Navigating the Evolution of New Product Planning in Pharmaceuticals

The Past: From Me-Too Drugs to Early Planning

Pharmaceutical marketing once thrived on me-too drugs, with little emphasis on differentiation. However, as healthcare ecosystems evolved and development cycles lengthened, early product planning became essential. This marked the birth of the NPP function.

The Present: The Many Faces of NPP

NPP now adopts various titles, including new product commercialization and portfolio strategy, but its core mission remains unchanged: enhancing a product's probability of commercial success. Reporting lines vary, with the chief commercial/marketing officer being the most common choice. NPP collaborates extensively across clinical development, pricing, market access, medical affairs, and more, emphasizing its cross-functional nature.

NPP teams are diverse, recruiting talent from various backgrounds. They prioritize strategic thinking, collaboration, and value maximization, with expertise spanning scientific, clinical, and commercial domains.

Decisions Informed by NPP: Shaping the Future

NPP teams significantly influence evidence-generation strategies, guiding decisions from indication prioritization to Phase III trials. Their contributions span key domains, including corporate strategy, disease landscape, target product profile development, value and access, indication and lifecycle management, and market sizing.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite its value, NPP faces challenges, such as inconsistent recognition and resource allocation concerns. However, these challenges present opportunities to enhance cross-functional collaboration and streamline processes.

The Future: NPP as a Futurist

In the dynamic pharmaceutical industry, NPP assumes the role of a futurist. It must anticipate and adapt to emerging market forces, including patient-centricity, digital tools, healthcare system pressures, smaller product launches, and emerging technologies.

Staying Power

NPP, though relatively young, has already demonstrated its impact on strategic commercial planning. As the pharmaceutical landscape continues to evolve, NPP remains poised to play a prominent role, ensuring the sustainability of pharmaceutical companies in an ever-changing world.

A summary article from New Product Planning: The Function's Evolution in Pharma. Published on: September 8, 2023. Written by Anne Ollivier & C. Kuyler Doyle. Pharmaceutical Executive, Pharmaceutical Executive: September 2023, Volume 44, Issue 9. Location: https://www.pharmexec.com/view/new-product-planning-function-evolution-pharma