Pharmaceutical Competitive Intelligence

1 Reprinted from Volume 6, Number 9 (Oct 2007). Published by VirSci Corporation PO Box 760, Newtown, PA 18940 y 215-504-4164. Conference Highlight Reprint # 69-04. Pharmaceutical Competitive Intelligence Forewarned is Forearmed By Neil H. Gray The phrase Competitive Intelligence (CI) may conjure images of dumpster dives, covert ops, and general sneaking around, poking into the business of other businesses. Or, you may look at audience profiles, focus groups, campaign metrics and competitor landscape analyses, and figure that's all the CI you need. However, one of the foremost practitioners of CI, Jan Herring, puts it in a broader frame: Knowledge and foreknowledge of the world around us the prelude to management decision and action.. The following report of impressions from a pharma CI conference is an insider view, primarily how-to principle for CI providers, rather than how-to-use concepts for CI consumers.

2 Yet you don't have to be an operative to benefit from reading this article, if for no other reason that to realize that SWOT is not just pitch-deck boilerplate, but the evolving awareness of your brand's interactions with the world. Mario Cavallini Praemonitus praemunitus is the original Latin CI is a sophisticated technique that uses various derivation, but most of us are more familiar with the tools such as Competitive landscapes, scenario commonly known phrase, Forewarned is development, war games, competitor lifecycle forearmed. Today, within both large global and profiles, science mapping, comparative matrix smaller domestic industries, including the life development, and franchise portfolio analysis -- to sciences, these are watchwords of a specific niche understand what competitors are doing of information-focused professionals who work strategically and tactically.

3 Diligently to understand better how business and Elio Evangelista, senior analyst for Cutting Edge Competitive opportunities and threats surface to Information, points out a few major traits that challenge them and their companies. distinguish CI from market research: Market- Accordingly, scores of Pharmaceutical Competitive research teams typically focus on supporting a intelligencers' eyes and ears were focused on the specific franchise or therapeutic area by identifying presentations, panel discussions, and exhibits at a market gaps for their products to fill, says recent Pharmaceutical Competitive Intelligence Evangelista. Competitive - Intelligence teams, on and Business Analysis Conference produced by the other hand, use similar data along with Teaneck-based Apaporis, LLC. countless other resources to predict market changes, preempt competitor activities, and With two tracks and strong representation from develop strategic contingency plans.

4 Mid- to large sized pharma, as well as the service companies that support pharma, the Competitive The Times They Are A-Changing Intelligence (CI) presenters and panelists shared Day one of the aforementioned conference began (to the extent that CI professionals can more with general sessions that focused on how CI. about that later) interesting information and helps to drive better strategic decision making in experiences drawn from the pharma CI world. the Pharmaceutical industry as well as discussion of how CI professionals' jobs have changed over What is Competitive Intelligence ? the years. Most of what is termed CI in the pharma industry is really market research primary or secondary One panel, moderated by Cliff Kalb, Vice data that is often already published, said Paul President, Life Sciences at Wood Mackenzie, Meade, vice-president, Best Practices, in a examined how Competitive Intelligence activities Pharmaceutical Executive Magazine article.

5 Real Continues . Pharma Marketing News 2007 VirSci Corporation. All rights reserved Pg. 1. Pharma Marketing News Reprint #69-04 p. 2. Figure 1: Evolution of C Intelligence . Reproduced with permission of the author, Mark Little, PhD, Vice President, Business Intelligence & Market Research, Covance, Inc. have brought increased value to their respective transitions CI has seen since the 1980s from a organizations. competitor information gathering service to one more strategically focused on Competitive and At least one panelist admitted she was now network forces as well as prediction within the managing skill sets that weren't even in her industry. vocabulary a decade ago and was pleased that most of her colleagues have now come to The panel underscored the importance of CI. understand her role and goals within the company analysts knowing how to help information to foster collaborative networks and information requestors understand what information they really sharing.

