The document summarizes Wyeth Pharmaceuticals being awarded PMR2's Executive of the Year award for their progressive Consumer & Market Insights department. Key points: - Wyeth adopted an "Insight Partner" model with six research specializations reporting to executive directors and overlayed with 11 teams each led by an Insight Partner. - The Insight Partner acts as a strategic consultant rather than directing research, focusing on identifying issues and opportunities to inform brand strategy. - This collaborative model breaks down silos, avoids duplication, and generates insights that directly inform brand management versus just fulfilling requests. - Surveys found the new model increased performance and the C&MI team won several corporate awards,

1. PHARMA MARKET RESEARCH REPORT
Insight Par tner Model Earns Wyeth
PMR 2 ’s Executiv e of the Year Awar d
As the name suggests, PMR2’s annual “Executive of the Year cal MR expertise. The Insight Partner, explained Polenchar,
Award” recognizes an individual pharma MR exec for profes- is a highly-visible, “super communicator, collaborator and dri-
sional achievement above and beyond the norm. But more ver between MR and the marketing executives we support.
often than not, greatness results from a collective effort and He/she comprehends the business’ marketing and opera-
heroes in the trenches often go unsung. In vetting this year’s tional challenges, bridges the knowledge gap between mar-
candidates, PMR2 kept returning to an exceptional MR team. keting and MR, and manages the process of ensuring MR
That group is Wyeth Pharmaceuticals’ (Collegeville, delivers everything required for those particular functionar-
PA) Consumer & Market Insights (C&MI) department, ies to accomplish their goals,” he summarized.
helmed by VP Brett Executive Director Tim
Polenchar, a man with an Moran is Wyeth’s Insight
impressive MR innovation Partner for Enbrel®, a
record. Matt Carpenter, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)
Executive Director-Custo- blocker for immune diseases,
mer & Competitor Insights, such as rheumatoid arthritis.
is fast developing a reputa- He has more than 20 years
tion as a rising star, and is of senior-level marketing and
largely responsible for the sales background in pharma.
Wyeth C&MI’s inventive “The Insight Partner was
reorganization in 2006. But designed to enable Wyeth to
they are hardly alone in the gain a competitive advantage
talent pool. by taking research to a high-
Actually, 60-plus Wyeth er-value level and informing
MR professionals are setting strategic decisions,” he said.
a new industry standard. “An Insight Partner’s com-
Collectively, they may rep- mercial experience helps
2
resent the most progres- Executive Director Tim Moran (L) and VP Brett Polenchar accept PMR ’s guide the cross-functional
Executive of the Year Award on behalf of Wyeth’s C&MI department
sive, proactive MR depart- research team to be proac-
ment PMR2 has chronicled since its inception. So, it is with tive in identifying key issues and opportunities impacting
great respect and pleasure that we bestow PMR2’s 2008 the brand,” he added. “It also connects the dots between
Executive of the Year award to Wyeth’s full C&MI function. what the COEs are finding. The result is a synthesized,
Central to our selection was the Wyeth C&MI’s ambitious, comprehensive market understanding, plus a more holistic,
unorthodox adoption of the “Insight Partner” model. The authentic picture of brand issues and opportunities.”
structure’s matrix design is anchored by six vertical, core Wyeth’s C&MI function has transcended traditional
research specializations, or Centers of Excellence (COEs), “request-and-respond” research. “In most organizations,
for healthcare providers, consumers, payors, secondary data a marketer develops an information need and asks MR to
(market insights), competitive intelligence and marketing sci- fulfill it,” outlined Moran. “In this model, we’re consultants
ence (advanced modeling, etc.). Each COE director or and strategic partners to the brand, and we proactively
senior director is “the highest level expert in that type of identify and capitalize on emerging business issues.”
research at Wyeth,” stated Polenchar. “This executive Wyeth is not the only pharmaco employing this model.
decides on the right methodologies and best practices to be Polenchar implemented a similar structure previously as
pursued, and how to best report study results. The sole con- MR head at Roche Diagnostics. The key, he says, is finding
cern is the expertise of their vertical.” the right Insight Partner. “The optimum Insight Partner
Each COE reports to an executive director who sets overall understands MR and other sources of business information,
direction and functional strategy. COE verticals are overlaid but is not consumed by research implementation. He or she
with 11 horizontal Insight Teams, each with a dedicated breaks the ‘client-service mentality’ that fuels demand
expert from each of the different COEs. The Insight Teams beyond the research department’s capacity. It isn’t a popular
are each devoted to a major business unit or brand (multiple point of view, but most researchers aren’t good at handling
brands in some cases) and headed by an Insight Partner. this job. The Partner doesn’t specify what research is
This is where “the magic” happens, ironically because the needed; they lean on their research team to figure it out.”
