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| Early Development | Pre Launch | Product Launch | Life Cycle Management |
Early Stage Development
Business Challenge: A major global medical equipment manufacturer engaged MedPanel to investigate drivers of medical equipment purchasing in specific departments. The client also had limited understanding of customer touch-points for service, upgrades and accessories during product life cycle. The challenge was to learn what customers' value in the equipment and how to best meet their needs. The client asked that we focus not on the initial purchase but to quantify the touch-points for service, training and additional products following the end of a the warranty period.
MedPanel Approach: We conducted a three-phase project. Phase I was an online discussion with CXOs and Department Directors across the US to understand their challenges and values. In Phase II we conducted in-depth telephone interviews seeking to further drill into the findings from the panel and develop an understanding of different levels of customer values and buying behavior for supporting products and services for the equipment over its lifetime. Phase III utilized the information from Phases I and II to quantify the market opportunity for additional products and services during the equipment's life using an online choice based conjoint (CBC).
Results and Impact: MedPanel created behavioral segmentation of purchases based on values and preferences. Our research was presented as a component of the business units strategy review presentation to executive management. This work supported the expansion of service offerings tailored to customer need to drive revenue growth.
Pre Launch
Business Challenge: Client is a small- to mid-size biotechnology firm developing, among other things, a Phase II drug for use in Hepatitis C. The client had previously hired a pharma-focused consulting firm to develop and populate a patient flow, forecasting, and valuation model for use in negotiation with potential suitors - but was dissatisfied with the amount and depth of research fueling the model. Our client was anticipating a contentious round of negotiations and desired to make the strongest case possible.
MedPanel Approach: We conducted online discussions with forty KOLs and community practitioners across the US and EU to create an up-to-date picture of the current practice of medicine in Hepatitis C. In this work we used KOLs to verify a six-stage inflection-point based future paradigm for the treatment of HCV which served as a foundation of the subsequent forecast. We then surveyed over 300 physician treaters of HCV in the US and EU to quantify current practice and predict future treatment in each of the carefully described future scenarios. Additionally, we assessed demand elasticity to novel HCV therapies in the context of variations in efficacy, duration of therapy, and severity of side effects.
Results and Impact: Armed with our research, our client confidently entered negotiations with a top global pharmaceutical company. The other company had hired a prestige management consulting firm to build their valuation case. However, MedPanel's work (with 10-fold more and highly targeted data from practitioners and KOLs in both the US and EU) served our client very well. MedPanel was called into portions of the negotiation to defend the work and, in the end, the negotiations went favorably for our client. The CFO described our work as: "an absolute home run for us."
Pre Launch
Business Challenge: The client is a biopharmaceutical company developing a therapy to inhibit further disease progression in type 1 diabetes and has an active Phase III study. Another biopharmaceutical company is developing a competitive biologic; however, their Phase III clinical trial failed to meet its primary efficacy endpoint and this study was subsequently suspended. Our client wanted to understand the implications for their own Phase III trial from the perspective of the market and whether the subtleties in the differences between the trials are well understood or if physicians need to be extensively educated on them.
MedPanel Approach: We conducted an online discussion with type 1 diabetes specialists who have participated in either of the Phase III clinical trials (our client's or the competitor's). We compared and contrasted the studies to understand if there would be a negative halo effect from the failed study on our client's study.
Results and Impact: We found that physicians were aware of the difference in primary endpoints between the two clinical trials, and view the endpoint of our client's clinical trial as appropriate. Therefore, modification to our client's trial wasn't necessary. Physicians did note, however, that a teleconference explaining the difference between the two clinical trials would prepare PIs to in turn explain the difference to patients. This would be particularly helpful in reassuring patients already unsure of participating in our client's clinical trial.
Product Launch Stage
Business Challenge: Client is a pharmaceutical firm developing a promising orphan drug. In order to gain a competitive advantage in the market, the client is designing an extensive patient assistance program to facilitate the reimbursement process.
MedPanel Approach: We conducted an online discussion among a dozen clinical nurse coordinators from across the US to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by patients and nurse coordinators to assure the delivery of proper reimbursement.
