Closing the Marketing Strategy-Tactics Gap: An Institutional Theory Analysis of Pharmaceutical Value Chain - Innovation and Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry - page 697

We analyzed over 5,827 pages of discovery documents from a recent court case
that involved marketing practices related to Neurontin ® (gabapentin). Details of the
case, United States of America ex . rel David Franklin vs . Pfi zer Inc , and Parke-
Davis , Division of Warner-Lambert Company (Steinman et al. 2006 ) settled on
May 13, 2004, and our analytical procedures are in the Appendix. In order to keep
the discussion focused, we elaborate on the nature and scope of strategies revealed
in our analysis, and the underlying logics refl ected in these strategies. We supple-
ment our analysis with reviews of professional medicine and popular press litera-
ture. To the extent professional medicine and popular press are voices of the
industry's downstream value-chain members, this supplementary review is of mate-
rial signifi cance in understanding confl icted logics of pharmaceutical value chain.

24.4 Results

Our data analysis revealed (a) four distinct strategies used by the pharmaceutical com-
pany to communicate with physicians, and (b) systematic interdependencies among
the four strategies that we categorize as either expertise- or promotion-based for the
discussion that follows. Figure 24.1 displays the strategies and their interdependen-
cies. Table 24.1 summarizes each of the four strategies providing links to relevant

Pharmaceutical Marketing Strategies directed toward Physicians, and Related Interdependencies

Surrogate Selling Strategy Medical Education Strategy

Medical
Education
Companies
Provide
CME

Peer-to-
Peer
Influence

Thought
Leaders

Shape
Evolving
Standards of
Care

Speakers
Bureau

Disease
based
Advisory
Board

educational
grant

educational
grant

educational
grant

Market Penetration Strategy

PHARMACEUTICAL
INDUSTRY

Identify Top
Tier
Physicians

PHYSICIANS

Use
prescription
data to
estimate $$
Potential &
ROI

Establish
penetration
goals

publication
contract

Evidence Based Strategy

Production
of Research
Articles by
Commercial
Companies

research
grant

Managed
Peer-
Reviewed
Journal
Publications

Industry
Funded
Clinical Trials
for Physician
Research

Indirect Network Link
Direct Network Link

Fig. 24.1 Pharmaceutical marketing strategies and their interdependencies as extracted from court
documents