...METABICAL CASE STUDY REPORT INTRODUCTION Excess weight had become a big crisis in the US, affecting about 65% of the adult population leading to different kinds of health complications. In the past, several manufacturers had introduced various weight loss products like over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, herbal products, supplementary fad diets, etc. All of these have proven to be unsuccessful because of their ineffectiveness, severe side effects and lack of credibility among consumers. At this juncture, Barbara Printup, the Senior Marketing Director of Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) wants to introduce CSP’s newest revolutionary prescription drug, Metabical. It is the only FDA approved prescription drug for overweight people, which has minimal side effects and long term benefits. PURCHASING DECISION MAKING PROCESS (Q1) The communication strategy of Metabical targets both the health care provider and the consumer. Depending on the initiators there are two different purchase decision processes in the purchase of Metabical for the overweight problem. 1. For Customer: a. Problem identification: The various health awareness programs, BMI table etc help a health conscious or beauty conscious individual to identify the overweight problem. b. Information search: Once the problem is identified the individual decides on the course of action. He/She may decide to either ignore the problem or work on it. Metabical is interested in the group of individuals who are ready to...
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...METABICAL Situational Analysis and SWOT Situational Analysis Item | Issues-Facts | Implications to Situation | SWOT | Organization Structure | | | | 1 | Barbara Printup has over 20 years of experience marketing prescription drugs | Experience helps in the marketing and launch strategy for s new product to market | S | Leadership | | | | 1 | $25B in sales in 2007 | Brand recognition is key | S | 2 | Clinical trials performed to show majority of individuals reached weight-loss goals by week 12 and minimal weight loss after that | By generating data through clinical trials, FDA clearance is a route which is an opportunity over its OTC and supplement competitors | S | Functional Areas | | | | 1 | 10 years of testing and $400 million in R&D costs | A great deal of time and resources invested into product | W | 2 | Researchers at CSP combined an appetite suppressant (calosera) with a fat-blocking agent (meditonan) to for Metabical | The strong R&D team at CSP gives the company a competitive advantage in inventing revolutionary products | S | 3 | Negative side effects occur when users consume high levels of fat and calories | People tend to eat "junk" because they believe diet pills will cancel it out | W | Political, Legal &Ethical | | | | 1 | No prescription-drug options available specifically for the overweight segment (BMI 25-30) | Entering the market first will undoubtedly come with a large market share in the future | O | ...
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...Metabical : Positioning and Communication Strategy for a new Weight-Loss Drug ZOOM Syndicate Gari Nurahman Wahyu Kumoro Santo Rizal Background Time February 2008 Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) International health care company Focus on Developing, manufacturing, and marketing product (metabolic disorder, gastrointestinal disease, immune deficiencies, etc.) Barbara Printup, Senior Director of marketing Want to launch Metabical (Meh-tuh-bye-cal) Objective Develop Positioning Strategy Build the Marketing Communication plan Positioning IMC Launch February 2008 January 2009 Analysis United State Issue In 2005, 65% from adult Population is Overweight, Obese and severely obese. The Second cause of preventable death Social Stigma (affect to professional life) Weight loss Drugs characteristic No Prescription drugs for (BMI of 25 30) are available Negative side effects ( gastrointestinal effect, and liver damage) Herbal/ dietary supplement Required an FDA approval except herbal Metabical Approved by FDA Specifically for Overweight (BMI 25 30) Reducing stress on heart and liver Single dose per day (controlled release feature) The side effect (gastrointestinal discomfort) less severe then other (if the patient consumed high level of fat and calories) Not recommended for BMI >30 Support Program Reference material Online weight Control Personal Support Meal Plans Weight loss tracker...
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...Metabical: Pricing, Packaging &Demand Forecasting For A New Weight Loss Drug Metabical: Pricing, Packaging &Demand Forecasting For A New Weight Loss Drug Abstract Metabical will be the only weight loss drug clinically proven to be effective for moderately overweight people, also recognized by the FDA. The CSP’s (Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals) drug Metabical got its final approval from the FDA. The senior marketing director for CSP-Barbara Printup must develop the marketing communication and positioning strategy for a successful launch of the new drug Metabical. The main points to be stressed on by Barbara are consumer decision making concept and understanding between the consumer who is purchasing the drug and the health care provider who prescribes the medicine. Poor positioning of the drug in a highly competitive market for weight loss solutions could prove to be disastrous despite promising medical studies and consumer research. CSP wanted to base their new product comparably to Alli, but felt Metabical could be priced at a premium due to the need of a prescription to get the drug. Pricing was the main concern with this product and several scenarios were run to try and project and forecast where the pricing would give the best returns on investment. Objective * Develop Positioning Strategy for the drug. * Build the marketing communication plan in order to create a strong level of understanding between the consumer and the prescriber of the drug...
