Glaxo Wellcome Mini Case

Glaxo Wellcome Inc. Mini-case Report April 2, 2007 pic administrator Summary Glaxo Wellcome Incs uncomplicated business is to grocery prescription drug intersections to physicians and health c be providers. One of the top three pharmaceutical firms in the world, Glaxo Wellcome Inc. held more or less 4 percent of the worldwide prescription pharmaceutical food commercialize. The U. K. based party was formed in 1995 when Glaxo Pharmaceuticals acquired Burroughs Wellcome. While the company is based in the U. K. , the U. S. trade represented approximately 40 percent of worldwide sales plot of ground the U. K. produced just about seven percent.As of 1997 Glaxo Wellcome Inc. had 22 local operating companies in nine countries including the U. S. Because of the harsh requirements of the Food and Drug administration (FDA) most harvest-feasts are introduced in one of the other eight countries before seeking U. S. approval. hemicrania medicine is a primary growth area for Glaxo. The company was offshoot to manufacture and market triptans, a new class of prescription hemicrania medicine. Triptans were launched in 1993 and work specifically on the 5HT-1 receptor sites believed to be the primary cause of sick headache headaches.Imitrex was the first triptan produced and sold by Glaxo in the U. S. The fix now is how the company should topper market the second-generation triptan by the company, Amerge. This will be the first time a pharmaceutical company has two prescription triptans available on the market. Problem Statement and Key Issues Glaxo Wellcomes U. S. surgical incision faces the task of determining a status dodging for their new triptan, Amerge, to improver total market bundle in the currently underdeveloped sick headache market.Not only should the merchandising decisions scrap pressure from competitors with comparable products, except excessively the pharmaceutical marketers must elevate the importance of the new products placement on th e formularies of managed care political platforms. Additionally, the development of a direct-to-consumer (DTC) denote campaign that is informative and persuasive, without offending the health check community, must be include as a part of the positioning dodge. SWOT Anaylsis for Glaxo Wellcome Inc. Strengths Seen as a reliable prescription drug manufacturer, therefore has a positive written report Global company with 4% of the worldwide prescription pharmaceutical market Company has a strong balance sheet and growth cap competency Imitrex dominates the hemicrania market as the first and only triptan available from 1995-1998 Weaknesses Does not have a clear merchandise strategy for the triptans Largely center on competitor activity instead of growing market share FDA regulations create long approval periods The recent business combination of Glaxo Pharmaceuticals and Burroughs Wellcome in 1995 has created organizational challenges Opportunities 90% of the migraine marke t is underdeveloped More market options include the ability to directly contact consumers as well as doctors and hospitals (in the U. S. division) Ability to market line extensions for new products such as Amerge baffling for new competitors to enter the market because of R&D and approval processes Threats Non-acceptance as a formulary of managed care plans Competitors products, such as Zomig, released before and out-performing Amerge Changes in healthcare legislation, including Medicaid and Medicare Alternative Courses of Action 1. Replacement system the U. K. division chose this plan of action, ceasing all promotion of Imigran (U. K. address tag for Imitrex) and positioning Naramig (the U. K. soil name for Amerge) as the recommended drug to start treatment of migraine patients. The replacement strategy results met Glaxo U. K. expectations, but damaged the growth of Imigran and did not prevent Zomig from successfully get in the market.Furthermore, the U. K. market has t wo major differences from the U. S. market pharmaceutical companies tailnot legally agitate their products to consumers, and the health care system is interact. The implications of these two differences in terms of positioning strategies are vast. The inability to utilize DTC advertising prevented the U. K. from successfully pursuing alternate(a) positioning strategies, such patient-based segmentation, due to concerns about the physicians ability to identify such segments and notwithstanding confusing the prescribing process.Moreover, in a socialized health care system where patients are entitled to free medical care, patients bunghole seek treatment easier and weed be less winding in the prescribing process than in an insurance-based system where there is more monetary involvement. Although this strategy might communicate a clear message about the drugs superiority, it would devalue the brand name built for Imitrex, drastically impacting its potential