Advice You - Business

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People do business with people that they know and trust. As a solo entrepreneur, your goals will be to make yours

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

elf known to your target market and then elevate the relationship to the trust level. This process of building relationships can take many forms. Take a few

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

Examples of combination products may in

minutes to review what is working for you in this area. Then consider these ideas to add to your relationship building toolkit.

30 Second Introduction
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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Have you upgraded your 30 second introduction lately? If you haven’t revised it in the past year chances are the impact may be stale. A new introduction c
here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe
n spark your own energy which will show when you introduce yourself. Consider the use of powerful action words such as create, design, compose, organize, gen
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro
erate, solve, produce, and supply. Deliver it in front of a mirror and see what others see.

What Do You Have to Give?

We often think of what we want
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
to get from relationships. Things like a request for proposal, a new resource, a potential alliance, or a business contact or sale. Flip this over and consi
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
der what you are willing to GIVE to your network of potential customers. Do you offer sample products or trial services? Do you have free information that yo
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
r target market can use? Can you provide a free evaluation of your client’s current service provider? Keep in mind that building relationships is a two way f
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
low that begins with you. Approaching these relationships in a giving, proactive mode is a terrific beginning.

Follow up, Follow up

The simple act
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
of following up with individuals that you meet for the first time will make you stand out. Very few people use a consistent follow up method over a period of
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a
time. You must have contact information in order to implement this step. Successful follow up actions include handwritten notes (they stand out), e-zines, n
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
wsletters, holiday or birthday cards, an article of interest, and invitations to an event. Choose several actions that fit your personal style and do them co
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
nsistently. Watch your network grow as you demonstrate an interest in building the relationship.

Tracking System

Consistency in building relationsh
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
ips will be difficult to maintain without a method to capture and maintain contact information in a practical way. This means being accessible and easily upd
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
ated for changes. Contact software such as ACT, Goldmine, and Outlook were created for this purpose. Other options include business card files, Rolodex, Palm
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
Pilots, and planner systems such as Day-timer or Franklin. Choose the system that fits your work style and schedule time for communication with your contacts
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
and maintenance of the database. This nut and bolts step is an important part of building relationships over time.

Plant a Seed

Think of building
.

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
relationships in the same way as planting seeds. In order for the seeds to grow, they need water, food, and sunlight over time. For relationships to grow, yo
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip
u provide opportunities for your network to get to know you, what you provide, and ultimately trust you with their business

Copyright 2004, Charlotte Farrio

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 - Build Your Small Business by Building Relationships

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