QRCA Views Fall 2011 : Page 41

C o n t i n U E d Vive la différence! the global pharmaceutical market researcher must also grapple with each country’s unique medical environment — that is, with the ways in which political, institutional, epidemiological and economic factors influence market conditions in different corners of the world. issues. A few years ago, our company was approached by a small biotech startup whose first product was a drug to combat a rare blood cancer. The enthusiastic leadership team, eager to sell their discovery, hired us to inter-view key opinion leaders to determine which physicians should be targeted. We learned that in the United States, a patient suspected of having this type of cancer is typically referred to a com-munity-based oncologist by his or her general practitioner for diagnosis and care. Because the disorder is fast moving and difficult to control, the specialist often ends up quickly transferring the patient to an academic hospital where more treatment options are available. Based on our findings, the commer-cial team drew up a physician-target-ing plan aimed at community oncol-ogists, not only in the U.S., but also in seven European countries. The team established partnerships with European marketers to support the promotion of the new treatment. Then the company asked us to interview medical experts in Europe about patient-referral pat-terns there, just to confirm that the strategy was valid. In Germany, we found, referral pat-terns matched those in the U.S. In France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands, however, things were different: GPs sent patients sus-pected of having this particular dis-order directly to academic hospi-tals. Community oncologists were seldom involved. The client’s team responded with consternation. If our report was correct, it meant they had wasted time and money on a flawed targeting plan; worse, they would have to admit their mistake to their foreign partners. Yet further research confirmed our initial findings, so the team had no choice but to revamp the strategy. Fortunately, the company went on to achieve a successful launch. Its team also learned a valuable lesson — pharma marketers need to under-stand the specific medical environ-ment of each target country for their product. In global marketing, it is always best to act on data, not assumptions. To quote a French proverb, “Il ne faut pas vendre la peau de l’ours avant de l’avoir tué.” Or in plain English, “Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.” QUALITATIVE RESEARCH CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION 41

National Field & Focus Inc.
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