New Therapy Development & Optimization Research

 
Summary

A cross-functional team of academics, scientists, and researchers from a private research university received an NIH grant to develop a new medication. To help the new medication be successful and widely adopted in the marketplace, research was conducted to decide which features needed to be included in the product. Results were used to inform the scientific team in the development of the product features that would be used to meet market needs.

Strategic Issues

The new medication will be used to help prevent the spread of diseases. However, adoption of this type of medication has been somewhat lackluster in the past. Therefore, in order to increase the likelihood of adoption (and compliance), the new product needed to be developed with end-users’ needs in mind. That is, the actual product characteristics that the scientific team sought to achieve (in terms of administration, efficacy, product size, usage requirements, etc.) had to be based on the needs of potential users, particularly patients with known risk factors, and recommending physicians.

Research Objectives

The main objective of the research was to determine the specific combination of product attributes or benefits that would make the new product most appealing to both patients and physicians.

Research Design and Methods

To fully identify and understand the preferences of high-risk patients and of physicians, three phases of research were conducted among each audience. First, qualitative groups and interviews were conducted in order to explore and understand preferences and needs. Then, a quantitative concept test with a conjoint exercise was used to determine focus areas for additional development. Finally, with the scientific team better understanding their potential abilities to deliver against the newly identified patient and physician needs, the most likely therapy attributes (in terms of administration, efficacy, product size, usage requirements, etc.) were outlined and tested in a quantitative choice-task survey, with the new product evaluated in a competitive context.

Results

The choice-task data was modeled to find the optimal combination of attributes that would maximize usage of the drug in the marketplace, from both the patient and physician perspective. Results between the two groups were then melded to find the best middle ground. This optimal set of product attributes then became the final goal for development of the actual therapy.

Marketing Research Services

If you would like more information, please contact Monisha Hatfield, Senior Vice President of Medical Research, (mhatfie@decisionanalyst.com), or Bonnie Janzen, Executive Vice President (bjanzen@decisionanalyst.com), or call 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166.