Advice You - Business

There are two vehicles for having your company’s information show up in a newspaper or magazine… pay to advertise or let the press do it for you. The latter occurs as a direct result of public relations (PR

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

) efforts - actively seeking publicity as a form of marketing communications.

While each of these is valuable, a solid news story can give you with a higher ranking on the credibility ladder. Why? Becau

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

e people understand that an ad is placed by you so are far more suspicious of its veracity. (Recent consumer studies confirm that most consumers think that all advertisements include outright lies and/or mi

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

sleading information.)

However, articles written by others are viewed as more objective (especially if the author has no stake in your company’s success or failure) and thus, more believable.

PR Tips

It’

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

important to understand how this process works so you’ll be able to take advantage of newsworthy opportunities that may come your way.

Most newspapers (and other media such as TV and radio) have a designa

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ted employee (usually called an assignment editor) who has responsibility for decide what’s news and what isn’t. They are tasked with reading and evaluating press releases. The ones that make the cut are s

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

nt to another editor for follow-up and inclusions, the others are usually trashed. The vast majority, up to 90%, end up in the rubbish.

This is why it’s so important to get it right if you expect to compe

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

te with the hundreds of others vying for the same space. Here are some handy tips:

•Let a professional public relations expert write your press release and put together a press package for you. There are

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

any freelance experts around who won’t charge you an arm and a leg. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, good public relations professionals network well and have media contacts the rest of us don’t!

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

Also, keep in mind there are few boring stories, but many boring ways of telling them…another reason to seek wise counsel from a professional. (Chapter Eight contains several good resources)

•Focus on con

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

ent versus form… Yes, there is a proper format, but it is far less important than what you say. Remember, newspapers need information as much as you need publicity. They are looking for timely, educational

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

and informative information… so provide it. Conversely, local radio stations may be interested in airing stories that are funnier, quirkier or more controversial.

•Human interest stories are popular across

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

all media types… one reason talk shows are so popular. So, if you have a compelling personal story, one that others will find interesting, tell it.

•Make sure that your story is timely and not late. If you

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

r store opened three months ago, it’s old news. Also, understand that journalists work on very tight deadlines, so it makes more sense to fax or e-mail, rather than mail, your release.

•Edit, Edit, Edit… I

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

an editor sees typos and other errors, it may cause them to question the accuracy of your content… a real killer.

•Make sure that you include accurate contact information… Provide precise and complete inf

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

ormation so you’re easy to find - phone (including cell) and fax numbers and e-mail, website and mailing addresses. The last thing you want is to miss an interview because you couldn’t be reached!

•The mor

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

back-up information you provide the better… The easier you make it for a journalist to cover your story, the more likely they’ll be to include it. Include photos, samples, interview availability times, res

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

earch backup, and the like.

•Make sure to send press releases to all media in your area, no matter how small…. It’s much easier to get local, rather than regional or national, coverage.

•Contact journalis

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

s and offer yourself as an expert in a particular field… One they can count on to provide them with accurate and objective information on the subject

These are just a few tips to get you moving in the righ

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

t direction. However, as I’ve said before, best cost is not always least cost… so get a professional to help you with your public relations efforts. It will save you time, money and aggravation in the end

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Consider for a moment how difficult it is becoming for marketers to consistently get their messages in front of their most important audiences. With myriad choices, many advertisers are less visible to their core audiences. A primary reason is that consumers are not consuming media in the ways they did even five years ago. While time in front of video screens is increasing, these screens now include e-mail, Internet web searching, video games, and DVD movies. While much television is viewed, TIVO is giving consumers control to skip over commercial messages.

What you focus on in business is what you get. If you focus on problems, they seem insurmountable. If you focus on solutions, you get long term sucess.

Inspired Business Marketing is about getting to the heart of business problems, and solving them with marketing. Business marketing is one of the most important parts that your business needs to be addressed with careful attention and proactive thoughts.

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