Optimizing the Critical 6-month Launch Window

At ROF, we often say the pharmaceutical launch playbook is broken, but what do we mean by that? Let us give you one universally applicable example.

Launch communication to healthcare professionals is disproportionately focused on the core visual aid (CVA) even though branded promotion has much less time to influence the success of your brand than it did in the past. According to IQVIA Launch Excellence VIII (2023), the trajectory for new launch products is set by month 6.

The data shows this period determines the long-term success for more than 80% of launch brands, with 20% or fewer able to significantly improve their initial sales trajectory after the 6-month window if they get off to a poor start.

Now let’s take a look at typical promotional timing for a launch brand.

For launch brands that plan to pre-clear their promotional materials, this process takes at least 45 days with priority review and at least 60 days for the standard process. Once feedback is received, there’s still time needed to evaluate and respond, or at a minimum to implement the changes requested by the reviewing authority. After that, materials need to be finalized, distributed, and the field needs to be trained on how best to use them. This whole process ends up taking at least 3 months.

You can see where the problem comes in. If the typical launch promotional timing takes at least 3 months, that leaves a maximum of 3 months for your CVA to have an impact. For some brands, the final CVA may not even be available until this critical launch period closes.

Even for brands that don’t pre-clear their materials, 6 months may feel like an incredibly short period of time to fully establish a new brand and demonstrate its value, especially in a competitive market.

So, how do you make the most of this period given these dynamics?

It’s critical to have a validated, differentiated positioning with an accompanying core brand narrative. The core brand narrative should outline the 5 or 6 key messages that will lead to ownership of the desired positioning and motivate target physicians to prescribe your product for the right patients.

This approach ensures your field force can make the most of the launch window, even if the PI is the only material available. Having a validated brand narrative that ladders up to the desired positioning also streamlines sales training and allows your team to begin impacting the market on day one.

Given these dynamics, ensuring the positioning and core brand story are developed and validated properly is foundational to maximizing the critical 6-month launch period for today’s brands and ultimately launch success. The time-honored practice of rushing the positioning development process to prioritize concepting and CVA development just doesn’t meet the needs of today’s marketer.