Strategy Case Studies
Multi-national Pharmaceutical Company - Corporate Development
AVOS was commissioned by a major multi-national pharmaceutical manufacturer to analyze trends in the broader health care environment and their implications for the pharmaceutical industry.
To understand the market landscape, AVOS recruited a panel of executives from various segments of the healthcare environment that included health care plans, drug wholesalers and retailers, pharmacy benefit managers, and policy makers from the state and federal level. The panel explored five core health care dynamics that are critical in the evolution of the health care market:
- Cost containment
- Future employer-based coverage
- Changes in Medicare and Medicaid guidelines
- Government role as a purchaser within the Medicare Drug Plan
- Consumerism within health care plans
Leveraging 60 years of industry experience, AVOS incorporated the ideas of health care thoughts leaders and industry trends into a cohesive white paper detailing the evolution of the health care environment.
The white paper was then distributed to senior management and the board of directors of the sponsoring organization, as they worked to define the strategic direction of the company.
Medical Diagnostic Company - Business & Franchise Strategy Development
A multi-national medical diagnostics company retained AVOS Life Sciences to determine the global market opportunity for its new cervical cancer screening technology, as well as to define strategic options, and ultimately the optimal approach, to commercialization.
As part of this work, the AVOS team performed extensive secondary research, conducted a significant number of one-on-one interviews with OB/GYN physicians, laboratory administrators and technicians, payers and industry experts to characterize the key clinical, market, and competitive factors that would shape the market potential for the new technology, for example:
- Current and evolving treatment / testing approaches
- Unmet needs
- Competitive positioning
- Pricing / reimbursement situation
- Role of 3rd party influence (e.g., ACOG)
AVOS worked jointly with a cross-functional client team throughout the engagement, conducting a number of strategy development sessions to consider and assess various commercial alternatives for the organization. Ultimately, AVOS delivered to the client a full assessment of market potential for the technology and a recommended commercial approach involving both direct marketing and partnering activity.
Follow-on projects included support of partnering discussions and the facilitation of the global strategic planning process with the company's top 20 managers.
Drug Delivery Company - Market Strategy Development
A contract manufacturing organization with locations in Ireland and Germany retained AVOS Life Sciences to determine the value of an in-licensing opportunity for a drug/medical device combination product that they had been manufacturing for a large cap pharmaceutical company. The project included a market opportunity assessment, leading into a product development and marketing strategy, as well as assistance through the private equity fund raising process.
As part of the market opportunity assessment phase of the project, the AVOS team conducted 90 one-on-one interviews with orthopedic and general surgeons in the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom to gauge market demand for this product and several follow on products currently in development. Based on this market data and extensive secondary research, the team constructed discounted cash flow models for each product by country and made key recommendations as to which R&D projects to pursue and in what priority. The result of the project was:
- Validation of the medical need from the surgical community
- Gauge of perceived fair pricing and expected reimbursement
- Prioritization of research and development pipeline on projects with the highest net present value
- Development of a product promotion strategy
Key AVOS personnel accompanied the company management on several fund raising meetings with venture capital groups and other private investors to present the project findings and provide our third-party analysis of the business opportunity. In the fall of 2004, the company successfully raised $8 million in financing and completed the in-licensing of the product.
Subsequent projects are underway to explore the impact of recent post-marketing studies in cardiovascular surgery and the potential to pursue additional indications based on this data.
