niche therapies are driving future drug growth and incentivizing R&D growth over sales spending.
I ran across an interesting report this morning from 2006 discussing the rise of “nichebuster” therapies. According to this report, niche therapies are driving future drug growth and incentivizing R&D growth over sales spending. So as long as two years ago, the trend away from the Blockbuster model was recognized as far as therapy development was concerned.
A few highlights from the report:
> To successfully capitalize on the nichebuster model, drugs companies should focus on characterizing the target market, and use targeted marketing spend to access specialist physicians to drive clinical trial progression, approval and successful uptake
> Dependence on blockbuster-generated revenue is set to fall from 2004-2010 as the industry turns to a nichebuster strategy, utilizing increased licensing activity, R&D collaborations and small-scale M&A deals to harness innovation and provide access to niche markets with a high unmet need
> The shift into niche markets is helping drive a more personalized approach to therapy. Central to the development of the nichebuster model is the raised importance of personalized therapies, which is being driven by increased used of diagnostics. This trend is helping to clarify market segmentation and will boost the size of the total drug industry.
The shift in new therapy development comes with a corresponding shift in the way people are using the internet for pharma marketing. No longer just an informational medium, internet strategy has to be integrated into the way business is being done. With niche patient populations forming chronic disease communities online and the increased need to reach specialists with small sales forces, the whole model is shifting.