Advice You - Business

What is an Icebreaker?

In group activities, icebreakers are those fun, energizing activities, which allow the participants in the group to get to know each ot

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

her. They can also be used to introduce a topic, to facilitate teamwork, to get people engaged in a program, to loosen them up to start sharing feelings and ideas, or

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

Examples of combination products may in

simply just for fun!

As the name suggests, an icebreaker session is designed to “break the ice” at an event or meeting.

What is the ice that needs to be broken?

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

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They haven't met each other before
They have never worked with you before as a leader, teacher, or trainer
They have never worked togethe

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

r on a project before
They come from different levels or have a different status in an organization (i.e. management, employees, teacher, students)
Th

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

Combination pro

e group is not united and you need to break down inhibitions so they can bond together
The participants come from different backgrounds, cultures, perspective

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

, or have different perceptions of others in the group

Keys to Success

Simple
Non-threatening
Open end

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

ed
Relevent
Energizing

Simple
Your icebreaker needs to be simple enough for everyone to understand with a minimum

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

of explanation. The simpler, the better. Many icebreakers fail because the instructions are too complicated and people have trouble understanding what they are sup

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

osed to do. Is it easy for the participants to understand what they are supposed to do?

Non-threatening
Icebreakers should not make people feel

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

uncomfortable. Most people aren't willing to share their deepest feelings with strangers. That's too personal. The best icebreakers, get the participants to engage

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

Following aspects would a

each other at a simple level without revealing their life stories or things that are very personal. Will the participants be comfortable with participating or

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

ontributing? How are the participants likely to react to the activity?

Open ended
There should be a variety of levels of response so that the uniquen

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

ess of individuals is allowed to be expressed. Through discovery they will often find that they are not so unique after all - that they do share something in common w

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

ith others in the group. Does it open up possibilities and establish a common playing field or does it stifle the group, close off the options, and reinforce the

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

barriers?

Relevent
Choose an icebreaker that meets the needs of the group and contributes toward the purpose of the meeting. That purpose could be a

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

s simple as the introduction of strangers to each other or to get the participants to begin thinking about a specific topic. Will participants feel that it is app

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

ropriate and worthwhile?

Energizing
Design your Icebreaker to energize. It should excite the group according to their level of activity. Highly phy

.

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

ical activity might be appropriate for some groups while for other groups it may tire them out before you even start! Laughter, fun, creativity, and intellectual stim

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ulation are almost always energizing! Will they have fun and enjoy the activity?

With these keys, you can avoid the SNOREs of boredom in your next icebreaker

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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Advice You - Are Your Icebreakers A SNORE?

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