5 Things to Consider When Commercializing a New Drug in Latin America

Some of the over 8,000 drugs in development are poised to be breakthrough treatments that will substantially improve or save patients’ lives. The pharmaceutical companies developing these revolutionary medications have at least two goals: ensuring their research investment is profitable and making sure the drug is available to help any person who needs it.  

If your company is developing a new drug, you may be ready to achieve these goals in your existing or developed markets, but what about new ones, like Latin America and other emerging markets? If you haven’t done it before, that’s an entirely different matter. 

Here are five points to consider to minimize risk and maximize value when your drug is entering an emerging market. 

1. Know the patient population 
   During the clinical trial process, it’s typical to analyze different regions’ or countries’ probable need for the drug. Having data on different patient populations is important not only for regulatory, clinical and payer purposes, but also for setting commercialization strategies. Understanding the local population helps you better plan for and understand the risks as well as the drug’s value relevant to the region. 
2. Understand market access and pricing factors 
   Beyond knowing the patient population, understanding local market factors — including the best pathways to access patients and physicians to conform to distribution and treatment guidelines unique to the local market — is crucial to assessing your product’s value. Including these factors in your value assessment model is key to pricing your product correctly and setting accurate revenue forecasts for a market.
3. Consider your competition
   No matter how effective and innovative your product is, your competition could obstruct its success in a market. This is why you need to understand the competition in the markets where you plan to release your product. Relative value is an important consideration when doing profit forecasting, and knowing your competitors can help you devise a strategy that takes those potential threats out of the picture. 
4. Pick the right business model
   Different countries have different requirements, rules – formal and informal – and preferences. In some countries, having a local entity is necessary, while others require arrangements such as formal direct documents, cross-trade between countries, or cross-country registration approvals. Understanding the different requirements and options and picking the best business model to meet them is key to ensuring that your strategy is right.
5. Lean on experience and know–how
   Biopharmaceutical companies are experts on their products, but that doesn’t mean they know how to create connections in new markets. Working with a company that has extensive experience with commercializing medications in emerging markets is a way to formulate the right strategies to manage risk, ensure success and guide corporate policy.  

Tanner Licensing, Acquisition & Commercialization (TannerLAC) offers pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare companies a single-point solution for commercializing their products in challenging international markets. With a focus on Latin America and partnerships in many other regions around the world, TannerLAC is uniquely suited to maximize biopharma products’ value through in-market registration and promotion.  

For over 18 years, TannerLAC has established an unmatched network of product supply, marketing and commercialization relationships that allows our partners to monetize their healthcare assets in target markets with minimal investment and minimal risk. Please contact us to learn how we can help your company expand into new international markets.