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...Metabical: Pricing, Packaging, and Demand Forecasting for a New Weight-Loss Drug 1- Discuss Metabical’s points of differentiation compared to current weight-loss options? After 10 years of testing and spending a significant amount in research and development. Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) discovered one of the best weight- loss drug that called Metabical. Metabical has unique characteristics that make it different in market. People are always concerned about the side effect of any drug and sometime they preclude taking drug just because they are doubtful. Metabicals is differentiated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. It is the first and only prescription drug that received FDA approval to meet the needs of consumer. Negative side effects disgrace many previous prescription weight loss drugs and most people become more cautious of using any weight loss drugs. While, metabicals has very minor side effects, it becomes the optimum option to who are concerned about the negative consequences. Metabicals gained consumers’ confidence who are looking to effective method to reach a desirable weight and improve their overall health. Metabical effectiveness is one of the keys that drive the product to success. The study shows people who are taking Metabical loss an average of 26 pounds, while other who is using a placebo loss an average of 6 pounds. One of the differences is Metabical maintained weight loss levels within 10% of the clinical trials...
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...A Case Write Up – Metabical Case Q1. Upon careful analysis of the case study we can summarise the current standing of the Metabical as a snapshot using the 5 Cs before deep-diving into the specific questions posed as follows: A. CUSTOMER: Metabical is a unique prescribed drug for overweight individuals with a BMI of 25 to 30. Essentially this group makes for our customers and consumers. More details of the target segment will follow as we discuss the case B. COMPANY: Metabical is wholly owned by by Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSI) an international pharmaceutical company of repute with a turnover of 25 billion dollars in 2007. C. COMPETITERS: The health and weight loss industry is cluttered with various weight loss drug options available - both prescribed and OTC, herbal remedies and dietary supplements. Meal and diet plans, exercise regimes and weight loss programmes also form the competitive landscape. D. COLLABORATORS: Doctors who prescribe the drug are influencers and we enlist them as our partners and collaborators E. CONTEXT: United States (the market) has an alarming percentage of excess weight population – 65% across ages. It is also a fairly mature market where there is high awareness for weight loss remedies. In fact, the weight loss drug industry is also tarnished by some deceptive media campaigns. There is however a defined need gap for a FDA approved prescribed drug with...
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...to use skimming pricing strategy and thus we suggest pricing the Metabical at $150 for 1 months supply, with this price Metabical will be able to achieve their objective to enter $ 3.74 billion market for weight control products in the United states and more than 5% ROI within 5 years. For ROI refer (Ex-8(a)(b)(c)(d)) and for pricing and Economic Value Analysis (Ex 7). This recommendation is based on the economic value comparison against other competitors such as Alli and OTC Orlistat. In addition to selling a monthly supply of Metabical for $150, we recommend selling a value pack consisting of 3 months supply – One complete 12 week course for $300, with a notion – “Get 3 for the price of 2”; without compromising net revenue –(Ex 7-pkging- pricing). We also recommend using Blister packaging with numbers so that people do not forget taking their pills. In order to achieve their objective CSP should use new product development and market differentiation as their Product Marketing strategy. With a positioning statement --“THE RIGHT PRODUCT FOR RIGHT YOU”. Metabical should target college educated, heath conscious females ages 35-65 looking to shed few extra pounds and thereby raising their self-esteem. Each product in the weight control market has a unique product and marking strategy, strengths and weaknesses (Ex-5) including Metabical, e.g. Alli- Product Differentiation, 1st OTC, FDA approved product VS, Metabical: Product and Marketing differentiation, 1st FDA approved, prescription...
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...products for treating metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, immune deficiencies and other chronic and medical conditions. CSP's Metabical would be the first prescription drug approved specifically for overweight individuals (BMI 25 to 30). According to CSP R&D team, this product is far more superior comparing to other weight loss prescribed medicines, due to its low dose active ingredients. For this same reason, it is far less harmful to inner organs comparing to other drugs available for this purpose in the market. The main negative side affect is caused when users consume high level of fat and calories. CSP has invested 10 years of research and $400 million in the development of Metabical. Customers In principle, Metabical would be attractive to all overweight individuals, but a primary target audience was established to the purpose of developing a communication strategy: The ideal Metabical audience was found to be overweight women, age 35-65 who were college-educated. This audience is more health conscious and visited the doctor more often, and shall receive adequate-assuring information of the product from him. It was estimated that approximately 4.3 million women are included in this category. Unlike other drugs in CSP’s portfolio, most health insurance carriers were not expected to reimburse patients for Metabical costs, meaning the customers will carry the full price of the...