profitability as well as the ability to hold to recuperate the high identifyments already sunk into the R&D and marketing of Imitrex. . Competition Strategy since Zomig is expected to be launched prior to the FDA approval of Amerge, Glaxo U. S. can position Amerge directly against Zomig. They can utilize their position as the market leader to leverage Amerges positioning as the true second-generation triptan providing the best relief on the market. Glaxo U. S. can back up their claims with the results from the UK where the majority of introductory non-triptan users prefer Naramig.Although this strategy could successfully prevent the competition Zeneca from gaining substantial market share through the marketing of a second-generation triptan, it would also devalue the Imitrex brand similar to the replacement strategy. 3. Pricing strategy one of the weaknesses identified for Imitrex is its comparatively high price in comparison to over the counter (OTC) medication, which is further exacerbated by the m edications high rate of recurrence.Since most patients in the US pay either partially or fully for their medication, Amerge could be positioned as an al confusedable alternative to Imitrex. Amerge could be priced similar to OTC medications and its demean recurrence rate could be wind to further emphasize its affordability. A realizable downside to this strategy is devaluing the image of Glaxo Wellcome for physicians because of a perceived lack of quality that can accompany low priced products. On the positive side, it could detract from competitors noise and would allow Imitrex to continue in its position as the market leader.It could also improve the consumer perception of Glaxo Wellcome as a company that cares for patients that cannot afford expensive medication. 4. Lifestyle Segmentation Strategy Glaxo U. S. could create an emotional magic spell for Amerge by merging the facts about its dexterity, side effects and dosage with the feelings of patients. future consumers seek treatment for their migraines not only to abate the pain, but also to be able to continue productivity in their lives during a migraine episode.Therefore, Amerges proven efficacy, combined with low risk of side effects, low recurrence rate and ease of administration could be used to promote it as the migraine medicine that lets you get on with life. Unlike the pricing strategy, this course of action would emphasize the product benefits and thus would be more beneficial to Glaxos image. But similarly to the replacement and competition positioning strategies, it weakens Imitrexs position in the marketplace. 5. Benefit-based Portfolio Strategy Glaxo U.S. can present both migraine medicines as a portfolio of solutions to migraine pain. Amerge could be positioned as the milder new-generation triptan, and Imitrex could be repositioned as the strongest and fastest triptan with proven efficacy to treat acute pain. This positioning strategy would allow Glaxo U. S. to continue to pull the benefits from the marketing initiatives already invested in Imitrex, while utilizing its current standing as the market leader as a platform from which to launch Amerge. realizable drawbacks to this strategy include cannibalization of Imitrex sales as well as disorderliness in the minds of physicians and consumers as to which drug would be the best option for a patient. Recommendations Given the considerable expenditure in R&D and marketing of pharmaceuticals, we recommend that Glaxo U. S. choose the benefit-based portfolio strategy. We feel strongly that Glaxo U. S. should not abandon the efforts set in the marketing of Imitrex, but rather leverage its current market position to support the launch of Amerge.We believe this strategy could effectively combat competitors efforts to enter the marketplace. The company can utilize DTC advertising to send a clear message of the benefits each drug offers to patients. Nevertheless, it is imperative that Glaxo U. S. also invest resources i n conveying the right message to physicians and negotiating placement of both drugs on the formularies of managed care plans otherwise the likelihood of switching to a different brand or forgoing treatment altogether increase significantly. With a portfolio strategy and clear differentiation among the products, Glaxo U.S. is better armed to capture the 90% of migraine sufferers that were not being medicated with a triptan as of 1997. Conclusion Although Glaxo Wellcome is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world it has many opportunities for growth and development. One of these opportunities is with the migraine medicines cognise as triptans. Although Glaxo already has one triptan on the market, there are electrostatic many migraine sufferers that are not being treated. With the benefit-based portfolio strategy Glaxo can market its second-generation triptan, Amerge to the millions of migraine sufferers.