Private Biotech

  • How do you prepare to launch a first-in-class therapy when you have no commercial infrastructure, no primary market research, and no Chief Commercial Officer? That was the challenge facing a clinical-stage biotech company developing a breakthrough treatment for a rare retinal disorder. With no existing roadmap, they partnered with us to define their launch strategy from the ground up.

  • Insight Generation through Secondary Market Research

    Without access to proprietary data, I developed a robust situational analysis based entirely on publicly available scientific literature, claims analysis surrogates, epidemiologic studies, and precedent analogs. This allowed me to map:

    • Disease burden and diagnostic delays across age groups.

    • Limitations of ICD coding in tracking disease progression.

    • Stakeholder behavior, particularly across ophthalmologists, optometrists, and retinal specialists.

    Opportunity and Risk Identification

    I synthesized findings into a comprehensive SWOT analysis, highlighting:

    • Strong safety and efficacy profile with a once-daily oral treatment.

    • A clear first-to-market advantage.

    • Challenges around misdiagnosis, lack of patient advocacy infrastructure, and potential competitive noise.

    Stakeholder-Centric Messaging

    Using evidence and analogs, I crafted preliminary positioning and messaging frameworks tailored to:

    • Patients and caregivers.

    • Eye care professionals (ECPs).

    • KOLs and advocacy stakeholders. Each message emphasized early intervention, the progressive and irreversible nature of the disease, and the potentially differentiating attributes of the product.

    Strategic Pre-Launch Planning

    I translated insights into a 3-part commercialization strategy:

    • Market Readiness: Building disease and product awareness across a fragmented prescriber landscape.

    • Organizational Readiness: Recommendations for early launch team formation, crossfunctional coordination, and capability development.

    • Customer Readiness: A tactical framework for initiating stakeholder engagement, market shaping, and eventual demand generation.

  • This engagement demonstrated how even without access to primary research or existing infrastructure, strategic consulting grounded in scientific insight, landscape analytics, and commercialization expertise can create actionable value and direction for a first-time launch company.

    • Delivered a full brand plan within 16 weeks, enabling internal alignment and budget planning for launch year.

    • Equipped the client with a strategic blueprint to inform investment decisions and guide early team hires.

    • Helped establish a credible positioning for the asset in the absence of head-to-head data or validated biomarkers.