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...Answer 1 - Each customer will need to answer the following questions: 1. Am I obese . One needs to analyze BMI data for finding an answer to this. 2. Do I want to change The answer to this question depends upon the following criteria. 1. Looks consciousness 2. Health consciousness 3. If the answer to both the above questions is yes then there will be 3 options for the customer for Exercise | OTC | Prescribed drugs | Pros1. Healthy@ naturalGood habitLifestyleCons:Time consuming (including travel time) and time constraintNo guarantee of facilities and qualities.Tedious | ProNo need to consult Doctor- save costEasily accessibleCons:Side effectsLong term possible damagesMay not be approved by FDADeceptive Marketing Claim | ProRelatively more reliable than OTCCons:Additional cost of consulting the doctor. | $245 average cost for 3 months | | | 4. The following are the criteria used to evaluate the alternatives in the following order. a. Safety b. Effectiveness c. Price d. Social influence As per the 5Cs propounding under marketing strategy, firsts C represent customers. we would have the following categories of people involved: 1. Initiator: Friends, Self or family 2. Decider: Health care practitioner or Self 3. Influencer: Friends, Family, Role model or Healthcare practitioner 4. Purchaser: Self or family 5. User: Self Answer 2 Segmentation scheme given in the case can be broadly classified into demographic and psychographic - ...
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...Metabical | | 1st Approach | | | | | # of People | | | | | | | Number of Overweight Individuals BMI between 25 and 30 | | 4,104,474 | (230,000,000 of which 65% are overweight, obese, or morbidly | | | obese and 35% are overweight, 34/64.5, and 15% who would use drugs) | | | | | | | | | Year one capture 10% | | | | 410,447 | Year two capture +5% | | | | 615,671 | Year three capture +5% | | | | 820,895 | Year four capture +5% | | | | 1,026,118 | Year five capture +5% | | | | 1,231,342 | | | | | Total | 4,104,474 | | | | | | | | | | | | | First time Users | | | | 4,104,474 | 60% of first time repurchase | | | | 2,462,684 | 20% of finish program | | | | 492,537 | | | | | Total | 7,059,695 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Our Margin | Revnue | Costs | Investment | ROI | Retail $75 | 24.8 | 175,080,426.95 | 1,200,000 | 423000000 | (0.59) | Retail $125 | 58.13 | 410,380,049.13 | 1,200,000 | 423000000 | (0.03) | Retail $150 | 74.8 | 528,065,158.70 | 1,200,000 | 423000000 | 0.25 | | | | | | | Note: Costs include 1.2M overhead, 23M marketing, 400M R&D | | | | | | | | | 2nd Approach | | | | | | | | | | | | Number of Overweight Individuals BMI between 25 and 30 | | 52,325,000 | Note: 230,000,000 X 65% X 35% overweight | | | | | | | | | | 12% ready to take prescription |...
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...Do you remember… – CURRENT SOLUTIONS – ™ WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS ™ DIET PLAN ™ EXERCISE PLAN ™ WEIGHT MANAGEMENT SUPPORT PROGRAM BETTER SOLUTION – Group 7 -AJINKYA-DIVYANGANA-KETAKI-SUHAIL-TEAM- OBJECTIVES: – ™ Product benefits ™ Target customers ™ Packaging strategy ™ Forecasting demand ™ Pricing strategy ™ Profitability and ROI Metabical – only through a ™ FDA approved and can be bought prescription ™ Lesser negative effects as compared to other available drugs ™ Only 1 tablet per day ™ Promotes a healthier lifestyle (behavioural modifications) ™ Came with a support plan ™ First drug in the overweight segment Our priority – ™ Overweight females (BMI 25-30) ™ Age group of 35-65 years ™ Income level of $50,000 - $80,000 ™ College-educated ™ The group of women wanted to lose 10- 30 pounds ™ Ready to change their lifestyle to stay healthy “ I want to make a difference to my life.” Factors affecting packaging – ™ To ensure the value addition of the consumer is maximum ™ Target customers’ willingness to spend ™ Likelihood of the completion of the program ™ Customer perception of the brand ™ Cost benefits in packaging cost ™ Reaching breakeven point ™Package size decision : 12 weeks (84 pills) Why the 12 week program – ™ The target market is women who are relatively price inelastic. So, they don’t mind paying whatever price is set ™ Usually when the consumer pays so high she is willing to try the drug...
