Journal of Medical Marketing: Device,Diagnostic and Pharmaceutical Marketing

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that causes the respiratory mucus to be thinker than normal. Although CF patients have a variety of symptoms, congested lungs and impaired breathing are the most important. The treatment of CF includes the prescription of mucolytics, antibiotics and anti-inflammatories in order to relieve these symptoms. Most novel products in development for the treatment of CF focus on the improved administration of these drugs. A possible cure may come from gene therapy and ion transport restoration, to fix the underlying cause of CF. However, with gene therapy a long way to go, hopes are now focussed on ion channel therapy to become the next big step forwards.

What will the marketing and sales organisation of a typical pharmaceutical company look like in 5 years' time? What activities will they be conducting? Who will be their customers? Crucially, how are they going to address the challenges the industry is facing, such as declining physician access, limited customer loyalty, downward pricing pressure and low levels of public trust? Indeed, these problems are largely the result of the business model favoured over the past two decades by the industry, namely an excessive focus on prescribers and one-way, product-centred activities. Introducing a series that proposes a new go-to-market approach, this article will explain the concept of networked healthcare, demonstrate how the industry is becoming more networked and outline the implications for pharmaceutical companies.

This paper discusses some considerations for European medical device companies wishing to make their first step into the US marketplace. Advantages and disadvantages of various corporative structures are presented, and the American legal environment and its implications are discussed in some detail. Operational and marketing considerations are considered in some depth, and financial and tax consequences briefly. Preferred options are suggested for the smaller company to whom this discussion is directed.

This paper presents research findings about what makes physicians come to exhibits during a medical conference, things that make them stay inside the exhibit longer and the importance of each of these elements to the exhibit marketing programme. The paper includes research about categories of promotions that generated recall as well as physician perceptions about sponsorships at medical events. Note: the study was conducted with US-based attendees at US-based medical conferences. Research time-frame: 2003–05.

Evidence-based medicine (EBM) will become in the future a fact of life for the medical device industry. The authors propose the clinical marketing framework as a strategic tool to optimise product introduction, adoption, life cycle management and business development of medical device innovations. Clinical evidence is increasingly important for the healthcare-related decision making and for the commercial success of medical device innovations. The central aspect of the clinical marketing framework is to use the principles of EBM to develop and drive the clinical marketing strategy. The systematic implementation of the proposed framework starts with a clear definition of the target indication and the potential target user group for the medical device innovation. The next step is to identify the product claims, analyse the scientific evidence supporting them and to define a target evidence level. The evidence gap analysis compares the required evidence level and the available evidence level. The results of the evidence gap analysis, the definition of the required product benefits and the target indication are the most important input for the clinical marketing programme. The key objective of this framework is to support customer adoption and market penetration of the medical device.

Communicating the value of medical technology is a big challenge — particularly in times of financial problems of the healthcare systems all over Europe. Communication to patients and to a broad public is rapidly gaining importance. For informing the public at large about the value and significance of medical technologies and new Medtech devices and therapies, we need the mass media. This is in addition to — not in substitution of — the political lobbying work and close relationship with doctors and hospitals. The overall goal is to get more attention for and awareness of the value of medical technologies. The keypoints are as follows: It takes time to establish our key messages and to promote our technologies. We have to realise that public relation campaigns are a marathon, not a sprint. Associations, companies and stakeholders need to join forces. We need stories and tools that emotionalise. We need more patient stories, pictures and films. And we need allies in communicating to a broad public. To summarise, success takes patience and well-informed patients!

The paper reports on an investigation of the characteristics associated with small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) exporters that operate in international healthcare markets. A framework is initially developed to analyse (a) the factors that stimulate such firms to venture overseas, (b) the key barriers to export, (c) the international market coverage where the firms do business, and (d) their success factors associated with trading internationally. Based on a sample of 112 SMEs, our findings reveal that although business growth, profits and a large market size were seen to motivate firms to venture overseas, finding an appropriate partner was a key barrier. Cultural issues were not found to prevent the sample of firms from doing business internationally, but having high-quality products and competitive prices were considered important ingredients of success. Several managerial implications are also extracted from the study that business support providers and governmental sources can use to assist firms operating within the sector.

This research establishes a framework to understand how older consumers respond to in-market communications for five OTC healthcare products: allergy medication, back pain relief patches, eye drops, gas relief and sleep aids, products commonly used by this segment. The research objective is to identify how the consumer processes currently publically available information, and whether there exists a higher order set of behaviours that transcend individual OTC topics. The study comprises a combination of self-profiling and the conjoint analysis, allowing us to understand the choice of features and communications. The study suggests a division of consumers into three segments: (1) those who want simple summaries of the situation; (2) those who want a statement of the benefit to them; and (3) those who want a detailed explanation of how and why the product works.