Foresight Through ExperienceHere's a brief summary of some of our more interesting recent cases. Contact us if you'd like to hear more about any of these studies.
BUSINESS PROBLEM Client was exploring business opportunities for a wide range of acquisitions versus licensing opportunities for four assets, each with multiple indications, across the US and EU. CarbonSix was engaged to: WHY C6 CarbonSix brings unique expertise in its ability to break large complex projects into individual business issue components that can be further explored with in-depth market research through: WHAT WAS DONE Across five countries (US and 4EU) and three physician specialties (CARDs, NEPHS, and ENDOs), CarbonSix: Identified unmet needs in target therapeutic areas that each product could best address Provided large-scale qualitative assessment of market potential for each product using need-gap and trade-off analyses that provided inputs to a large global forecast model for each asset by indication and market Characterized the competitive market landscape and identified whitespace opportunities in each market RESULTS CarbonSix provided insight into potential business development opportunities in the US and EU. Results used in conjunction with market sizing data to inform strategic decisions regarding asset acquisition versus licensing in each market for each indication. BUSINESS PROBLEM CarbonSix undertook a five year engagement with a complex JV to develop a global positioning strategy for a third-to-market drug spanning multiple indications for multiple target groups, with different launch timing scenarios for each indication. This asset was developed in the context of a rapidly changing landscape and research implications needed to reflect a future marketplace with a wide-range of client stakeholder needs. WHY C6 CarbonSix and its parent company, LJS, has always been more than a research supplier for our clients. Our greatest successes have been as enduring brand partners. We have been building, launching, nurturing and protecting brands in complex market environments for over fifty years. CarbonSix’s success with JV clients comes from our ability to provide leadership and expertise with both partners, not by building consensus among team members, but by building toward the right solution for the brand. WHAT WAS DONE CarbonSix successfully navigated a complex JV partnership with multiple client stakeholders across three indications, including: global and US market research, marketing, brand leads, sales, medical education, and multiple advertising agencies. In this research, CarbonSix led dozens of in-depth studies and strategy workshops over several years to prepare brand for global launch. RESULTS CarbonSix helped develop a global brand lifecycle launch strategy spanning three indications by providing a global framework of unmet needs, key benefits, and opportunities for the product’s competitive set through BUSINESS PROBLEM WHY C6 CarbonSix developed Patient Typing to prioritize patient types and size business opportunities for assets at any stage of the product lifecycle. Patient Typing is a critical research tool for defining and uncovering insights into consumer segments that are pivotal for developing effective patient-centric marketing strategies, including: WHAT WAS DONE Global multi-phase research was conducted with the same physicians to understand how physicians qualitatively categorize patients with a certain disease state, how resultant categories may influence treatment decisions, and how potential new agents map onto those opportunities. Methods included: RESULTS Patient profile development: Created patient types that personify the clinical traits that tend to travel together within patients. These patient profiles were embraced by the brand teams and used in all subsequent research, including development of sales training materials. Creation of Business Opportunity Index scores for each asset and patient type based on calculation of extent of unmet need, ability to win, and sizing of the opportunity: Some pipeline concepts demonstrated clear differentiation for use in certain primary and secondary groups. Along with segment sizing, provided an effective roadmap for prioritizing pipeline products and guided marketing activities for in-line assets. Business Opportunity Index outputs informed forecast models for assets as Phase IIa results emerged and helped prioritize which assets to advance to Phase IIb. Identification of ownable business opportunities: For in-line asset, identified an ownable niche with fewer competitors within a larger, dynamic space. Delineation of ownable patient types were embraced by the organization and guided development of sales and marketing strategies BUSINESS PROBLEM WHY C6 CarbonSix has a long history of specialization in targeting and researching small population patient types such as the underdiagnosed, stigmatized, ethnic groups, difficult to reach and sensitive sexual topics. We have a rich and dynamic pool of creative resources upon which to draw. In addition to a full-time in-house recruiting staff, we often tap into our wide network of partners. Due to our highly flexible and adaptive nature, we are able to throw a lot of creative resources at our projects and we empower our social science trained staff to get in the trenches to meet any recruiting challenge. CarbonSix closely adheres to CASRO guidelines and HIPAA protocols in all its research and equips all of our partners with the proper information and tools to avoid any potential liability issues for our clients. WHAT WAS DONE Some examples of ways CarbonSix has enabled our clients to conduct research with difficult-to-reach patient populations include: RESULTS BUSINESS ISSUE Sales data suggested that Asian-American community-based physicians were underdiagnosing and undertreating Asian-American patients with HBV. The brand team was considering creating targeted community educational campaigns and a medical communication and publication strategy to increase rates of diagnosis and treatment in this population. WHY C6 CarbonSix was approached because of its heritage with successfully executing challenging projects. Additionally, our decades of experience with academic publications and conducting evidentiary research projects for legal review gave the client confidence that the quality of the data could form the basis of peer-reviewed publications. WHAT WAS DONE CarbonSix conducted a rich, multi-phase exploration of how Asian-American PCPs, within five concentrated communities across four specific ethnic subgroups, understand and apply treatment guidelines, diagnose, monitor, refer, and treat patients with HBV. Qualitative Interviews were conducted as in-field IDIs (in communities and physician offices) in native Asian-languages (Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese) A subsequent quantitative study then expanded the learnings to the top ten Asian-American metropolitan areas in order to yield projectable insights into: RESULTS Research uncovered key issues surrounding the understanding and application of HBV treatment guidelines, the nature of patient management, and drivers and barriers to