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Objective: Launch a disruptive technology into the global life science research marketplace
Our team was hired by our client to prepare a strategic launch plan for the commercialization of a human biologic they developed. The immediate challenge was speeding the product to market and revenue.
Project
First we conducted a detailed market analysis, prioritized the opportunities by risk/return rankings, strategically positioned the technology and company to “speak to the marketplace,” identified key symposia and trade-show events, and detailed the resources and budgetary requirements necessary to launch the technology and capture strategic customers. Within four weeks, and upon their board of directors’ review and approval, we were retained to execute the strategic launch plan.
Next, we recruited, trained, and deployed a team of 10 field sales professionals and two customer support associates within the first 60 days of engagement. Simultaneously, the team instituted formal customer support procedures that aligned with our client’s total quality system. We installed a customer relationship management platform, as well as the entire communications infrastructure (toll free numbers, voicemail, email addresses, updated website).
During this process, we discovered that our client’s technology had potential applications across eight distinct disciplines within the life sciences. To prioritize sales activity, we developed a decision matrix that weighed and compared a series of issues that affect adoption rates and general market traction.
We determined that the best “go to market” strategy was a tiered launch approach, beginning with the institutional research marketplace. Focusing on this segment would provide several applicable leverage points for the company moving forward. The field sales team focused exclusively on this segment for the first 90 days of their deployment, resulting in more than 40 research-use-only licenses from leading universities and institutions throughout the US, Asia, and Europe.
The next target segment was the biopharmaceutical drug development pipeline. We determined that the technology had significant value as a potential accelerant to the drug discovery process—an observation validated by the direct market feedback secured while attending several industry symposia. This presented a unique challenge in that it required the creation of licenses and legal language necessary to support the positioning of our client’s value proposition while leveraging a unique differentiator related to our client’s platform. Within 60 days of focus on this market segment, our sales team placed the technology with 7 of the top 10 global pharmaceutical companies for scientific evaluation and licensing discussions.
The final priority market segment will be the biotechnology regenerative medicine arena, which also will require a more detailed approach to the negotiation of licensing terms for the use of the client’s technology in the development of cellular therapies.
Results
Within six months, the time it usually takes to find and hire a lead sales and marketing executive, we immersed our client within its key market segments, primed the revenue stream, and secured the interest of their most strategic customers. We announced to more than 20,000 potential prospects the client’s new technology platform that offered previously unavailable benefits in biological research. Dozens of the world’s leading research institutions signed the “research-use-only” licenses, and initial applications research is underway. Several KOLs are conducting their own research with the technology with the intent of publishing their results in the coming months. Multiple leading biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have purchased materials and have begun evaluating the technology for various developmental applications. Our client exercised the transition clause in our contract and hired the sales and customer support team as direct employees approximately six months into the market launch. | 
