Best Practices in Pharmaceutical Alliances and Co-Promotions

If you are interested in this report, check out "Profitable Partnerships: Developing Excellence in Alliances."

Study Snapshot

This Best Practices Benchmarking^® Report contains numerous findings that will enable companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector to understand the critical success factors of alliances and co-promotions. Moreover, the  findings contained in this report will enable your company and strategic partners to move knowledgeably forward toward the objective of developing its own alliance and co-promotion system.

The key operational areas which emerged as foundation stones for superior alliances include:

• Deal Making
• Pre-Launch and Launch Activities
• Marketing Management
• Sales Management
• Relationship Management

Key Findings

The key operational areas below were identified as the building blocks to successful alliances and co-promotions.  These include:

Deal Making

• Articulate a clear and compelling rationale for the co-promotion effort.
• Seek partners who want to co-promote and whose culture, strategy and needs fit your own.
• Clearly delineate roles, responsibilities, conflict resolution mechanisms, and other governance details in the contract.

• Consolidate control into one individual in each organization acting as a brand manager to create unity of command.
• Create a dedicated operational team from each organization to oversee and manage the co-promotion processes.
• Produce materials for training by one organization and share those resources with the other organization to minimize duplication of efforts.

• Develop a clear understanding of marketing roles and responsibilities between co-promotion partners.
• Publicize and clarify the partnership to customers to ensure both partners receive market recognition.
• Use co-branding to instill a sense of ownership in sales representatives.

• Mirror territories to facilitate partner communication and coordination.
• Develop coordinated call schedules and plans on key accounts.
• Employ similar compensation systems to foster positive relations between co-promote partner sales reps.

• Involve senior management in communicating the strategic importance of the partnership.
• Establish the optimal frequency of communications to build a strong partnership and ensure effective plan execution.
• Identify and emphasize the key drivers of team-building to each individual involved in the co-promotion effort.

Chapter 1: Deal Making
• Strategic Alignment and Evaluation
• Partner Evaluation
• Deal Process and Communication
• Incentives and Performance Management
• Drug Evaluation

Chapter 2: Pre-Launch and Launch Leadership and Message
• Planning
• Training Material Development
• Distribution

Chapter 3: Sales Management
• Territory Management
• Relationship Management with Health Care Professionals
• Sample Management
• Incentive Management
• Performance Measurement & Management
• Training and Career Development of Reps
• System Support

Chapter 4: Marketing Management
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Internal Reviews
• Message and Positioning
• Packaging

Chapter 5: Relationship Management
• Leadership
• Team Building
• Performance Management
• Levels of Interaction
• Communication Frequency
• Partner Communication Content
• Dispute Resolution
• Communication Systems

List of Charts & Exhibits

Pharmaceutical Co-Promotion Process Map