The Total Market Potential of the New Combination Brand - Assignment Example

To Assess the Market Potential of a New Branded Medical Drug whose Generic Commodity is Already Available in the Local Market IDENTIFICATION OF OBJECTIVES General Objective of the Research The general purpose of the research is to determine the total market potential of the new combination brand. Specific Research Objectives To determine whether a combination product has a higher potential in the market than a single component product. (Blaxter, 2006) To determine the promotional tool that would be most effective in attracting customers, despite immense competition in the market. To analyse the different market segments and to see how demand for the new product is distributed among these. To find out the Unique Selling Proposition of the firm, i.e., to identify the unique aspects of the product, such as ingredients, packaging, etc., that can be the firm’s competitive advantage. RESEARCH QUESTIONS Does potential for the new product exist in the market? What should be the promotional tool of the product, such as low price, customer services, etc? Do customers prefer combination products more than a single component product? In terms of percentages, how is demand distributed among the different market segments? What can be the USP of the firm? Please note: The customers here are doctors. HYPOTHESIS I. Given that combination treatment products (drugs comprising Clopidogrel + Aspirin) already exist in the market a subsequent product launch by ABC pharmaceuticals of this same combination product (with added benefits like packaging, ease of swallowing , customer service intensive marketing etc) will elicit a positive response (Prescription = Sales) from customers (Doctors) (Adams, 2009) II. Given that combination treatment products (drugs comprising Clopidogrel + Aspirin) already exist in the market a subsequent product launch by ABC pharmaceuticals of this same combination product (with added benefits like packaging, ease of swallowing , customer service intensive marketing etc) will not elicit a positive response (Prescription = Sales) from customers (Doctors) (Albers, 2001) HYPOTHESIS TESTING Hypothesis testing is a tool, which helps in making the statistical decisions regarding the hypothesis using data which is untried in nature. The steps of hypothesis testing would be to determine the appropriate hypothesis, which has been done. Then, among the many test statistic, one of them will be chosen, to decide whether or not to reject the null hypothesis. The two-tailed test will be performed on this particular hypothesis, since any sort of change in the attitude needs to be measured, whether towards positive or towards negative. (Blaxter, 2006) A significance level of 5% will be used, which is mostly used during doing hypothesis testing. When the research would be complete, the difference between the null hypothesis and the results of the experiment would be seen, and the significance level will become the criteria for rejecting the null hypothesis. The most appropriate test statistic will be the use of the z score, since the α is known and n is more than or equal to 30. RESEARCH TECHNIQUE(S) AND TYPE OF DATA There is a wide range of data-gathering techniques mentioned in the literature. Quantitative research is typically taken to be exemplified by the social survey and by experimental investigations. Qualitative research tends to be associated with participant observation and unstructured, in-depth interviewing. (Bryman, 1998, p.1) When appropriate, a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research is possible. As mentioned above, this research aims to combine quantitative and qualitative approach to assess the market potential of ABC's new medicine which is a combination of Asprin and Clopidogrel. The approach is descriptive and exploratory. Following techniques will be used to collect data: 1. Secondary Data (Exploratory Research) 2. Focus group (Exploratory) 3. Surveys (Descriptive) Secondary Data Secondary data regarding the present market of the product; competitors their sales and prices will be available to ABC. This data will be studied and analyzed through literature review; and in making the recommendations regarding price, promotion and other important factors before the final launch of the product.(Shoppel, 1996) Apart from this, past researches about the relative effectiveness of a combination product therapy compared to single product will be available on the internet. They will be used to explore the scope of this medicine in the market. Focus Group A focus group discussion will be held at the beginning of the research to gain some knowledge about the opportunity. This particular focus group discussion will be a qualitative peer led approach or method of research and reporting involving the KOL of Cardiology Faculty at one of the leading Hospitals in the city. Its purpose will be to obtain in-depth information on concepts about the role of anti-platelet agents as an effective therapy and how their role has become well established for the secondary prevention of ischemic events in at-risk patients. Surveys Surveys will be the most important source of data collection in our research. A sample of 105 doctors, comprising Cardiologists, general practitioners and other specialists will be surveyed to understand their views, suggestions and preferences about this kind of medicine. Measurement Instrument Several questions will be asked to the respondents in the data collection techniques to satisfy both qualitative and quantitative purposes of the research. To analyze the potential of this product in the market, the opinion about the efficacy of combination product and whether they prefer