Operational excellence initiatives tackle the costs in order to counteract the decreasing top-line business. However, the acclerating dynamics of healthcare systems – driven by reforms particularly related to market access and reimbursement – challenges existing commercial business models. Over the course of the next five years, new models will be needed to deal with these new realities. Future growth will depend upon innovation and clear clinical differentiation triggering significant alterations to sales and marketing.
When reviewing their current model, companies follow a two-step process: First, each company must determine its current position, depending on its products, customers and competitive situation. Then it must decide how to position itself within each of six dimensions. By favouring one dimension over another, pharma executives define the characteristic attributes of their new business model, focusing on specific objectives such as assuring market access or increasing profitability:
- Individual pharmaceutical products through to bundles/portfolios – for example those related to therapeutic areas such as cardiovascular, oncology and diabetes
- Products through to healthcare services such as patient screening, patient education support and also ‘paid-for’ services
- From direct influence to indirect influence on prescribers, including payers and patients
- From doctors to ‘accounts’ such as hospital (groups), doctor networks, regional authorities, pharmacy chains
- From full in-house control to flexibility/outsourcing
- From a focus on the sales channel to emphasis on other channels, such as the internet
