Advice You - Business

Small towns and rural communities are wonderful places to raise families and retire. Small towns rely on local businesses as much, or more, as larger

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

metropolitan areas. However, they are not necessarily the place for recent college grads or seasoned professionals who know their skills are worth m

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

Examples of combination products may in

ore at a large corporation in a bigger city. This migration has been appropriately labeled as the ‘brain drain’. So, what happens to the businesses

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

operating in small towns if they don’t have the available skilled labor force to meet their needs?

Fortunately, a new – but growing – profession has

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

entered the business industry: Virtual Assistance. A Virtual Assistant (VA) is a professional service provider who specializes in providing remote a

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

Combination pro

dministrative office support services as an independent contractor who works with clients in an ongoing, collaborative professional relationship (**VA

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

COC, 2006). Virtual Assistants work from their own offices and utilize today's technology to deliver their services and communicate with clients.

VA

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

s benefit the small town business owner in a number of ways because they offer the same high-quality expertise as seasoned corporate employees. A num

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

ber of VAs include specialized expertise such as marketing, accounting, and graphical design as part of their service repertoire. As well, a growing

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

segment of the VA industry offers administrative management support such as employee recruiting/screening, business development research and administr

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

ation, and technical writing.

VAs are more cost effective than employees because they work from their own office, pay their own taxes, and secure the

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

Following aspects would a

ir own medical benefits and time off. The small town business owner reduces overhead costs for office space, equipment, employer-paid taxes, and fees

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

. These savings can be reinvested in the business at a greater rate than possible with employee expenses.

VAs are professionals. Small town busines

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

s owners now have the same advantage as large corporations in major cities when it comes to retaining professional talent. VAs are already highly edu

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

cated in their specific fields. They are polished, knowledgeable and fully vested in the success of every client.

Finally, VAs work for clients only

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

when they are needed. Just about every practicing VA offers retainer agreements, project-based contracts, and hourly rates to ensure they provide cl

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ients with the best options for their business. This translates into additional savings for the small town business owner because they are not paying

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

for non-productive work time.

VAs are truly a boon to small towns and the businesses they support.

**VACOC is the Virtual Assistance Chamber of

.

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

Commerce, a professional association of Virtual Assistants worldwide to promote shared business interests, opportunities and advancement of the Virtua

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

l Assistance profession. Visit them at www.virtualassistantnetworking.com

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 - Virtual Assistance a Boon for Small Town Businesses

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