6 Need, and that the two most important CI qualities are to generate trust between the client and CI. But that only came to pass when the CI. group, and demonstrate CI's indispensability to link department achieved internal credibility at her (and grow) sources of knowledge. company. Part of the pathway towards gaining that internal credibility was to become more involved in Overcoming Organizational Hurdles strategic and planning activities. In her company, Several speakers noted that when setting up a CI. CI is a member of the company's strategic function, it is essential to have an organizational planning teams, and business unit presidents champion for CI, clearly demonstrable examples of consistently seek out CI analyst opinions on a wide CI value, a physical presence within the business range of strategic and Competitive issues.

7 Units, and a strong propensity to recruit outstanding talent. Evolution is part of the CI story at other pharma companies too. As one panelist explained, the CI Understanding the cultural aspects of knowledge function at her company began as a unit focused use within your company is critical too, as some on Competitive technical Intelligence within a organizations are knowledge sharers while others scientific competitor information group. After are knowledge hoarders. several mergers, CI became matrixed across Given the service or staff support function CI plays therapeutic areas as well as geographies before within the pharma industry, voluminous requests finally becoming a centralized group within an for help are legendary. Prioritization and Information and Knowledge Management negotiation are skills good CI professionals work to organization.

8 Perfect. While one never says no, to a client, at Mark Little, PhD of Covance concurred with the times one must both clarify and sometimes redirect comments about CI's evolution, and described the Continues . 2007 VirSci Corporation ( ). All rights reserved. Pharma Marketing News Pharma Marketing News Reprint #69-04 p. 3. a client's informational request, based upon pharma, the extraction of employees-based discussion and questioning. Competitive Intelligence at times does not reach the priority level needed. Chris Bogan, CEO at Best Practices, LLC, remarked that the best CI professionals excel at Industry experts, such as the key opinion leaders recognizing patterns, and can customize and (KOLs) that conduct much of the clinical research package their insights to specific audiences. in a therapeutic area, are often rich sources of Competitive Intelligence , in that they work and are The Best Competitive Intelligence Sources in constant contact with a wide array of One of the recurring questions that percolated to manufacturers and fellow KOLs.

9 Curiously, the the surface of several panel discussions and medical science liaisons (MSLs) whose jobs it is to presentations was, Where's the best place to interact with and cultivate the KOLs have fairly actually harvest Competitive Intelligence ? One uneven training throughout the life sciences Pharma CI director felt that three sources typically industry in CI objectives, techniques, or yielded the most useful information: approaches. They don't talk with one another as 1. Employees much as they could or should! commented Mark 2. Industry experts Little, in a post-meeting phone conversation. 3. Professional association meetings and trade Yet both CI and MSLs are frequently in joint shows attendance at industry-wide association meetings and trade shows. Most of the attendees at this CI. Cumulatively, employees and their experiences forum echoed feelings that professional meetings, (both professional and social) are rich sources of where podium presentations, technical and Competitive Intelligence but not often harvested or commercial exhibits, posters, and public discourse coalesced in an orderly or timely fashion.

10 Part of abound, are rich venues for CI. However, it is the reason is that extracting good Competitive critical to know what you want to use CI for and the Intelligence from employees is no small feat. It issues or questions you want addressed, before requires time, resources, and trained analysts. deploying personnel to such meetings for CI. And, given the fact that CI is one of the most purposes. CI in the absence of planning usually vulnerable and budget-at-risk functions within produces uneven value. Continues . Social Networking: A New Source of Competitive Intelligence ! If Key Opinion Leaders and other physicians that conduct clinical trials are good sources of Competitive Intelligence , then social networks that are frequented by these and other physicians can be a gold mine for Competitive Intelligence practitioners! Pfizer already has staked a claim in one of the most important mines Sermo, which is a Web-based community where physicians share observations from daily practice, discuss emerging trends and provide new insights into medications, devices and treatments.