Challenge:
A transatlantic life science venture capital fund was contemplating investing in advanced plasma product opportunities being developed by a biopharmaceutical company, and needed a reality check on the commercial opportunities on offer.
Solution:
First we conducted an internal assessment of the prospective differentiators of the novel therapeutics, their target product profiles and subsequent target indications. We then interviewed expert US and UK key opinion leaders, including clinicians, in the main target indications for both products. We specifically considered the product attributes that would induce clinicians to switch from existing products to a new one. These included understanding the issue of pricing, unmet needs in current products’ specification/quality, data support, and format or handleability concerns which the new product might address. Other key issues were the products’ place in treatment, clinician views on patient eligibility and off-label use.
We also considered the clinical development options for each offering, including requirements for a clinical proof-of-concept trial to demonstrate efficacy, patient populations, patient inclusion criteria, clinical end-points and size of clinical trials. Our analysis concluded that the marketplace presented a challenging environment for the adoption of the particular products under development and the investment did not proceed.