Main Subject - Business

Audiences who saw the fabled Broadway musical, Chorus Line, marveled at the intricate timing and seamless interaction of the dancers as they mastered the choreographer’s precision steps after many false starts in rehearsal.

At the final curtain, the stage is crow

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ded with dancers whose images are multiplied by mirrors strategically placed about the stage.

That’s a tough scene to match.

In many ways one can view the Chorus Line as a metaphor (sans mirrors) for orchestrating enduring major account relationships, which at t

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

eir optimum, are enduring alliances.

This is a dance, not of two partners, but of many partnerships developed between business entities. A figurative chorus line of relationships that require timing, integrated movement, anticipation, and occasional improvisation

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

played before a senior management audience expecting considerable return for the cost of the production.

With proper direction and judicious investment of resources, a major accounts initiative can become a resounding revenue hit.

How do you recognize a major ac

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

ount hit in the making?

· When your product or service is perceived as an integral part of the customer’s business process, i.e. when “you” and “they” become “us.” Bill Voltmer, vice president of global sales for Factiva, the online information aggregator, looks

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

or an integrated relationship between the account team and the client. Bill believes that “when all is said and done, it is the discipline of the account team to have a live account plan which is documented” that drives and sustains the major account relationship.

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

· When account plans are supported by a measurable, systematic approach which functions as an identifiable common language within and between supplier and client organizations. One method to build the shared planning process is the “Alliance Relationship Model”*

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

a proprietary process which tracks four developmental account relationship stages, focuses with the client on its business drivers as well as intangible influences and offers a quantifiable measure of the account team’s effectiveness. The model interprets Miller

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

eiman’s “Successful Large Account Management” guideposts for navigating the major account landscape. It also helps the account team examine the specifics of relationship development as it relates to the customer’s specific, critical needs.

· When the relationshi

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

supports a mutually beneficial long term competitive advantage in the form of accelerated growth rates, operating economies and increased market share. Here, the client relationship emerges as a strategic partnership, an actual alliance. This is a far cry from t

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

e predictable transactional steps of a commodity sales process. Clear client communication, focused interaction and a strategic mindset are essential to achieving a distinct competitive advantage for both partners.

What are the eight precision steps expected from

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

your lead account performers to set and maintain the tempo of a major account relationship?

Your account team leaders should be expected to deliver

· Client acknowledgement and acceptance of elevated account relationship

· Definition of the mutual benefits or

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

hared value dimension

· Agreement on client’s short term and strategic business objectives

· Identification and commitment of supplier resources in support of those objectives

· Joint client/supplier planning

· Supplier and client C-level buy-in and participat

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

on

· Routine evaluation and re-alignment

· Account management continuity

How to measure account team success?

Short of a standing ovation, Phil Hecht, global vice president of sales and strategy development for AT&T’s Signature Client Group, believes that “dif

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

erentiated value” is at the core of a successful major account alliance relationship and the key to gaining a competitive edge. In his view, the value equation includes not only the long term positive impact of a product or service deliverable to the client, but a

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

so the value of best practices that the major account team brings to its own company as well.

Equally as important, according to Hecht, are the internal resources available to major account teams. “Owners of major account organizations need a tremendous support s

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ructure to feed its sales talent with business intelligence to understand industry dynamics. Given the significant potential rewards equally significant risks, major account leaders need to be particularly vocal about the resources required to anticipate and respo

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

d to client opportunities.”

The Payoff

Financial payoffs to both client and supplier alliance partners can be substantial. Such performances not only reap the loudest applause, they also become long playing hits as they

· Increase wallet share across the client

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

enterprise

· Contribute to production economies

· Accelerate product or service innovation

· Elevate sales and account management performance standards

· Establish vertical market CRM leadership

· Gain a measurable competitive advantage

Now that's really a t

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

uch act to follow.

*Alliance Relationship Model is a quantifiable major account performance model developed by the author. Thomas J. Baskind welcomes inquiries at tbaskind@lexien.com and (914) 682-2069. Lexien Management is an affiliate of D.E.I. Management Group

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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