combination product therapy over single product therapy or not, will be gathered. (Lodato, 2008) Since competitors are present in the market, we need to target specific areas to defeat our competition. The participants will be asked to describe the qualities that they want to see in a particular brand and what are the features they feel are missing in the brands currently available in the market. Target population The target population will be doctors. (Trim, 2005) Within this broad category, the focus of the research will be on cardiologists and general practitioners – as these are the doctors who recommend this particular drug to patients. Sample This is the portion of the target population that was included in our research. The sample is representative of the entire population, so that the research results are reliable. The following are the details about the sample and the sampling method chosen: Sample size: 105 - A composition of 50% cardiologists and 30% general practitioners and 20% other physicians will be chosen. This composition will be chosen because more cardiologists had to be included in the research, so that formulation of conclusions can be done accordingly. Sample composition: The target population consists of doctors. Therefore, the unit of analysis will be doctors. The focus will be on cardiologists and General practitioners. How will the sampling be done?  The following sampling techniques will be used: Some hospitals in the city will be visited, particularly the leading hospital where the inflow of patients is the maximum. This way it will get easier to approach the target population. Within each of these hospitals, sampling will be done randomly so that every cardiologist or general practitioner within the hospitals has an equal chance of being selected. Cluster sampling technique: However, since it will not possible to visit every clinic and hospital in the city, the research is biased in a way that all the members of the target population did not have an even chance of being selected (Non-Probability sampling). As the approach will be limited to a few selected hospitals, the sampling technique of this research will be cluster sampling. (Zikmund, 2002) TOOLS OF ANALYSIS Once the data will be collected, from surveys, interviews, and secondary data analysis, it will be organized in a way that would help in formulating conclusions. (Creswell, 2003) Therefore, several analytical techniques will be used for this research, so that the data can be presented and analyzed accurately: The use of tables. Charts, such as pie charts and bar charts will be used to organize the results of the research. Mean, Median, and mode will be used to draw conclusions about the research. Use of percentages to evaluate the results of the research. For example, what percentage of cardiologists prefer a combination product. THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY These are the expected constraints which are expected to be encountered during the course of this report: Appointment from Doctors It is known that the health profession in UK is taken very seriously: doctors rarely have time to sit about and chat. There will be difficulty in accessing them during their duty hours. This will be solved, though, through personal contacts. Time The time to carry out the surveys, and collect data through other primary and secondary sources will be also limited: 15 days. Reluctance to Share Data Many doctors will not freely discuss the generic drugs they are prescribing to the patients. There might be some ethical issues if they are found prescribing drugs of only one company. Lack of Publication Outlets Publication outlets are a problem for firm-level practical research: Most firm-level research uses the case-study method. Case studies can be interesting in early stages of research about a particular topic, but they are situation specific. Because of this, they are not as likely to be published as are industry-level studies. Some case studies draw interest because they involve new techniques or they approach a problem in a unique way, but these are rare. Legal & ethical constraints It has to be ensured that the data obtained is kept secure, and it is only used for lawful purposes and is only kept for as long as it is necessary because the company is about to launch this new drug: it might have severe implications if secrecy is not kept and information about this new product launch is leaked to the competitors. (Shoppel, 1996) It will also have to be made clear as to why data is being collected and the consent of participants must be obtained.   REFERENCES 1. Adams, P. (2009) Secondary Prevention of Atherothrombotic Events After Ischémie Stroke.(p. 43-51) from Mayo Clinic Proc. Website: www.mayoclinicproceedings .com 2. Albers, W. (2001) Combination Therapy with Clopidogrel and Aspirin: Can the CURE Results Be Extrapolated to Cerebrovascular Patients? Retrieved from stroke.ahajournals.org at VA MED CTR BOISE on February 10, 2009 3. Ferguson D. (2008) Aspirin and Clopidogrel Response Variability. Texas Heart Institute Journal 4. Nappi, J. (2007). Benefits and limitations of current antiplatelet therapies. (p. 2). Lasvegas, Nevada: American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. 5. Shoppel, D. (1996). The Five Secrets of a Successful Launch. BetaSphere , 1-9. 6. Lodato, M. (2008) Management of new product launches and other marketing projects. AuthorHouse. 7. Trim, P. (2005). NPLS Model for Pharmaceutical Companies. European Business Review, 1-15. 8. Zikmund, William G. (2002) Business Research Methods pp 96-106 9. Blaxter, L. (2006) How to research. McGraw Hill. 10. Creswell, J. (2003) Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Sage Publications. Read More