Mid-level pharmaceutical brands invest an average of $71 million in marketing between Phase III trials and the first year on the market, according to a new report from Cutting Edge Information. Mid-level drugs are those products slated to peak at annual sales of less than $1 billion but more than $500 million. The largest of these products have a shot at blockbuster status ($1 billion in annual sales), but most drugs will fall well shy of that mark. The study, “Pharmaceutical Product Commercialization: Phase III to Post- Launch Resource Allocation,” examines marketing investments for 16 brands. The report concludes that mid-level drugs are important revenue drivers, but they occupy a middle ground that demands careful resource management. Though more significant than niche products, they cannot claim the resources of blockbusters slated to make billions of dollars annually. To derive the greatest returns on mid-level products, companies carefully balance their resources. In their efforts to hit key objectives, it is not uncommon for brand teams to overload one spending area - market research, for example - at the expense of others.
