Pharma CI Recap: “Building Strategic Intelligence for Emerging Markets: Best Practices and Lessons Learned in Latin America”

Published: September 15, 2016

By Aaron Derdowski, Ph.D., Associate Engagement Manager

While several important sessions were offered at Pharma CI, the collaborative presentation from Darien Kadens of Lupin Pharmaceuticals and Paul Kavanaugh of ShiftCentral was of particular interest.

The Pharmaceutical Industry has shown an increased interest in emerging markets of late, and Latin America is an example of a dynamic, diverse, and unique example. Lupin Pharmaceuticals, a top generics player globally, recently established a Market Intelligence (MI) program in the region and shared the example as a Case Study in best practices.

The presenters laid out a roadmap of these best practices. Here are the highlights:

1. Begin with what type of MI organization you seek to establish. Preclinical? Pipeline? Sales? Business Development? Benchmarking? Choosing one as an anchor point will define clear expectations while still allowing for growth in the future.

2. Establish your plan, and update frequently. What is your mix of primary, secondary, communication? What is your budget? Who are your stakeholders?

3. Seek buy in from leadership. Set expectations, update leadership regularly, and communicate frequently in both directions.

4. Establish a foundation of strategic intelligence. This includes a focus on only most relevant and actionable information, empowering stakeholders, and knowing your audience.

5. Define how intelligence will be gathered. Human selected, automated, curated?

6. Define preferences for how intelligence will be delivered, including timing and channel preferences for stakeholders.

Several lessons were learned while establishing a MI platform in an emerging market, including:

• Think regionally, connect locally
• Timing differences are more impactful than time differences
• Lean on secondary intelligence to corroborate primary intelligence
• Build a network of MI partners that are well-connected in all the countries in your emerging market of interest

In summary, having a well thought out, structured plan is key to establishing a Market Intelligence or Competitive Intelligence program in an emerging market. It is important to take into account both language and cultural challenges, and leveraging local partners to overcome challenges is imperative.