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I just fired my Internet design team and I think you should avoid the mistakes I made. So, as a public service, I’ll convey my lessons in an attempt to help you in your search.

I have been in advertising for over 35 years, but

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

when my wife and I conceived a new online business, I needed help in producing the site. Sure I could create the basic screen shots and writ e the copy, but the HTML, PHP, or SQL, required was just a myriad of alphabet soup. So,

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

Examples of combination products may in

being the savvy guy I am, I went surfing for a reliable Internet team to make the site happen. With so many to choose from, I figured that I could use a local group that had a nearby presence. Therefore, I did a citywide search

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

and narrowed down the firms. After reviewing their sites, paying particular attention to their years of experience and portfolios, I called one for an interview.

Getting an answering machine should have been my first indication

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

(warning sign 1) that disaster was looming. But I left a message anyway and waited for a return call. When it finally came, we agreed on meeting at his office. When I arrived, I realized it wasn’t exactly his office. It was an

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

Combination pro

xecutive suite with a conference room that they rented to save money (warning sign 2). When the young man (around 30) showed up in shorts, I was a bit uneasy (warning sign 3) but gave him our background anyway. He appeared confi

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

dent about being able to produce the site in a timely manner and sent my wife and I a fairly professional proposal via email. The timeframes and costs seemed appropriate and we decided to give his company a try.

After emailing

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

im my screen shot for the front page, he sent a note asking if they could redesign it. Mind you, I have been a professional designer and consultant for over three decades. But I consented and received something we hated and I to

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

ld him as much. He emailed back that he was insulted by our response and knew far more (at age 30) than us about web design. He changed our colors, which we finally acceded to, but we remained firm on the artwork. Eventually, we

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

got what we wanted and moved forward. It was nearing Christmas, and work came through like molasses. His “guy” that was doing the majority of design took three weeks off for Christmas and our project sat dormant the entire time.

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

(warning sign 4)

“Hey, it’s the holidays,” he explained. “What do you expect?”

I expected our site to be finished, which is what I paid for. After the first of the year, we asked for a meeting to discuss the problems getting

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

Following aspects would a

it finished. He said he would give us a solid timeline and promised quicker responses. Until now, many of our emails went unanswered for days (warning sign 5). So we trusted his word and continued to try to get the site up and

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

unning. A few months flew by and the old ways returned. The timeline was now out the window and we were upset. The site didn’t work on my I-Mac using “Safari.” The owner told me that Mac’s are only 3.19% of the entire Internet,

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

so why be concerned with that segment? (warning sign 6) I explained that the site should work on all platforms, as we first proposed, but he was adamant that we were wasting his time. His time? It was our site. I told him that t

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

ere were over 8 million Mac users on the net and I wanted everyone of those potential customers. He told me I was foolish and I called him ignorant of Mac users, being he had never used one in his life. He was incensed by my acc

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

usation and told me so. The battle came to a head when my wife phoned him and he yelled and insulted her (final warning). Seconds after he hung up on her, I began my search for a new Internet group.

It wasn’t until later that w

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

discovered he had been using a Russian working somewhere in the US to code the pages and all the support documentation was written in Russian. In researching on the net, I discovered and was told by others, that outsourcing to

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

Russians to save money was a very common practice. I was never told that this was the case for our site and would not have used them if I had known in advance.

We have since chosen a firm that (a) has a physical office, (b) has

.

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

the programmers on the premises, (c) has good communication skills, (d) will meet their obligations and fill your needs. My recommendation to you is to know who and where your site will be developed and have a contract that incl

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

udes penalties for missed deadlines. Check references, interview at least three firms, and make sure they understand your needs. Finally, if they show up in shorts to your first meeting, don’t walk, but run, for the nearest exit

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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One of the biggest mistakes that many who are opening a dollar store make is in failing to realize that merchandise must be readily available and on the sales floor to sell. They forget that just because an item was ordered and then it arrived, there is still no chance for a sale if the customers cannot see it because it is awaiting someone to actually price and take it to the sales floor. They don't realize that every minute an item is not on the sales floor represents lost potential income.

There is no question that you can make some good money with Google AdSense, but you're setting yourself up for disaster if you make any of these Top 10 mistakes! 1. Do not use fake information when opening your Google AdSense account.

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