Oncology Brands Spend $76.8 Million to Launch

[Guest guest]

Just imagine what 76.8 million per drug launched would mean if it were spent

on

- lowering the price of the drugs

- providing more free treatment

- insuring that groups like CCNetwork were around and well funded with a

fund to help patients with other costs

not covered by insurance

Drug development is very expensive. But lets get the artificial costs out

of it.

If you're not on the ProjectMARCH listserv I hope you'll join.

Priscilla A. Savary

Executive Director

Colorectal Cancer Network

PO Box 182, Kensington MD 20895

psavary@...

www.colorectal-cancer.net

_________

Screening for All. Colon Cancer for None.

ProjectMARCH -- rarely in life do you get a chance to make major change or

save thousands of lives. March 6, 2006 you can.

http://www.colorectal-cancer.net/projectmarch.htm

>

>

> Oncology Brands Spend $76.8 Million to Launch

>

> RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncology brands

> spend an average of $76.8 million on marketing as they move through the

> development process toward launch, according to " Oncology Brand

> Commercialization, " a report by Cutting Edge Information

> (http://www.pharmaoncologymarketing.com/).

>

> Though the first year on the market dominates commercial spending,

> marketing dollars appear during each phase of drug development:

>

> - In the Pre-Clinical period and Phase I of clinical development,

> average

> marketing spending is about $2.2 million. The largest relative

> resource jump occurs between these two stages, as the average budget

> leaps 500% from $0.3 million in pre-clinical development to

> $1.9 million in Phase I.

>

> - In the time between the average brand's submission for regulatory

> approval and its actual launch, 32% of the marketing budget is spent.

> Market research spending is highest during this period, as companies

> strive to understand their markets as clearly as possible. Brands

> also

> usually see an increase in staffing, which rises from 4.9 dedicated

> FTEs in Phase III to 6.1 FTEs at Launch.

>

> This stage also includes intense thought leader development, which

> peaks during this period with an average expenditure of $3.7 million.

>

> - In the 12-18 months that follow launch, the average brand spends 42%

> of

> its budget. Companies shell out more dollars for advertising during

> this period as they try to reach oncologists and other medical

> professionals through different media channels. All told, advertising

> claims $13.5 million of the first-year budget for the average oncology

> drug.

>

>

>

> " Unlike mass-market products for conditions such as high cholesterol or

> arthritis, cancer drugs require careful marketing that educates

> specialists, " says Bolesh, project team leader at Cutting Edge.

> " Once drugs reach Phase III, companies loosen the purse strings and kick

> off significant marketing campaigns. Then they nearly double that

> spending when regulatory agencies approve products for launch. "

>

> " Oncology Brand Commercialization: Resource Allocation, " available at

> http://www.pharmaoncologymarketing.com/, examines oncology

> commercialization spending and staffing using 28 different commercial

> variables, such as drug class, market entrance, peak sales projections and

> approved indications.

>

> To download a free summary of this 287-page report, please visit

> http://www.pharmaoncologymarketing.com/. For more information on this

> report or to learn about other Cutting Edge Information research, contact

> Bolesh at eric_bolesh@... or +1 .

>

>

> Source: Cutting Edge Information

>

> CONTACT: Bolesh of Cutting Edge Information, +1-, or

> eric_bolesh@...

>

> Web site: http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/

> http://www.pharmaoncologymarketing.com/