2 Insight Partner is not a market researcher. The ideal candidate The Insight Partner also coordinates MR between functional
boasts a sterling marketing or sales background but no techni- (Continued on page 6)

2. PHARMA MARKET RESEARCH REPORT
PMR2 Awards Wyeth (Continued from page 2)
areas, increasing efficiency and avoiding duplication. “Insight among the Insight Partner and the team,” said Moran.
Partner Round Tables” convene regularly to share what is “Key Wyeth insights have been identified and are having busi-
going on with the various brands and what the Insight ness impact,” he affirmed. “I am a partner with brand manage-
Partners are doing. “You don’t traditionally see this commu- ment teams. The brand team implements strategy; the Insight
nication and information sharing in pharma companies, which Partner synthesizes the research to aid and inform strategy.”
tend to operate in silos. This model knocks down those walls, Moran credits Polenchar’s leadership for much of the
to everyone’s advantage,” Moran stressed. It fosters collabo- progress. “Brett has instituted solid processes that facilitate
“You don’t traditionally see this communication and information sharing
in pharma, which tends to operate in silos. This model knocks down walls.”
ration across all researchers and their brand partners. collaboration and insights generation. The plan is prospective,
“The brilliance of this model is that the COEs are highly forward-looking, accounting for key issues and opportunities,
focused and consummate experts in their area, but also and spotlighting knowledge gaps to be filled with additional
understand the implications beyond their area,” Moran research. It’s extremely conducive to strategic contributions.”
detailed. “The team generates the insights. I regularly speak Surveyed eight months after the switch to the new
with senior brand management, but I am not their conduit. model, 46% of Wyeth C&MI’s internal customers reported
The researchers directly link with the brand. Our working “an increase in performance.” A second wave of that survey in
relationship with the brand team through this model puts us 2008 promises even more positive feedback.
in lock step with the brand. Of course, in some instances In 2007, for the first time, the C&MI team won every
they tell us what they need, but we’re equally proficient at significant Wyeth corporate award, including the
identifying and capitalizing on emerging business issues and President’s Achieving Excellence award, the President’s
bringing them to the attention of the brand team.” Achievement and Golden Circle awards, as well as a
The model is especially suited to complex brands and multi- Pursuit of Excellence in BioPharma honor. PMR2 is proud to
ple sets of data. “What are the emerging insights? Does add yet another distinction to that impressive list.
research corroborate any of them? What might be causing
differences in findings? That critical thinking has to occur For more information, contact: brauenr@wyeth.com
Novartis Consumer Health (Continued from page 3) “Then, I was asked to be part of another special outing.
The energy channeled into these efforts is even more They called it ‘speed dating,’ and it was an opportunity to
impressive in light of the different constituency groups and engage the CEO and head of marketing. By the end of the day,
legal and regulatory obligations that must be taken into the winning, most compelling idea was my suggested real-time
account for each brand and market. Yet, Wood is enthused by connectivity through communities.” Wood contacted
such obstacles. “Dealing with different and intensifying levels of Communispace, which enabled Novartis Consumer Health
complexity is exciting and challenging,” she told PMR2. to establish multiple independent category-specific online
Many client research department heads might use the intri- communities, some consumer- and some practitioner-ori-
cacy of their research projects to explain away their use of ented. She cataloged Novartis’ experiences with this novelty
cutting edge research tools, techniques and methodologies. at this September’s AMA MR meeting.
Wood grasps and relishes the benefits of innovation, leading Wood found it to be a partial solution to the frustration
her to be on the lookout for them. As it turns out, Novartis over the extraordinary cost of insight collection from
as an organization shares that mindset. At the pharmaco, KOLs. “In our doctor communities, we have attracted
Wood discovered online community research but freely engaged and excited specialists and general practitioners
credits her peers for its successful, widespread introduction. whose feedback is being incorporated into selling materials,
“I was fortunate to be tapped to accompany executives product profiles, etc.,” she noted.
from other divisions of the company to Novartis’ wonderful Wood volunteered a list of Novartis research innovations in
marketing excellence training courses,” she related. “At her three years at the helm. “Development of global copy-
the end of one of them, the team I was a member of testing and standards, global dashboards for the organization,
received a business challenge. The topic was bringing real-time new product initiative global trackers, global segmentations
6 insight from doctors and key constituency groups to the and a consistent way to validate new product performances
decision-making table, and I pitched everyone on the use around the globe. The list could go on and on,” she said over
of a community-like approach. They really liked it. the phone with a detectable smile.