, we are familiar with disease forecasting and can create and populate these for our clients. Any tracking and forecasts are more detailed as you progress nearer to Phase 3 and launch.
Stay tuned for our next post, in which we’ll discuss making the Go/No Go Decision.
Want more company-specific ideas of how to conduct this work? Please feel free to reach out to us.
