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As technology breaks down geographic and cultural communication barriers, even small businesses can often tap into the global marketplace. If you think your business is too small to pursue international business opportunities, think again. Get a jump on those opportunities by following the 9 steps

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

outlined below.

Research Unless you spend excessive amounts of time in foreign countries or soak up knowledge like a Jeopardy Champion, you're probably not able to make an informed decision about a global strategy without doing your homework first. Start with the low-hanging fruit: talk to

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

Examples of combination products may in

your coworkers, peers, family and friends. Find out what you can about countries and markets with the greatest potential. Read relevant print and Web publications voraciously (I prefer eMarketer, Economist, Wall Street Journal and Yahoo! for general business and market research). Compile informatio

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

about various opportunities and determine which markets have the greatest overall potential (in case you've been hiding in a cave, here's an emerging and growth market cheat sheet for you: China, India, South America, Russia and The Middle East).

Build Most small to medium-sized businesse

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

do not have the resources on staff to undertake a global market strategy. Assuming there are sufficient opportunities abroad, it's time to determine how to develop appropriate resources (i.e. in-country sales and support, logistics and fulfillment). In the build vs. buy decision, many companies pr

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

Combination pro

fer to minimize financial risk by partnering with companies that have extensive experience within the target market to provide those resources. While partnering minimizes risk, there are drawbacks, such as lack of direct management oversight. Those negatives can be alleviated by hiring employees wh

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

have the education, experience and native language skills relevant to your target market. International students are excellent resources: they are educated, affordable, multi-lingual and usually have some relevant work experience. The potential downside is that you’ll probably have to navigate thr

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

ough a bushel of red tape in order to secure work visas.

Assess As you're formulating partnerships or hiring strategies, it's critical to thoroughly assess current products and services for viability in foreign markets. The offering(s) must be intuitive and scalable. If the offering is not

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

intuitive, that is, easily applicable to the target markets (i.e. there is no apparent need) you will fail. If the offering is not scalable (i.e. it can’t be produced and delivered to the target markets profitably) you will fail. The new team should lead the assessment phase and outline a strategy

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

o build or leverage existing infrastructure.

Modify Once the offering is fine-tuned and ready for market, your sales collateral must be modified. Even if the global partner or new team has native speaking skills, there are reasons to hire professional translation and localization services

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

e.g. ViaLanguage) to that ensure all cultural nuances are dealt with appropriately. The goal is to ensure that your sales documentation demonstrates that you feel your target market’s pain - and that you are able to offer a relevant solution.

Partner While your core business and marketing

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

Following aspects would a

eam may already be in place, there are a variety of reasons to explore additional partnerships. Companies specializing in marketing, logistics and customer service are excellent additions to the growing team. Partners within the target market may have relationships with your potential customers tha

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

can be leveraged for business development. For instance, we've partnered with a homeland security and business consultancy, Eminent Logic, to help penetrate into the Middle Eastern markets. In return, we introduce them to local companies we know that can further their business objectives.

Netw

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

rk Alternative business development strategies include attending, sponsoring, and participating in industry networking events and conferences. Look into joining industry associations that have a footprint in your target markets, or that are native to the target market. Web-based networking gro

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

ups (e.g. LinkedIn) can also help expand your network.

Market Now that you've built out your infrastructure, trained and deployed a team, and modified your offering and marketing collateral, you're ready to turn on the fire hose. Two of the most effective forms of outreach are search engin

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

and email marketing. Internet access is everywhere, which means everyone has access to search engines and email. The best way to build a house list of potential customers in your target market is to optimize your international Web site for search engines and offer visitors an incentive to provide

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

heir email address. Once you've got their permission to contact them regularly, build a relationship and convert site visitors and email subscribers into customers.

Travel Over time, cold leads will become hot, and those hot leads will want face-to-face meetings. Its decision time: are you

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

ready to invest in a global travel expense account? If so, be prepared to reel in the business, as most of the world works on a handshake and face time is critical. Turn your business trips into tax-deductible vacations and see the world while you're at it.

Review On a quarterly basis, it’

.

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

very helpful to take a close look at your progress. Assess the effectiveness of your process, strategies and tactics and determine if you’re on the right track. If not, look for ways to fine-tune by breaking down the entire process. If you’ve seen success thus far, understand what is working well

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

or you and decide whether or not you want to scale further. When that is the case, just start over at the research phase and begin searching for your next market opportunity.

Following these 9 steps will put you on the fast track toward a global marketing strategy. As Darwin once said, adapt or di

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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If you're like most human development professionals, you're very familiar with personality tests and probably use at least one in your work with clients. But personality tests and other psychometric instruments are only a part of the tool kit today's coaches, consultants, trainers and managers need.

Any event can be a success with the right planning. Next time you have an event coming up, think about personalizing it a bit with the right kinds of customized products.

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