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2014/2015  KAN-CCMVV1479U  Pharmaceutical Marketing Management

English Title
Pharmaceutical Marketing Management

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Full Degree Master
Duration One Quarter
Course period Autumn, First Quarter
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for MSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Lars Grønholdt - Department of Marketing (Marketing)
The course is organized and taught by Senior Executives from the Health Care industry and companies such as Coloplast, Novo Nordisk, Leo Pharma and Lundbeck
Main academic disciplines
  • Marketing
  • Corporate and Business Strategy
Last updated on 10-04-2014
Learning objectives
At the end of the course the student should be able to:
• Describe, classify, structure and combine concepts, theories, methods and models taught
• Identify and develop relevant issues within pharmaceutical marketing
• Analyze and synthesize specific issues within pharmaceutical marketing by using the concepts, theories, methods and models taught
• Assess and communicate problem-solving on a reflective, scientific basis
Course prerequisites
It is recommended that students have a basic knowledge of theories about consumer behaviour and marketing (bachelor level). The course is especially relevant for graduate students from e.g. the EMF, BCM and IMM lines at CBS or students from other lines wanting to expand their marketing skills. All students are welcome to attend.

This course is strongly recommended for students planning careers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, other R&D-heavy industries, management consulting etc.
Examination
Oral exam based on miniproject:
Exam ECTS 7,5
Examination form Oral exam based on written product

In order to participate in the oral exam, the written product must be handed in before the oral exam; by the set deadline. The grade is based on an overall assessment of the written product and the individual oral performance.
Individual or group exam Individual
Size of written product Max. 15 pages
Assignment type Project
Duration
Written product to be submitted on specified date and time.
20 min. per student, including examiners' discussion of grade, and informing plus explaining the grade
Preparation time No preparation
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Internal examiner and second internal examiner
Exam period Autumn Term
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
Course content and structure
The course will give an overview of the pharmaceutical industry and how marketing has become essential even for one of the most R&D-heavy industries.Many people – also within the pharmaceutical companies themselves - find marketing circumspect and believe pharmaceuticals should be sold on scientific merits only. However, R&D productivity has fallen and companies need to maximize return on each and every innovation just to survive. Therefore, the pharmaceutical industry is a good place to learn about recurrent as well as future challenges for marketeers, e.g:
  • How to ensure customer-focus throughout product development?
  • How to differentiate products with similar functionality?
  • How to successfully launch a new product?
  • How to optimize the value of a product through its lifecycle?
  • How to comply with tougher and tougher regulation?
The course will provide a theoretical understanding and a practical grasp of pharmaceutical marketing and leverage the expertise that has been developed by the Danish pharmaceutical industry. During the course, participants should dissect challenging case studies and thus prepare themselves for strategic brand management issues in an international context. Key learnings include how to develop pharmaceuticals, how to launch and brand a new product, how to price, how to manage a wide array of stakeholders, as well as what other industries can learn from the pharmaceutical industry.
The course will introduce participants to the fundamentals of pharmaceutical marketing management, including for example:
  • What is the role of marketing in the pharmaceutical industry: Few industries are under such close scrutiny by authorities and consumer groups, and stakes are high and increasing; the development of a new pharmaceutical product costs 1000 million USD and more often than not new product have few, functional benefits, ie. marketing makes the difference. However, many industries are experiencing the same trends and could learn from the pharmaceutical industry…
  • How are pharmaceuticals developed: Pharmaceutical products can take 10-15 years to develop and often result in products that are difficult to distinguish from competitor’s. This can of course be mediated if the marketing strategy is clear and succinct from the start and incorporated into product development!
  • Who are the customers: Purchase decisions are made by many different people, including authorities, physicians, patients, nurses, payers, patient groups etc. Therefore it is essential to understand customers and purchase factors well before a product is even developed
  • How to launch a new product: Similar to other industries, first impressions and exposure counts are important, but since pharmaceutical companies have some of the biggest budgets and sales forces of any industry the difference between success and failure of a single product can mean life or death of a company
How to extend the lifecycle: The pharmaceutical industry is increasingly relying on line extensions and new uses for old products to maintain sales after the first patents have expired
Teaching methods
Lectures and case work
Further Information
Changes in course schedule may occur
Friday 08.00-10.30, week 36-42
Friday 08.00-12.35, week 43
Expected literature
1.      Schacter, Bernice Zeldin (2006). The New Medicines: How Drugs are Created, Approved, Marketed and Sold. Westport, Conneticut: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-98141-X Chapter 1, Chapter 3-11
2.      Deutsche Bank: Pharmaceutical Industry R&D Pipeline, January 2012
3.      Pharma Product Launches: Strategies for success, A FirstWord ExpertViews Report, October 2011
4.      Keller, Kevin Lane (2008, 3. ed), Strategic Brand Management, chapter 2-3
5.      Denend, Lyn, Zenios, Stefanos and Chess, Robert (2005). Abbott Laboratories and Humira: Launching a Blockbuster Drug. Stanford, California: Stanford Graduate School of Business. Case OIT-44
6.      Achieving Global Launch Excellence, IMS Special Report, January 2009
7.      Ellery T. & Hansen N.. Pharmaceutical Lifecycle Management; Making the Most out of Each and Every Brand. Wiley. 2012. Part D and Part E: page 113-206
8.      Fereshteh Barei, PhD, et al (2013): The generic pharmaceutical industry: moving beyond incremental innovation towards re-innovation. Generics and Biosimilars Initiative Journal, Volume 2, Issue 1.
9.      PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Pharma 2020: Challenging Business Models. Which path will you take?
10.  Article: Navigating a changing health care environment, July 2012 McKinsey & Company
11.  Article: Jose Santos et al. Towards a Theory of Business Model Innovation within Incumbent Firms. Page 1-47. INSEAD Faculty Working Paper, March 2009
12.  KPMG (2011). Key Challenges facing the Pharmaceutical Industry.
13.   A Wake-up call for big Pharma, McKinsey Quarterly, 2011
Last updated on 10-04-2014