Navigating the Pharmaceutical Odyssey

How to define strategies for Late-Lifecycle success amidst looming patent loss and declining ROI for new launches 
 

The dynamic landscape of the pharmaceutical industry is expecting a transformative shift, which is set to redefine how we perceive and approach drug development and commercialization. While the focus has predominantly been on new launches, pharmaceutical companies are changing to redirect their focus to drugs in their later stages of life.

As a pharmaceutical company, how can you optimize your Late-Lifecycle strategies? Where should you start and how do you ensure you will thrive in this changing environment? 
 

Why change the focus to late-lifecycle brands?

In the pharmaceutical industry, a colossal patent cliff is looming, set to be one of the most challenging in history resulting in 190 drugs, with a projected revenue of $236 billion, that will lose patent exclusivity by 2030. Next to this, new expected launches are expected to only overcome a third of the anticipated revenue loss, making it even more important to safeguard sales from Late-Lifecyle products.

Next to the financial impact, it is also important for safeguarding the company’s profitability through the lower required investments & costs, sustaining patient access and guaranteeing access to as many patients as possible for a longer time.

How to prepare for a patent loss?

Following industry best practices, two main categories of Late-Lifecycle Management strategies can be distinguished into:

• Top-line strategies: Protecting and potentially even growing the revenues generated from a maturing portfolio.
• Bottom-line strategies: Improving profitability, either through cost containment, improving efficiency or making strategic choices that positively impact your profits.
   

Which Late-Lifecycle strategies exist, from top-line to bottom-line?

Based on a broad range of industry use cases, several business strategies can be put in place to prepare you to weather the storm, whether you are faced with patent expiries or wish to proactively ensure your portfolios will be protected from any future, adverse events.

Below we highlight some of the key strategies within each category:

Top-line strategies:

• Growing your sales volume
• Pricing
• Product mix 
• Brand marketing 

Bottom-line strategies:

• Divestments
• Organizational structure 
• Commercial operating model
• Manufacturing 

More insights on how to implement strategies for Late-Lifecycle success can be found in our paper.