• A small but highly-valued biopharma client sought to quantify the opportunity for a new hypercholesterolemia product across 6 patient segments and 3 physician specialties
• More specifically, they wanted to know which product attributes will drive share uptake vs. the market-leading statins and the classes in late-stage development (PCSK9i and CETPi)

• Hypothesized most likely competitive sets to orient around strategically
• We conducted a quantitative conjoint study with n=300 physicians across 3 specialties; as well as 20 qualitative payer interviews
• Using this primary data, we created an annual revenue forecast capable of flexible scenario planning

• Understand baseline patient segmentation
• The benefit of LDL lowering was shown to vary by drug class (statins vs. non-statins) – a critical, new insight
• Conjoint design recognized strong awareness of entrenched and pipeline competition
• Conjoint sensitivity analyses showed that outcomes data and LDL reduction had different upsides across segments
• Using this new insight, respondents were re-segmented, unlocking new insights about commercial strategy
• The net share difference between a downside and an upside profile was larger than initially thought; the drivers of this difference were used for commercial resource allocation

• A small, privately held clinical stage biotech sought to quantify the dynamics at play in a mass market cardiovascular indication in the US, with an emphasis on a recently launched franchise that they would be competing against with their RNA technology

• Their goal was to inform a launch forecast, clinical development decisions, and help in partnership negotiations

• Designed and executed an Internet survey with academic and community cardiologists in the US
• Used conjoint to create a user-friendly “what-if” scenario modeling tool to forecast scenarios across various patient and physician segments in 2 and 3 and 4 product markets
• Uncovered the dynamics behind a key relationship between 2 product attributes that had previously been hidden, leading to a re-thinking of clinical development

• Identified key attributes at play; structured conjoint scheme to run parallel studies spanning 3 patient types
• Designed a concise conjoint grid spanning attributes and levels of highest competitive importance
• Modeled a series of 2, 3, and 4 product markets across various patient types, uncovering unexpected pockets of opportunity
• Conducted sensitivity analyses to uncover hidden relationships between product attributes across segments
• Integrated sensitivity analyses across patient segments in visually compelling ways
• Synthesized data into a series of actionable insights; uncovered the dynamics behind a key relationship between 2 attributes that had previously been hidden, leading to a re-thinking of clinical development

• A mid-sized pharmaceutical client desired multi-year support to help define, implement, and market a suite of reimbursement support services for their portfolio of premium-priced orphan specialty products
• Support services included enrollment, financial/ reimbursement, patient education, and monthly lab monitoring
• Therapeutic area highly competitive with multiple competitive launches expected during the project timeframe

• 12 primary market research projects over a 3-year period across 4 stakeholder groups (physicians, nurses, payers, patients)
• Recommendations integrated findings across multiple channels (online, specialty distributor, and nurse visits)
• Helped increase compliance with treatment and lab monitoring
• Helped client maintain leadership position in highly competitive area

• Clarified landscape of needs and satisfaction levels with current offerings
• Optimized branding for portfolio of services to increase awareness and use
• Identified set of competitively differentiated service messages
• Recommended focusing lab monitoring services on top accounts with differentiated set of online offerings
• Determined mix of service outreach that would maximize convenience at low investment to client
• Quantified the impact of service changes on product switch rates; worked with client to devise tactics to minimize this

• 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 small biotech client had recently completed Phase 3 study of their lead asset and was preparing to file for FDA approval in a niche hematology oncology indication
• The company sought to clarify patient segments, quantify expected treatment outcomes, assess physician reactions to the asset and the importance of its mechanism of action, and understand what drives physician decisions to taper dose

• Conducted 32 qualitative, in-depth KOL interviews and 150 quantitative on-line surveys with hemoncs, segmented by location of care
• Analysis included: patient segments and lines of therapy, treatments and response rates, likelihood to prescribe, and drug attribute importance by segment
• Final recommendations were pragmatic and helped guide launch investment allocation decisions

• Identified which physician segments expected to treat new patients in a year
• Assessed physician perceptions about their likelihood to prescribe the client’s therapy to different patient subpopulations
• Gained insights into duration of patient responses to different therapies
• Identified and ranked important drivers of decisions to taper

• A mid-sized medical device client sought to understand the drivers of product selection in wound care and how to leverage its portfolio to increase product usage across categories
• To achieve this, they wanted to understand how physicians and nurses assess and treat wounds across a wide range of patient segments and locations of care
• In addition, they sought to develop a series of core messages and visuals to differentiate their portfolio and increase share

• Conducted a brainstorming workshop with client to generate a series of hypotheses regarding customer pain points, the product selection process, and messaging / positioning of both the franchise and products
• Executed 25 qualitative interviews across 2 treater segments (MDs and RNs) and 2 locations of care (acute and post-acute)
• Uncovered a key dynamic in the product selection process that could be used to guide messaging, positioning, and portfolio strategy

• Clarified the disconnect between the stages of wound healing and product selection
• Understood customer motivation by mapping a hierarchy of needs
• Mapped the wound lifecycle and clarified its impact on wound care treatment
• De-mystified the complexity of product selection by uncovering the “linchpin product” that dictated treatment path
• Using this key insight, generated a series of portfolio-level and product-level messages and prioritized their impact
• Recommended a specific set of messages for a “linchpin product” that could serve as a foundational treatment and unlock the potential of the portfolio

A mid-sized biopharma company with a successful specialty product was facing a competitive launch for the first time from an aggressive competitor and wanted to refine and pressure-test their messages and objection handlers in a real-world simulation. Aquest designed and moderated a series of 90 minute 1-on-1 sessions with physicians, playing the role of moderator, sales rep A, and sales rep B sequentially, for a truly controlled experiment. Recommendations were rolled out at the next POA meeting, ensuring a well-prepared field force.