There's a lot of pressure to launch fast. Headquarters wants the first month on the chart, and the team wants every doctor to hear about the new product in week 1. In my experience, speed is rarely what decides a launch. Order is.
Most of a brand's important decisions, from launch to generic entry, are made well before anyone sees the result. Step 2 of the Pharma Career Ladder for country managers is launches and the portfolio.
Launch in the right order
This is the launch sequence I try to hold. Be ready before anyone sells: registration, the approved price and stock at the distributor, all confirmed. No rep should detail a product the pharmacy can't get. Have medical ready first, so medical affairs can answer the scientific questions from day 1, with sales and medical kept separate. Go to the right specialists first, the doctors who see the patients the product was approved for. Then widen in waves, once the first wave shows repeat use, and not because the calendar says so.
The move I'd never make is loading the distributor at launch to show a big first month of sell-in. That stock just sits in a warehouse, and it hides what doctors and pharmacies are really doing. A fast launch in the wrong order is a slow launch.
Judge the first year on milestones
"Are we on forecast?" can't tell you why you're behind. For the first year of a launch, agree before launch what must already be true at each stage.
From day 1, read 3 numbers separately: sell-in, sell-out and distributor stock. Strong sell-in with weak sell-out means stock sitting at the distributor. By month 3, the target specialists have started the right patients. If they haven't, look at the message and the targeting first. By month 6, the doctors who started are prescribing again and sell-out is steady. One prescription is curiosity. A second is a decision. By month 12, the brand has formulary listings, tenders and a clear place in treatment. The forecast tells you that you are behind. The milestones tell you why.
Extend only what patients need
Doctors notice when a lifecycle plan is only a new pack. Honest lifecycle management climbs 4 steps. Read the brand as it is: sell-out trend, share and what competitors are bringing. Find what's genuinely new, such as a new form, strength or approved indication that patients need. Decide the effort it deserves, invest, maintain or step back, and resource that choice. Half-support costs money and convinces nobody. Then set the exit signals while things are calm. The third step is where most plans soften.
Defend the year before
Defending against a generic starts a year before it arrives, with the expiry date written into the plan. Manage the trade on sell-out and distributor stock, with agreed bonus goods where they make sense and no loading. With doctors, keep to approved, balanced claims, focused on those who already value the brand. Talking down a generic isn't honest, and doctors see through it. Move people and budget to the next brands in time, and tell the team early. Then judge the defence on how many patients are still on the brand, which sell-in can't show you.
Your checklist for this week
- For your next launch, confirm registration, price and distributor stock before any rep details it
- Write down what must be true at month 3, 6 and 12
- Read sell-in, sell-out and distributor stock side by side for your newest brand
- Mark each mature brand invest, maintain or step back, and write its exit signal
- Check which brand loses its patent next, and put that date in this year's plan
That's Step 2. Next week Step 3 begins: money, pricing and forecast, starting with the difference between sales, profit and cash.