Main Subject - Business

As I've gone to professional meetings, and have informal meetings with colleagues, the tenor of these times is clear. Many independent professionals are challenged by the downturn in the economy...and upping thei

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

r marketing, and especially networking, as they work towards increasing their billable time.

Beware of poking a hole in your net as you increase your networking. Make sure you don't make these mistakes in your

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

Examples of combination products may in

zeal to sell yourself.

ASKING WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR ME...ON FIRST MEETING. I watched as a young woman was introduced to three colleagues. In a flash, she realized one of her new acquaintances was a close pe

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

sonal friend of a business owner she had been unsuccessful in selling on her services. She quickly asked for a reference and introduction to the business owner. When her new acquaintance demurred, she insisted

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

that the other woman had to do it. "That's what networking is all about."

Her error? She assumed an introduction brought the right to ask for referrals from strangers. Most people won't refer someone they don't kn

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

Combination pro

w or when they don't know a person's work.

INUNDATING NEW CONTACTS WITH SALES MATERIALS. After a brief conversation at a banquet one evening, I started getting masses of sales solicitations from a man w

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

o obviously didn't know me, my business, my needs or even where I lived. Most of the solicitations were for very expensive, multiple day seminars in eastern cities on topics I'd never need.

His error? Assuming I

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

'd use his services, without finding out what I needed. And then battering me to use him. Here's the strange part. Some of my clients could use him. But, I'd never refer them and subject them to his aggressive sa

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

es methods.

ASKING WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR ME...ON EVERY MEETING. A colleague who does complementary work to mine will never get a referral from me. Nor will I ever use her as a subcontractor. The cause: ev

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

ry time I talk with her she asks me if I have work for her. Her request is always delivered with a tone of voice that's close to begging and over the edge of whining. It's as if when I have work, I somehow owe

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

er some of it.

Her error? Asking, asking, asking. Implying I have an obligation to use her.

GETTING TOO PERSONAL. I received a "personal" note, obviously mass produced, with my name spelled wrong, referr

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

Following aspects would a

ing to a group I'd never heard of, suggesting how I could use the author in my business. Since then, I've heard of this person from two other colleagues. They seem impressed with his work. Even their positive exp

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

riences aren't enough to take the bad taste out of my mouth.

His error? Excuse me! There is something about integrity that's missing here. Don't presume a relationship that doesn't exist. I would have rather hav

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

gotten an honest cold call.

CALLS FROM PERFECT STRANGERS. This one really astounded me. I got a phone call one afternoon asking me if I were really the Pat Wiklund who had been on Oprah twice...did she

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

really call me to be on the show? When I said yes, the voice on the phone identified herself, said she was a friend of a friend, and she wanted to be on Oprah and would I tell her the name and phone numbers of

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

the producers I worked with so she could get on the show. I was dumbfounded. Although I had heard of her, I knew nothing of her work, what she had written, and barely knew the "friend" that had referred me to her

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

When I said as much, and my policy was to only refer people when I knew their work, she said I had to give her the names...that's what networking was all about.

Her error? Here goes the assumption again. I don'

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

t think I have an obligation to facilitate the marketing and/or career of everyone who has just heard my name. I owe to my contacts, and to myself, to be careful who and how I refer.

REMEMBER:a Most peopl

.

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

won't refer someone they don't know or when they don't know a person's work. Referrals carry an obligation. You're vouching for the other person. Referrals come when colleagues know they can trust you. They ar

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

earned, not assumed, Earn the right to ask for a referral by establishing a relationship with colleagues. Let them get to know you and your work. Understand who your colleagues are, and how you can reciprocate

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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We have all heard the old adage, “Never Assume,” but we do it anyway. We assume the paycheck will come on the expected day. We assume others will do their job or do what they say. We are always assuming. What “Never assume” really means is that we need to be aware of our assumptions and often, test them. This is of great importance to any organization that considers itself a learning organization.

The first company to deploy Six Sigma concepts and methodologies was Motorola. The main objective of the company at that time was to reduce wastage and defects by improving the efficiency of existing business processes. Since that time, this has become a standard and is applicable for both manufacturing industries as well as the services sector.

The question really is what would the marketing department of your company do without the sales department? The answer is more obvious then you think.

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