diagnosis, treatment and referral to specialists. This research provided important insights into how the client should focus educational materials to increase awareness, diagnosis, and treatment in under-diagnosed and under-treated communities. This research resulted in a crucial peer-reviewed publication for the client as part of its medical marketing strategy. BUSINESS ISSUE Client sought help developing its strategy for breaking into the Chinese market with a “Western style” respiratory medication and OTC analgesic. WHY C6 For decades, CarbonSix, and its parent company, LJS have been helping clients develop new brands for emerging markets, particularly China. CarbonSix and the retail division of LJS have conducted pioneering work on OTC and pharmacy related issues for several decades, beginning with our fundamental work to create the first ever combination grocery-drug store format, and more recently, on understanding the impact of the economy on increased OTC versus Rx use. WHAT WAS DONE CarbonSix conducted qualitative and ethnographic research with pharmacies, physicians patients, and regulatory bodies in China. We also conducted conjoint analyses of product concepts to evaluate market potential, evaluate distribution and stocking dynamics, and estimate market size and share potential for the portfolio of products. RESULTS Research identified alternatives for product positioning and helped craft a portfolio of viable products that would have the greatest potential to break through the traditional Chinese medicine OTC market. The research uncovered that the primary barriers would not exist with pharmacies or patients, but with specific government bodies. CarbonSix helped the client outline a strategic corporate plan to address specific marketplace conditions. Without the inclusion of the regulatory agency in the market research plan, traditional analytics may have recommended a commercialization approach that would have been less optimal. As a result of this research, the client has successfully broken though the Chinese OTC market with an actionable strategy to navigate regulatory hurdles. BUSINESS ISSUE Client needed to understand drivers and barriers that delayed patient referral to a specialist, which had impacted the delivery of an optimal treatment plan across multiple countries. WHY C6 One of CarbonSix’s greatest advantages is our ability to draw upon best practices from our peers in LJS’ CPG, Legal, Financial Services and other B2B research groups. CarbonSix has pioneered small group interview methodologies with its “TeamWorks Suite” of techniques through its partnership with LJS’ legal research group. CarbonSix has brought best practices in jury research to our pharmaceutical clients, specifically referral network dyads and guided deliberations, to better understand continuities and discontinuities among POVs of different stakeholders. WHAT WAS DONE CarbonSix leveraged our “TeamWorks Suite” of projective techniques and our novel “Guided Deliberation” methods to uncover barriers and triggers to refer and treat among different physician specialties and patient types. Research included dyads of two different specialties that refer to each other. Research identified key physician unmet needs by patient type, and evaluated client and competitor assets to each segment’s unmet needs, attitudes, and preferences. RESULTS CarbonSix identified leakage and leverage points in the patient hand-off between specialties. Also, the research identified potential differentiating benefits of client and competitor assets throughout the treatment cycle for each specialty across patient types. Through a series of global qualitative studies and work sessions with the strategic brand team, CarbonSix informed the development of a global segmented positioning and branding strategy for a new cancer therapy. BUSINESS ISSUE To support decisions surrounding entry into new therapeutic areas, client commissioned CarbonSix to understand the global opportunities to develop a number of compounds in specific markets and therapeutic areas given the current competitive landscape. WHY C6 CarbonSix is an industry leader in market opportunity research and helping clients understand market potential through leveraging its experience in private equity due diligence, CPG new product development and pharmaceutical business development research. WHAT WAS DONE A large, multi-country study across two CNS areas was conducted with PCPs, psychiatrists, neurologists, and geriatricians in US, EU and China. Research provided key insights into the patient/treatment flow, current treatment paradigms and potential unmet needs. CarbonSix provided the client with a deeper understanding of the global market, ranging from physician definitions of symptoms to evaluations of product effectiveness and new product opportunities. RESULTS This study identified specific business opportunities for new a half dozen potential new assets, informed go/no-go decisions regarding further development of pipeline assets, and highlighted strategic areas of opportunity across the globe. BUSINESS ISSUE Client sought to map the entire life course of disease experience – from onset of symptoms, through evaluation of various treatment experiences, including discontinuation and switching – in order to understand leakage points, leverage points and business opportunities for a pipeline asset in a highly competitive, yet fragmented, disease state WHY C6? CarbonSix has years of experience in developing and executing complex, yet comprehensive, patient flow and patient journey research. We understand that many treatment decisions are not made in a vacuum, so we leverage our experience in interviewing mixed-specialty focus groups to better understand referral patterns, divergent paths, and development of treatment plans. Stakeholders include: patients, caregivers, physicians, educators, dieticians, NPs, PAs, and pharmacists. WHAT WAS DONE CarbonSix brought the client through our proven multi-step process in the US and Europe to characterize the patient journey. This process included: RESULTSLeveraging Private Equity Experience to Inform Global Portfolio Planning & Asset Opportunity Evaluation for Multiple Assets and Indications
Understanding Emotional Complexities of A Novel Therapy Across Lifecycle Indications to Develop Global Differentiated Positioning Strategy for Third-To-Market Drug
Using Patient Typing in Target Opportunity Profile Assessment for Pipeline and In-line Assets
Comparative Evaluation of Patient and Physician Opportunity for Difficult-to-Reach, Niche Patient Population
Awareness of Chronic Hepatitis B (HBV) Guidelines and Drivers/Barriers to Treatment in the Asian-American Community
Market Potential for “Western Style” Respiratory Medication and OTC Analgesic in China
Positioning Strategy within Treatment Cycle for New Oncology Therapy and Referral Patterns across Patient Types
CNS Exploratory Research: Understanding Current Competitive Landscape, Treatment Algorithms, and Global Opportunities in Alzheimer’s and Schizophrenia
Patient Journey Research: Uncovering Points of Intervention and Leverage Opportunities across the Course of a Disease from Symptoms to Resolution
