Navigating product launches under budget constraints

Industry experts say that early planning and prioritization are key for successful product launches.

At the Copay, Reimbursement and Access Congress, Khawar Khokhar, founder and CEO of SAKS Health, moderated a panel of experts who discussed their strategic choices during the prelaunch period amidst financial limitations.

Doug Jordan, senior director, payer marketing and access strategy, Bausch + Lomb, shared his considerations with delegates.

“I think whether you’re with a big company or a mid-sized company like Bausch + Lomb, we’re all faced with this. Whether you’re on the commercial, manufacturer side or the service side, you’re always asked, how do you do more for less?”

According to Jordan, within the one-to-two-year timeframe, it’s critical to “really understand” the market, define your objectives, and develop a plan. This involves assessing the types of vendors, services, and support that are needed.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of starting early–just the contracting phase, which I’m sure everybody in this room can appreciate, takes too long,” he said.

Looking from a patient access and reimbursement standpoint, Jordan added that understanding the patient journey, which includes identifying pain points, defining challenges, and determining how the product fits, is key during the launch timeframe.

Smaller company approach

From a smaller company perspective, John Harlow, chief commercial officer at Melinta Therapeutics, said, while a simple concept, it starts with prioritization.

“It’s very much developing a playbook, and it’s understanding what I need at T-minus 24 months, T-minus 12, and launch,” he said, adding that it’s important to recognize “that you’re not going to be able to do it all.”

At smaller companies, these financial decisions often are made at the board level, he said, which means it comes down to focusing on critical activities such as when they are needed and by when.

Harlow emphasized the importance of a well-communicated and transparent launch playbook for the organization because “commercial gets one lens.”

“It takes a fair amount of teaching and understanding of why we want to spend on what we want to spend on,” he said.

“At the end of the day, it is very much prioritizing, but understanding it’s OK to not do it all right because you just don’t have the resources. … You have to get comfortable with flying the plane and building it at the same time.”

Incorporating access

Khokhar highlighted the shift in how pharma companies approach market access.

“We’ve heard from a lot of clients over the years how market access has a seat at the table, but it seems to be an afterthought many times from a brand perspective,” he said.

“Now that you’re able to get with customers a year, two years prior, you have to kind of flip that and get the organization ready to support the conversations you’re having, which is a completely different approach from what it used to be.”

Jordan agreed, noting that he’s seen organizations focus more on access and reimbursement as well as patient support, especially for a new commercial product.

“Over the last five to 10 years, we’ve put much more of a shift toward really thinking through what the patient is going to encounter,” he said.

The panelists were then asked what investment choices and trade-off considerations they would make as they move closer to launch.

“Making sure market access is part of the discussion,” Harlow responded. Ten years ago, his first hire would have been in marketing pre-launch, he noted. “Now, I’d look for someone who has a little bit more of the market access experience. Why? Because getting the product to market and doing the messaging.”

While recognizing the importance of product messaging and positioning, Harlow also stated that securing payer reimbursement is even more so critical due to the patient influence.

“Patients are more active in the decision making than they were 10 years ago.”

Budget gating

Referring to Harlow’s mention of a playbook, Khokar asked the panelists if budget gating played a factor in launch timelines.

Jordan responded, “In today’s market, it's always been challenging,” and it depends on the organization.

“I’ve been with big companies where you get your budget and you go about your business. But I think in smaller and mid-sized companies, [budget] gating might become part of how you have to manage projects, timelines, etc.,” he said.

But balancing timelines and managing financials, particularly with “fits and starts,” is an obstacle, he said.

However, engaging with payers one to two years prior to product approval has been beneficial, according to Jordan.

“That’s something that we’ve really leaned into is trying to get out and have those discussions pre-commercial as best we can with as many people to better understand some of the concerns that we’ve identified that are challenges that we might have,” he said.

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