Main Subject - Business

I’ve been a “marcom” professional for more years than I care to admit. And to this day, when asked what I do for a living, marcom elicits a quizzical look, or a hmmmm,

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

or simply the next question in the series, “what’s that.”

Say you are a crisis manager, teacher or even a publicist, and the questions end there – the name pretty mu

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

Examples of combination products may in

ch communicates the job description. Not so with a marcom professional.

I used to give my “60-second pitch” explaining that marcom is short for marketing communicatio

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

ns, and that it simply means that I assist clients with their communications, marketing, and outreach activities.

“Oh, - you are in public relations.” Well, that’s pa

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

rt of it. “I see – you are in advertising.” Sometimes I create or manage advertising. “Uh-huh – marketing, so you’re in sales.” In a way, sales from the standpoin

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

Combination pro

t that I communicate who and what my clients are and do, and inform their targeted audiences of what they have to offer. But,not sales in the general sense of the word

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

.

Inevitably, these conversations eventually circle back to, so what exactly do you do?

I looked on the Internet for a definition of marcom, and found this one from

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

Whatis.com:

Marcom is an abbreviation for "marketing communications." Marcom is targeted interaction with customers and prospects using one or more media, such as dir

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

ect mail, newspapers and magazines, television, radio, billboards, telemarketing, and the Internet. A marketing communications campaign may use a single approach, but

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

more frequently combines several.

And that didn’t quite do it for me, because I felt it relies too heavily on mass media, and not enough on one-on-one, community, and

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

word-of-mouth messaging. It leaves out branding, events, coaching, and much more.

So, I’ve worked hard to perfect my own clear, concise explanation of just what a ma

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

Following aspects would a

rcom professional does. In short,- communications. That’s it, one word – communications. My counterparts and I take the talking points or messages of a client or indi

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

vidual project, add in some research and find the very best combination of venues for getting these messages to the folks who want, need or will use them in the most t

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

imely and cost efficient way.

Marcom professionals are an interesting breed. Most of us do have our specialties – brand development and management, writing, project m

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

anagement, media relations, crisis communications, research, community relations, events….the list goes on. But, old school marcom folks like me are considered “genera

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

lists.” We have, and can do all of the above – and more.

What’s more, a seasoned marcom professional readily moves among clients (or employers) in most any industry.

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

There may be terminology and nuances to master, but communications skills are communications skills for the long term. I’ve had the good fortune of successfully repre

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

senting quite a diverse array of clients such as: promoting the North American premiere of a new show by a Tony-Award winning composer; planning and managing the grand

.

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

opening of a well-known manufacturer’s new factory; crisis communications during a labor-union dispute; producing TV and radio ads about substance abuse; and managing

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

extensive research on the awareness Americans have of emergency preparedness.

So, there you go, I’m a marcom professional—I communicate…and thoroughly enjoy doing so

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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The importance of choosing a good point of sale system can help you run and maintain your business quickly and efficiently.

IT service contracts are critical because they will give you more dependable customers. The service agreement coupled with a dependable IT department will guarantee better business relationships.

We've all been involved with such meetings where the person running it is either insensitive to the needs of the attendees or the subject matter is painfully boring. It should come as no surprise that excessive or pointless meetings are probably the number one cause for decreased productivity in organizations, be it corporate or nonprofit (as Dilbert has pointed out to us time and again). Understand this, unless someone is looking for an excuse to duck a work assignment, nobody wants to attend an inconsequential meeting.

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