Competitive Intelligence in Pain Management

During earlier years, drug manufacturers have developed drugs in the pain management area, primarily for Osteo Arthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis industries. These initial first generation drugs were drugs were targeted for chronic pain and acute pain for OA and RA patients. At the time of the study, the major drug manufacturers are scheduled to introduce a new generation of Cox-2 inhibitors which are more powerful and claim to have wider applications for pain management (post-operative, cancer, dental, lower back pain, dysmenorrhea, etc.)

The objective of this project was to track and monitor the competitors in the EU and the US over a period of a year.  SIS had to identify the planned and/or existing market message or communication program for this second generation of Cox-2 inhibitors pain management drugs.  The specific objectives focused on identifying the factors [or claims] supporting the marketing or communication message based on several factors/concepts (e.g., safety, efficacy,  balance between safety and efficacy, lifestyle and other categories)

SIS interviewed the following three segments: 

• Physicians (general practitioners, Rheumatologists, OA specialists, etc.)
• Health practitioners (nurses, etc.)
• Consumers/patients (e.g. those suffering from chronic and acute pain, etc.)

SIS enabled the client to surpass sales of their chief competitor in the pain management sector. In addition, the client was able to get a jump start on EU sales.   SIS also discovered competitive and advertising programs that were being launched in key countries.  In the US, SIS launched a program for direct-to-consumer advertising to pull domain from consumers.