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Last week I had a very interesting experience while out shopping. My daughter had requested that I purchase three lever arch files for her while I

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

went about my law full business and as a result I found myself in a small stationers shop.

I picked up the files and stood at the counter waiting f

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

Examples of combination products may in

r my turn to be served. I became aware of a disembodied voice repeating “they are two for ?2.50.” At first I just ignored the intrusion but eventual

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

ly I looked around and realised the voice was in fact talking to me.

“They are two for ?2.50”, I am sure you are correct thought I but why are you

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

elling me? I finally realised that the gentleman concerned meant that the lever arch files were two for ?2.50 and would I like to purchase four rath

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

Combination pro

er than three.

You may be wondering why I bother to report this little encounter. The reason is simply that there are valuable lessons to be learnt

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

that can be applied to your business regardless of size or the products / services that you supply. What are a few of these ideas?

1. Before you ar

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

e able to deliver an effective sales message it is necessary to gain the attention of your prospect. In the example above a simple “excuse me sir” w

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

uld have sufficed. How do you attract the attention of your prospects? Until someone is listening to you, your sales message is wasted regardless of

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

how good it may or may not be.

2. No one purchases at the first contact. It would be wonderful if contacting a prospect once would lead to a sale

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

ut unfortunately the world does not work that way. Most people will not purchase until the sixth, seventh or eight contact. This is why sending out

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

Following aspects would a

one direct mailing piece is rarely as successful as multiple contacts over a period of time.

3. One thing the shop owner was doing right was to up-

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

ell at the point of sale. By offering two lever arch files for ?2.50 he increased the chances that customers would make a larger purchase. What prod

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

ucts or services are you able to bundle together and produce an irresistible offer for your customers?

4. Measure, measure, and measure. The shop o

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

ner priced his offer in such a way that he could easily lose money if a reasonable number of customers would usually purchase two lever arch files 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

nyway. Had I thought to ask I suspect that it is unlikely he would be able to tell me how many files would generally be purchased at one time? Witho

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

t this information it is impossible for him to know whether he is making or losing money on his offer.

5. Contact your customers and let them know

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

when you have a special offer. Create special offers just for your most valuable customers. This would be difficult for the shopkeeper in the examp

.

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

e because he made no attempt to capture my name or contact details. If you do not keep your information in front of your customers you will be forgo

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

tten.

It is really very interesting just how much there is to be learnt from one little encounter in a shop while purchasing a few lever arch files

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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The customer is going to be the king therefore in the near future, for not only will he have more merchants and more products to choose from, he will also have more and more amazing cash back offers to avail (this too will be possible due to the competition.

Why customer service is so important to your online business and what you can do to improve it...

Running a successful business always implies a human characteristic. This is simple since your company has employees that need the tool and vision to act and decide in their daily tasks, looking forward to achieve optimum results.

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