Ahead of the marcus evans PharmaMarketing Summit 2022, Michael Fath discusses Global Marketing and some challenges facing pharma marketers today.

1. Interview with: Michael Fath, Senior
Director, Global Marketing Biosci-
ence, Grifols
“It is becoming increasingly important
for health economics to be included in a
clinical development program as early
as Phase II,” says Michael Fath, Senior
Director, Global Marketing Bioscience,
Grifols. “Some companies do it well,
others are not as advanced. Sometimes,
with the selected clinical end-points,
they miss out on the opportunity for a
higher level of reimbursement.”
Fath is a speaker at the marcus evans
PharmaMarketing Summit 2022.
What is challenging pharma
marketers today?
Global Marketing is complementary to
country-level marketing but also focuses
on unique strategic priorities. Global
Marketing defines the commercial
potential of pipeline assets, everything
from pre-clinical all the way to launch.
Global Marketers need to understand
the unmet need, the future competitive
landscape, and the target product
profile, and then develop a logical
business case to support the clinical
development. We partner with cross-
functional experts to develop these
business cases. The Global Marketing
role requires close collaboration with
R&D, regulatory, and physician experts.
This complex process can be challenging
but also quite rewarding.
We need to speak the language of
clinical development leaders, work with
local marketing teams, and partner with
market research to define competitive
dynamics, and identify future product
potential.
Many uncertainties are at play. Global
Marketers project how the world might
be in three, five or ten years. It can be
a real strategic challenge, but one that
is done as accurately as possible with
the right information.
What must a Global Marketing
strategy include?
Most Global Marketers have a design
template for global strategic plans. It
starts with the previous year’s metrics:
Were budgets achieved? What areas
were challenging? Where are the new
opportunities? The next step is to
understand the market landscape. Using
treatment data and market research,
Global Marketers update the market
understanding, overlay patient
dynamics (e.g. the patient journey),
and, where appropriate, include
physician and patient segmentation.
These insights are used to update target
product profiles, product positioning and
messaging.
A global strategic plan does not
necessarily change drastically from one
year to another. But updates need to be
made if there is a key new competitor
or changing market dynamics. With the
insights gathered, we pressure test
competitive positioning, and provide a
framework to affiliates. Global strategic
plans also encompass lifecycle
management and potential business
development opportunities that are
identified. It is a comprehensive plan: a
five plus year road map for the
business.
What are the big changes happen-
ing in pharma today? How should
companies change the way they
develop products, do business or
interact with customers?
The transition to digital has been
profound. Just like everyone else, we
are ramping up digital capabilities to
engage physicians where they are.
Many health care providers have been
off-limits due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Even though offices are opening again,
they are swamped or cautious about
reopening. Face-to-face contact
between field force and physicians is
still limited. Therefore, digital excellence
is an important factor to reconnect.
Another challenge is demonstrating a
drug’s economic value. Previously, drug
approval was the biggest hurdle, but
now, even after regulatory approval, it
is critical to prove economic value and
present to reimbursement authorities.
In most countries, reimbursement is a
complex process. Without a strong
economic case, you can end with an
approved product that is not reim-
bursed. It might as well not be
approved in the first place.
Clinical trial design needs to include
quality of life metrics, patient prefer-
ences, economic value, and QALY
(quality of adjusted life year) analysis.
Health economics and outcomes
research has become more important
and needs to start back in Phase II. We
need to engage regulatory and clinical
stakeholders early, and make sure the
components are included into the
clinical program.
Aren’t most companies already
doing this?
Some companies are doing a good job
at this, but often, smaller companies are
focusing on advancing their product to
license to a partner. Regardless, all
companies need to identify end-points
to achieve the highest level of reim-
bursement.
It can be more expensive and time-
consuming to include these additional
analyses, so some companies decide to
seek approval for a smaller population
and add health economics later in Phase
IV. It is now more critical to include
them earlier on.
Any final comments?
Connect and engage with others. Make
sure to establish a strong network.
There are many experts that you can
learn from and share your ideas with.
New insights can improve the quality
of your brand and life cycle manage-
ment strategies, and ultimately help
bring life-saving therapies to more
patients.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here
are those of the author and do not
necessarily reflect the opinions of
Grifols.
The Global Marketing
role requires close
collaboration with R&D,
regulatory, and physician
experts. This complex
process can be
challenging but also
quite rewarding.
Overcoming the Challenges in
Global Pharma Marketing Today

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