Results and Impact: MedPanel research revealed clinical nurse coordinators were spending up to 10 hours per week assisting patients with reimbursement issues. With detailed knowledge about the reimbursement challenges faced, the client developed a multi-faceted plan to ensure patients and nurse coordinators would have little to no problem receiving reimbursement for their new agent. Additionally, the client constructed a comprehensive patient support program to accompany their drug rollout based on key patient needs.
Life Cycle Management
Business Challenge: A mid-size device company focused in the pain management and rehabilitation spaces was failing to maintain its traditional strong growth. Anecdotally, the client was hearing that physicians were increasingly choosing to stock and bill some durable medical equipment (DME) themselves (i.e. DME reseller programs) in order to boost practice revenue. Our client's sales force had traditionally served that function for the practice. Our client needed to understand the dynamics of the market, assess the rate of paradigm shift in DME distribution and billing, and determine how to adjust its sales force.
MedPanel Approach: We conducted an online discussion among fifteen physicians and surgeons in client's primary customer segments to understand the dynamics of the market, the context, and the perception of the customer. Additionally we uncovered the major drivers of and barriers to change regarding DME reseller programs. Armed with this understanding, we then conducted a survey to determine the transition rates from traditional to DME reseller programs for the client's five major product lines including TENS/electrotherapy and spinal bracing. With these transition rates in the recent past and forecasted into the future, combined with financial data from the client, we projected the magnitude of future drop-off in revenue if the company continued to only support a model in which the products were fit and billed for by the company's representatives.
Results and Impact: Armed with robust data on transition rates and concomitant potential revenue losses, our client adjusted their strategic plan to get out ahead of the market. Stated the CEO: "Your research inspired a new business unit and fundamentally changed the way we do business."
Life Cycle Management
Business Challenge: The client is a large pharmaceutical company that provides a therapy used to treat metastatic breast cancer (mBC). They wanted to understand, from time of initial metastatic diagnosis to present day, the patient journey and unmet support needs in order to develop a comprehensive patient support program specifically for mBC patients.
MedPanel Approach: We conducted three online discussions and five interviews with mBC patients and caregivers of mBC patients. We assessed unmet needs, key challenges faced, and created an overall view of the patient experience to help our client understand their needs.
Results and Impact: We discovered that patients feel involved in treatment decisions and are able to acquire necessary education and information. Following the acceptance of their diagnosis, their needs are more physical-based, and include help with errands and transportation. Caregivers do not feel they have as strong a support network as patients, and could benefit from additional support and educational materials. Patients would benefit from regularly updated current events on mBC research.
Pre Launch
Business Challenge: The client is a biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of cancer therapeutics, including a molecule in Phase III clinical trials. With limited knowledge of oncologists' perceptions on the current and anticipated future of treatment landscapes in one particular indication in both the United States and Europe, the client needed to understand treatment patterns, perception of unmet needs, trial endpoint priorities, and potential adoption of the product in these two markets.
MedPanel Approach: We conducted five online discussions with a total of 12 US oncology nurses and 43 oncologists across the US, France and Germany to gain candid, robust feedback on current treatment paradigms and the challenges oncologists face with a limited array of undifferentiated treatments. Building upon the insights garnered from the panels, we conducted an online survey with 100 US and 100 EU oncologists to react to the probable Phase III results for our client's pipeline product and predict potential uptake over the next three years. Oncologists were also asked to evaluate their perception of our client's product in relation to currently available agents on various endpoints and attributes, leading to a product positioning map for both the US and EU markets.
Results and Impact: Our client had initially budgeted for a US and EU roadshow of live interviews and focus groups with oncologists and nurses. By taking much of this work online, we were able to reduce our client's spend by 60% and free up several weeks of senior staff time. This research provided: 1) a realistic, balanced, and credible forecast of product use; 2) a foundation for more informed sales force sizing and planning; 3) an up-to-the-minute portrait of the market including unmet needs and product perceptions to be used in marketing strategy and product positioning; 4) insights into future trial design and the presentation of near-term trial results to evoke the greatest impact from the market. 5) data and insights used at the board of directors and investor presentation level; The Director of Market Development thank us noting: "Our presentation went extremely smoothly with the Board Of Directors today, and the MR has been well received from BOD and potential external partners, as well."