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...METABICAL In this case, Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) developed a new weight-loss drug named Metabical. In order to manufacture Metabical and launch it into market successfully, CSP had made market research, product experiment, and market communications strategy. Based on my analysis, CSP’s plan should be a medium risk strategy. The reasons were, it would be a little difficult to target the right customers in overweight segmentation, and people did not have any measuring standards for Metabical. The first reason was it would be a little difficult to target the right customers in overweight segmentation. Metabical was the first prescription drug which targeted at overweight group. Before Metabical was developed, there was no drug for the Body Mass Index (BMI) between 25 and 30 (Gonzalez, 2014, p. 25). Until CSP noticed in this segment that would be a potential market, then they advanced Metabical. But there were different preference customers in the overweight group which could divide by age, gender, psychographic data and educational level. In other words, if CSP wanted to locate the right customers accurately, it would have to do amount market surveys. The second reason was people did not have any measuring standards for Metabical, which indicated they were not familiar with this new product that might lead people not to trust Metabical at the first place. To build credibility and good reputation always needed...
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...developing, manufacturing, and marketing products that treat metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, imm une deficiencies, and other chronic and acute medical conditions. The company captured over $25 billion in sales in 2007. CSP created Metabical, what would be the first prescription drug approved by the FDA specifically for overweight individuals (those with a BMI of 25 to 30). Its compounds produce dramatic weight loss for overweight individuals. It works on a low-dose formulation, therefore reducing damages to heart and liver functions. Negative effects of the drug occurred when taken while consuming high levels of calories and fat. Metabical is intended to be taken during a 12-week treatment. The estimated retail price for the drug would be approximately $3 to $5 per day, so that would sum up to $1,800. Many health care insurance companies don’t cover weight-loss drugs in their plans. Direct competition includes over-the-counter (OTC) drug Alli (a reduced-strength version of the prescription drug Xenical), approved by the FDA for weight-loss use. There are a number of liver damage reports of people who have been taking Alli and Xenical being currently investigated by the FDA. Because of its recommended intake treatment, Metabical helps with behavior modification and healthier eating habits. In order to take maximum advantage of this, its planned to create a comprehensive support program for patients. This would enable them not only to lose weight, but to learn and achieve...
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...eport abuse Transcript of Metabical Case Study Presented by: The Lever Group Metabical - Case Study Goal? Targeting and Positioning: How to market Metabical to the correct audience to maximize sales Who are we? The Lever Group An independent market research group specializing in the balance between exercise and diet for overweight individuals Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) International health care company $25 billion in sales in 2007 Makers of Zimistat Metabical - may be first FDA approved prescription drug? Shown to be very effective for slightly overweight individuals The Situation Ideal target customer is a slightly overweight female between the age of 35-65. Positioning Strategy Losing weight is tough. You don't have to do it alone. Let Metabical and your health care provider start you on the road to a healthy weight and better life. (End Consumers) Advertising Message How to Market? TARGET: SWOT ANALYSIS CSP has spent 10 years and $400 million developing Metabical A successful launch will ensure a steady, long-term demand. Not a long term solution for patients Should be combined with diet and exercise Emphasize support program to change behavior patterns with over-eating The Consumer Decision Making Process Empower your patients to lose excess weight, change their unhealthy eating habits, and achieve long term success. Introducing Metabical – short-term drug therapy and a comprehensive support program for overweight patients. It gets results. (Health...
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...Problem statement Pricing must be decided for Metabical that captures the accurately forecasted demand of the target market. Because of heavy competition such as Alli , it is important to create a package that can be priced accurately to drive up sales and consistency of a 12 week drug. Situation Analysis Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals’ (CSP) is international health care company. Their focus is on developing, manufacturing and marketing products that treat various diseases. They want to enter the market for weight-control products in the US. Metabical was part of a strategic initiative that allows CSP to enter $3.74 billion market for weight control products in the United States. Metabical’s competitors are Alli and Xenical and are FDA approved. In utilizing the SWOT analysis, it was determined Metabical had positive results in the clinical trials and is decent in comparison to other competitors in the market place. It also has dual layer controlled release formulation. Opportunities for this product would be a potential large market, constant rise of obese adults and a substitute for other weight loss methods. “In principle, Metabical would be attractive to all overweight individuals” however, Barbara Printup established a more focused plan of approach: First, the approach completed by Printup is the forecasted demand by considering the number of overweight individuals in the United States and focusing down that population to those who were actively trying to lose...
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