Research Triangle Park, NC – New data published today indicates that combinations treatments are a rising trend in the pharmaceutical industry. The average pharmaceutical brand team spends $65 million to develop combination treatments, according to a new study from Cutting Edge Information (http://www.PharmaLifecycleManagement.com/).

The study shows that combination therapies, such as Merck and Schering-Plough’s cardiovascular drug, Vytorin, are increasing in popularity among pharmaceutical lifecycle management teams and brand managers. Combination drugs infuse portfolios with rapid sales uptake, as well as provide significant patent protection and create barriers to generic competitors.

“Combination drugs are creating a buzz within the industry right now, and brand teams with aging patents are investing their research dollars to try and develop the next big thing,” said Elio Evangelista, senior analyst at Cutting Edge Information. The next big thing, Evangelista added, may be Pfizer’s upcoming launch of Torcetrapib, which has proven effective in combination with blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor.

Defending Brand Revenue: Pharmaceutical Lifecycle Management Planning (http://www.PharmaLifecycleManagement.com) reveals that companies have increased lifecycle management spending, especially to support new research around combination treatments, in the past decade. Cutting Edge Information studied 24 companies’ lifecycle management organizations and determined that some companies spend upwards of $120 million just on combination treatment, aside from its other lifecycle management efforts.

Pharmaceutical companies have turned to lifecycle management to drive more profits from their existing products while struggling to fill growing pipeline holes from blockbuster patent expirations. Lifecycle management planners, however, need to begin early in development, often before they know whether a product will even reach the market. Cutting Edge Information’s study shows that 43% of global brand teams begin lifecycle management planning in Phase I development.

Defending Brand Revenue: Pharmaceutical Lifecycle Management Planning includes analysis of leading pharmaceutical lifecycle management (LCM) organizations, as well as detailed case studies outlining LCM success, LCM tactical costs and effectiveness, as well as strategies for brand managers to use to increase product profitability. The study analyzes LCM organizations and strategies from Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Aventis, among others.

 
<-- Back to the News Page

<-- Back to the Cutting Edge Information home page