The Successful Launch and Diffusion of New Therapies - Innovation and Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry - page 187

Chapter 7
The Successful Launch and Diffusion
of New Therapies
Vardit Landsman, Isabel Verniers, and Stefan Stremersch
Abstract The successful launch and diffusion of new drugs is an essential factor of
survival for many pharmaceutical firms. Sophisticated managers in this industry are
in need for decision support tools that they can implement to increase the success of
a new and approved pharmaceutical drug. In this chapter we present a review of
such strategic and analytical tools. The review is based on significant contributions
by marketing scientists, and is organized according to the components of a launch
and diffusion decision chain we define. This chain represents the sequence of deci-
sions managers must make with regard to the launch and diffusion of new drugs.
The first element of the chain includes decisions regarding the specific methods by
which pharmaceutical firms can gauge the commercial potential of a new treatment
over time. Second, as pricing and promotion are prime instruments for pharmaceuti-
cal firms to extract maximum value, we review the means by which a manager can
decide to extract the new treatment's commercial potential and generate value for
V. Landsman ( * )
Leon Recanati School of Business Administration, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University, Burg. Oudlaan 50,
3062 Rotterdam, Netherlands
e-mail: [e-mail]
I. Verniers
Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University, Burg. Oudlaan 50,
3062 Rotterdam, Netherlands
University of Ghent, Ghent, Belgium
e-mail: [e-mail]
S. Stremersch
Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University, Burg. Oudlaan 50,
3062 Rotterdam, Netherlands
IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain
e-mail: [e-mail]; [e-mail]