Case Studies

A small biotechnology company with a promising new treatment in Phase II commissioned Aquest to quantitatively evaluate potential US and EU demand for the product as well as assess the impact on demand of various patient and product attributes. Aquest designed several specific patient profiles that could be presented randomly to physicians in order to obtain more accurate usage expectations. Share reactions to various attribute alternatives also shed light on the relationship between key product attributes and demand. The final report allowed comparisons between U.S. perceptions/usage and those of the various EU countries involved. The company used the results to support further funding for their product.

A small specialty pharmaceutical company with a patient-oriented product needed perspective on both physician and consumer reactions to their Phase II data. The results would be used to inform a product forecast and Phase III clinical trial design. Working closely with the project team, Aquest crafted a product profile and conducted qualitative and quantitative surveys with physicians and consumers, integrating the results into a full decision support model with product forecast and scenario modeling.

A large, multinational pharmaceutical company active in the global health space was developing a novel anti-infective and wanted to know the sensitivity of product attributes on pricing and share uptake. Commercial challenges were numerous:  the condition was initially latent and non-symptomatic, decision-makers were spread across a wide range of specialists; the pharmacoeconomic argument was difficult to quantify, and the competition was well-entrenched and generic. Aquest conducted a series of linked physician and payer conjoint studies to provide an integrated quantitative model allowing for ‘what if’ scenario planning around the impact of pricing on coverage and market share. Using this, the client was able to make an informed decision regarding early pre-commercial investments to prepare for a successful launch.

A high growth biopharmaceutical company with plans to expand into a new therapeutic indication retained Aquest to assess the competition. Specifically, the client had concerns about a specific compound and wanted a thorough assessment of its competitive threat. Aquest evaluated the compound and profiled the company from scientific, clinical and commercial perspectives. The analysis answered the client’s questions about why and whether the competitor would enter its market, what drivers and factors would influence or dissuade a move, and what actions and activities the client should monitor. Aquest also identified another pipeline compound that posed a greater competitive threat. The client disseminated the intelligence throughout its organization and plans to monitor key competitor activities that, if successful, would impact future expansion plans.

A mid-sized biopharma company with a successful specialty product was facing a competitive launch for the first time from an aggressive competitor and wanted to refine and pressure-test their messages and objection handlers in a real-world simulation. Aquest designed and moderated a series of 90 minute 1-on-1 sessions with physicians, playing the role of moderator, sales rep A, and sales rep B sequentially, for a truly controlled experiment. Recommendations were rolled out at the next POA meeting, ensuring a well-prepared field force.

A mid-sized specialty biotechnology company wanted to brand a franchise of products independently from, but complementary to, the products that comprised it.  Aquest worked with the client to design and execute a two-phased market research program.  Phase 1 was an exploratory, qualitative phase that assessed the proposed messaging and positioning.  Phase 2 incorporated a maxdiff quantitative research methodology, which led to quick and on-budget recruitment of a rigorous statistical sample of target customers, providing insights that allowed our client to refine the brand messages and integrate them into the successful launch of their franchise campaign.

A large biotechnology company with a marketed product commissioned Aquest to take over a tracking study of a very important group to them: national and regional thought leaders. The prior vendor had made mistakes and failed to present the data in a way that effectively communicated the underlying story. The data requests were complex and the restricted nature of the target group posed particular recruiting challenges, but Aquest took over the study and delivered well-designed, accurate reports on time and within budget.

A large biotechnology company decided to re-evaluate the investments it made in publications, both advertising and research articles. They commissioned Aquest to conduct a large quantitative survey with community oncologists, nurses, and clinical pharmacists to learn not only the publications they respected most, but also the publications they read most. The research uncovered new avenues for more productive advertising and article placement, offering the potential for hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings on publication investments.