Cancer treatments with high levels of physician awareness at launch maintain their advantage over drugs that are yet to gain widespread recognition when they come to market, a ZoomRx analysis found.
ZoomRx, which provides launch-tracking services, analyzed 44 brands across more than 10 cancer indications. The company divided the drugs into four categories based on brand penetration 24 months after launch. Products in the top-performers category had a 25-point aided awareness advantage at launch. Based on the finding, ZoomRx said pre-launch visibility is essential for success.
Healthcare professionals (HCPs) started hearing about molecules that went on to be top performers 18 to 24 months before approval. In that window, congress data presentations, advisory boards and disease education campaigns built awareness. By the time the drugs launched, physicians were convinced and ready to prescribe.
ZoomRx’s other three performance categories cover products with shorter, less comprehensive or less effective pre-launch campaigns. At best, HCPs are still evaluating the products at launch. At worst, the brands lack a compelling reason for oncologists to prescribe them.
It is unclear from the report whether effective pre-launch activities cause or correlate with penetration 24 months after approval. Drugs with stellar clinical data secure prominent congress presentations, news coverage and peer-reviewed publications, raising pre-launch awareness. Once approved, the treatments improve outcomes in the real world, driving further discussion and awareness.
Even strong data underperform when HCPs aren't prepared and convinced on launch day, ZoomRx said. The report lacks examples of products with strong data that were undermined by lackluster pre-launch preparations, though.
ZoomRx recommends presenting across two to three major conferences, 12 to 18 months pre-approval, and building a network of peer advocates to carry the clinical story 9 to 12 months before launch. The strategy rests on having a story that key opinion leaders want to tell. An undifferentiated drug may struggle to generate the same level of pre- and post-launch hype regardless of the steps the company takes.