This week, Merck touted the results of a clinical trial focusing on a possible successor to Vioxx, Arcoxia. While the drug is currently marketed in 62 countries, US regulators have so far opted not to approve the medication because of concerns that the drug may increase patients’ risk of high blood pressure, blood clots and other side effects. Like Vioxx, Arcoxia is a COX-2 inhibitor.
What’s intriguing about these medications is that both are “me-too” drugs. This means that there are few significant differences between these drugs and others already on the market. With a number of pharmaceuticals facing patent expiration and a glut of me-too medications on the market, how are drug companies positioning their products?
Following is a brief overview of some of the major strategies pharmaceutical marketers use to differentiate their medications and gain market share.
Pile On The Data
One of the most effective ways to differentiate a product in a crowded marketplace is to produce clinical data indicating that a drug is vastly superior to similar medications. Pfizer has followed this strategy in marketing Lipitor. The company developed and pursued an extensive clinical trial program for the medication. In recent years, Pfizer has produced a number of studies indicating that high-dose Lipitor reduces patients’ risk of heart attack, stroke and death better than other cholesterol drugs.
The “pile on the data” strategy has paid off handsomely for Pfizer. Bloomberg reported yesterday that the company has succeeded in increasing revenues for Lipitor by convincing doctors to prescribe higher doses of the medication. Sales of high-dose Lipitor increased by 10 percent in June. Low-dose Lipitor sales decreased by 10 percent during the same period.
Change The Formulation
Companies can also differentiate their products by creating new formulations of old medications that are more convenient for patients to take. Eli Lilly pursued this strategy with limited success when it released Prozac Weekly prior to the expiration of Prozac’s patent. Roche developed Boniva, a once-monthly formulation of a popular class of osteoporosis medications called bisphosphonates.
Conduct Massive DTC Advertising Campaigns
Another way to differentiate similar products is to market them massively to consumers. Developers of sleep aids like Lunestra and Rozerem have launched extensive direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising campaigns to raise consumer awareness of their products. This makes sense as some people suffering from insomnia will self-diagnose and ask their physicians whether a sleep-aid they learned about on television can help them. These advertising campaigns have been effective, as sales of these anti-insomnia medications have skyrocketed.
Link The Product To An Emotion
Pharmaceutical companies can also differentiate their products by engaging in emotional branding. These campaigns increase loyalty to a product by helping consumers to associate it with emotions like safety, well-being, joy and virility. (For more on emotional branding and pharmaceutical marketing, please see this Brand Channel white paper.)
Clearly makers of erectile dysfunction drugs have pursued this strategy as illustrated by DTC advertisements for these medications. Marketers of Viagra, Cialis and other medications have encouraged male consumers to link their products to feelings of sexual well-being and satisfaction.
Novartis, which produces the antihypertensive Diovan and the anti-cancer medication Gleevec, has also engaged in emotional branding. The company has produced radio and television spots featuring people who have benefited from the medications attempt to encourage feelings of safety and gratitude in listeners.
Closing Thoughts
While these are not the only strategies pharmaceutical companies use to differentiate their products in crowded, mature marketplaces, they are some of the most popular. Expect companies to refine and expand these marketing methods as their medications face patent expiration and intense competition from similar products.
Comment Preview