RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – For experimental drugs, most early-stage commercial spending is allocated to thought leader development and market research, according to a new report, Early-Stage Pharmaceutical Marketing Budgets: Preparing for Product Launch, published by business intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information.

Thought leader development accounts for 47% of the average marketing budget during pre-clinical, Phase 1 and Phase 2 testing. Companies use this early-stage development to lay the groundwork for long-term relationships with physicians that will provide valuable real-world guidance for clinical trial design and marketing messaging. Ideally, such doctors will influence their peers on the global, national, regional and local scales when brands reach late-stage development and launch.

Market research, which claims 29% of average spending, is similarly important. Early in a drug’s lifecycle, project and brand teams’ primary objectives are to start outlining the competitive landscape, to identify unmet needs and to spot potential problem areas that could inhibit a drug’s commercial fortunes in the years ahead. Marketers tackle these challenges with market research, which is one of the best tools a brand team has at its disposal during early development.

Other areas receive lesser shares of the average budget. Early medical education claims 8% of total dollars, pharmacoeconomics 4%, and pricing strategy and analysis 3%. Early reimbursement activity is supported by 2% of the budget.

All such activity is important for later brand success, however. “Don’t be fooled by the relatively low dollar amounts,” said Elio Evangelista, Cutting Edge Information analyst. “Spending doesn’t approach the millions of dollars we see in later development, but early activity sets the stage for a product’s commercial future. It’s a critical time.”

The report, Early-Stage Pharmaceutical Marketing Budgets, covers numerous marketing sub-categories, including the following:
* Thought leader programs and activities
* Medical education
* Medical information
* Market research
* Competitive intelligence
* Pricing strategy and analysis
* Pharmacoeconomics
* Reimbursement
* Advertising and promotions


<-- Back to the News Page

<-- Back to the Cutting Edge Information home page