• A large international pharmaceutical client wanted to measure and maximize demand for their novel targeted agent based on the completion of a Phase 3 global study in a new tumor type
• They wanted to estimate their product share by line of therapy, determine the source of business, develop a biomarker testing strategy and an attitudinal battery for customer typing. Their goal was to optimize how to position their product amidst a growing set of powerful competitors targeting overlapping biomarker profiles, including immunotherapy agents

• Mixture of global quantitative and qualitative research, spanning 7 countries (US, Asia, EU) and more than 400 respondents

• Quantitatively determined across geographies: current practice patterns, anticipated share by line of therapy, source of business, biomarker testing rate, full attitudinal battery, drivers and barriers, and a physician and patient segmentation for use in future promotional targeting and positioning

• Results informed future resource investment allocation decisions as well as future messaging and positioning efforts

• Mapped the current 2nd line landscape, with pros and cons by treatment by geography
• Quantified the key determinants of treatment selection in each geography
• Quantified gain of share by patient segment, physician segment, line of therapy, and geography
• Synthesized attitudinal battery into a typing tool to identify likely early adopters and high prescribers
• Devised a strategic map of the competitive landscape, identifying key battleground areas by geography and how to win in each
• Results provided insight for future resource investment allocation decisions as well as future messaging and positioning research

• A privately-held, development stage biotech company wanted to understand the prevalence and unmet needs of an ultra-orphan disease and how a new drug might be priced and positioned to optimize uptake
• More tactically, the team wanted to know how to identify these ultra-rare patients for clinical trials and commercialization

• Primary research: Qualitative in-depth phone-Internet interviews with commercial payers and KOL specialists (geneticists and pediatric endos)
• Secondary research: Benchmarking analysis of ultra-orphan analogs for pricing, patient identification schemes and positioning. Created a Patient Journey that could be used to find high leverage points of patient identification

• Mapped the physician base by drivers of prescribing
• Mapped the patient journey and identified unmet needs along the way
• Analyzed a set of pricing benchmarks by mapping the price-prevalence relationship in recently launched ultra-orphans
• Determined pros/cons of 2 unique positioning schemes and what client can do to influence the dialogue
• Prioritized the key factors driving the payer coverage decision, several of which were unique to the client’s situation
• Recommended a set of targeted, cost-effective pre-commercial tactics focusing on 3 key areas

• A global leader in wound care wanted to assess current practices and determine the optimal competitive strategy to position their fast-selling specialized medical device beyond its current niche
• In addition, they wanted to understand the impact of potential investments in new technology and clinical studies on perceptions and uptake of their product

• Conducted global qualitative interviews with several stakeholder groups (patients, physicians, administrators) to understand current practices and drivers of use, as well as gauge receptiveness to expanding use
• Conducted quantitative research to quantify current use, attitudes towards the product, and reactions to positioning statements
• Identified optimal positioning statements and segmented market by wound type, showing areas of greatest opportunity for expansion

• Conducted qualitative interviews to understand overall usage and attitudes, as well as take an initial assessment of positioning statements
• Quantified the landscape: perceptions and use of therapies for wound care differ greatly by user segment and wound segment
• Mapped the competitive landscape: Wound pathophysiology results in varying healing needs by segment
• Segmented market by wound types showing areas of greatest opportunity; translated this to region-specific expansion strategies

• A small but late-stage clinical global pharmaceutical client desired help in framing a pathway of projects and priorities in the 2 years leading up to launch of their first drug in a highly competitive area
• They sought help in differentiating the must-haves from the nice-to-haves and in understanding the costs, timing and interrelationships of projects across departments

• Lead several working sessions with the client to understand budget, clinical timelines, and launch priorities at a high level
• Used a combination of analogs, benchmarks, secondary data, and primary research (with clinical and commercial experts) to map out a comprehensive set of projects by department and by year to optimize uptake
• Devised a roadmap to ensure client maintains leadership position in a highly competitive area

• With client input, devised a high-level launch planning framework to guide the project
• Devised a road map of projects by year and by department to guide resource allocation and planning
• Proposed a sample organizational chart to guide timing of key hires by department
• Provided a series of visuals at different levels of depth to help communicate the plan across departments to secure buy-in and maintain cohesiveness and motivation
• Distilled learnings into a one-page overview of strategy, objectives and key success factors

A mid-sized biotech company had just filed an IND for a promising compound that had potential use across a variety of therapeutic niches. Aquest was commissioned to formulate compelling TPPs for each indication (including a vision statement, strategic rationale, differentiation from competition, and peak year sales forecast) and to work with an internal project team (comprised of regulatory, preclinical/ PK, and clinical groups) to undergo a disciplined decision analysis process of selecting the most promising TPPs to guide clinical development strategy.

A clinical stage biotech company commissioned Aquest to manage (from a commercial point of view) the development of a novel PRO end point for their lead asset in a highly competitive therapeutic area. The effort involved many moving parts both internally (across several functional areas) and externally (related to content validation of the PRO across stakeholder groups in accordance with FDA guidance). Aquest’s contributions culminated in the assessment of novel ways of competitively differentiating the compound using the PRO as part of a composite end point.