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Optimizing Brand Lifecycle Management: Winning Strategies to Maximize Revenue in the Face of Growing Generic Competition

As competitive pressures from the entry of generics post-patent expiry and new brands are growing, product lifecycles are evolving for the worst. Effective lifecycle management is becoming a must for Pharma looking to maximize their return on investment, regardless of which stage of the lifecycle a drugs is in. However such strategies are becoming most prominent immediately before patent expiry.

One of the key challenges for Pharma is the loss of corporate memory regarding specific brands as brand managers spend on average only 18 months on one product with mainly short term goals in mind. Pharma need to take a structured approach to lifecycle management with a regular review of their strategies in response to internal and external events.

Lifecycle management should not be left until only few years are left to patent expiry. Revenues can be maximized during launch and peak phases by employing the right approaches. If a company starts planning its lifecycle management strategy early, it has more strategies available. However, many companies leave planning until late in the lifecycle.

Payers and physicians are becoming more sceptical of certain steps taken by Pharma as they consider them to be pure lifecycle management. Follow-on products such as reformulations and fixed dose combinations need to ensure they truly satisfy an unmet need in order to achieve even moderate uptake.

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