Advice You - Business

What is Benchmarking?

Benchmarking is the process of identifying specific reference points for your business to measure performance, efficiency and quality. It can be used in many d

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

ifferent ways, though it ultimately comes down to seeing how you stack up against your peers and against your own past performance. It is through benchmarking that practices can also better und

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

Examples of combination products may in

erstand areas for improvement and find ways to offer a wider range of services, as well as improve profitability.

Internal vs. External

Benchmarking comes in two forms: intern

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

al and external. Internal benchmarking is the process of comparing the current state of your practice against historical performance. Internal benchmarking can also help create progressive goal

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

towards longer term objectives as you define bottlenecks, unnecessary expenses, etc.

External benchmarking compares your practice against the performance of others in your industry and/or spe

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

Combination pro

cialty. External benchmarking can offer a window into general competitor performance as a way of seeing how effectively others perform similar tasks. Through external benchmarking, practices ca

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

n see not only how they stack up, but also where they specifically fall short.

Information is Critical

Information is critical to benchmarking – but what information? And how

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

much of it do you need? Information lacking depth and definition will only yield vague results; too much can overwhelm and confuse analysis. You’ll almost always want to start off on the side o

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

caution and collect as much as possible about the aspects of your practice you think require the most consideration. Then, adjust your collection processes as you begin to identify what areas

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

will provide the most benefit. You might even find that you already have more than enough data to analyze certain facets of your practice- for example, if you’ve contracted with a good medical

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

billing company you’ll have a wealth of information on medical claim billing and patient accounting.

To streamline the process of collecting information, remember that internal and external be

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

Following aspects would a

nchmarking are driven by the same data sets. Many practices might start off by contacting trade organizations or specialty associations (i.e. the American Medical Association) for existing benc

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

mark data by region, specialty, practice size, etc. There is, in fact, so much information available from these types of industry groups for just a few hundred dollars that most of the work wil

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

l already be done for you. Simply take a look at what others are measuring, how they are doing so, how they formulate their results, and work out from there. A few hours setting up a basic spre

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

adsheet will help you maintain clean records and manage effective, albeit simple, comparisons. This will at least get you started and identify target areas where you might need to become more a

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

ggressive over time.

An additional thought on purchasing existing data: Industry-wide benchmarking is based on median figures and industry averages. Make sure you understand what type of infor

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ation you are buying – whether it’s industry-wide, or industry leaders. If your goal is to become a top performing practice and your objective is to meet industry-wide benchmarks, you are only

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

setting your sights on mediocrity.

Openness to Change

As you move through the benchmarking process don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal- affecting a positive change on your m

.

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

edical practice to improve your services and your practice’s profitability. Benchmarking is not just about identifying where you currently stand, but finding ways in which you can do better. It

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

’s about evolution, growth, and change. Keep an open mind and be flexible when your results suggest that something you’ve done for years might just be the reason you’re not performing well.

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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Each initial contact we make with a prospective customer can make or break not only that sale, but potentially dozens more.

A relatively little used option, for inventors and entrepreneurs, with limited ability to fund or license their product, is the Strategic Alliance. A Strategic Alliance enables a product, invention or service to become absorbed within the structure of a going business. The business handles all aspects of production, sales, marketing and finance as if the item was invented in house. In return, the inventor receives an income stream for a defined share of the profits generated by the product, a consulting agreement or employment working in his area of expertise on the project.

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