Pharma and Healthcare
Open Options’ unique process and proprietary game theory software have helped guide senior executives in pharmaceuticals, medical devices and health care for over a decade. The large, uncertain investments required in pharma, combined with strong regulatory oversight and the interplay of many important stakeholders in health care broadly, makes the Open Options Process ideally suited for helping organizations in these industries deal with their toughest challenges.
What Does Open Options Do?
- We challenge executives to stretch their thinking and to look at issues differently by explicitly considering the perspectives and motivations of the critical parties involved in the issue
- We provide an effective, structured process to capture organizational knowledge
- We analyze that structured knowledge using proprietary game theory tools to explore the potential competitive strategies and the millions of ways the issue could play out
- We provide a practical action plan to reach the best attainable outcome for our client
- We build deep management consensus and trust on the best path forward
Our Process
Our efficient process consists of five steps:
- Define the Issue
- Harvest Organizational Knowledge
- Determine Players, Options and Preferences
- Reveal Insights with Game Theory Analysis
- Deliver a Trusted Decision and Action Plan
Our Experience
We have worked with some of the leading branded pharmaceutical and medical device companies around the globe, on projects spanning the following application areas:
- Government and regulatory changes
- Patent cliff and competitive threats
- Dealing with new competitive products
- New product launch
- Pricing and price wars
- Strategic Alliances
- Dealing with a powerful customer group
- Impact of GPOs
- Multi-brand strategy
- Product segmentation
- Loyalty programs
- Private label strategy
- Distribution networks and supply chain management
- Lobbying and government funding
- Managed formularies and drug delisting
- Effects of customer vertical integration
Related Clients
Case Study Descriptions
Below is a selected list of some of our success stories in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Please contact us to learn more about our process and to review a relevant case study:
-
Regulatory Actions – “Call in the Ref” Show more
A pharmaceutical company was finding its margins challenged in a regulated regional market. In recent years, the regulator had been imposing increasingly unsustainable constraints on the pharmaceutical industry. The management team came to Open Options to develop a strategy that would create a new stable and profitable operating environment.
-
Product Launch Strategy – “Price it Right” Show more
A Fortune 500 health care products manufacturer was launching a new segmented product line. The client’s business model was focused on premium priced products. However, the client’s sales agents would regularly drop prices to match their price with basic-level products. In the Open Options process the client modeled the potential actions and interests of competitors, hospital administrators, sales reps, centralized buying organizations, and physicians.
-
Partnering Alternatives – “Formulary for Success” Show more
To manage escalating health benefit costs, a government had legislated changes that were expected to result in a massive shift in cash flows and behavior between employers, private insurers, pharmacies, branded pharmaceutical companies and others. The client approached Open Options to create a proactive strategy to prepare for the coming changes and to explore possible partnering alternatives.
-
Competition from Generics – “Regulation and Reaction” Show more
Facing an uncertain health policy environment and growing competition from generics, a large pharmaceutical company wanted to prioritize new commercial strategies, new product uses, new market segments and new partnerships with a focus on understanding the reactions of external players. The client needed a sustainable generics strategy over a three year time horizon to create new value throughout the distribution chain.
-
Patent Expiry - "Patent Lost, Path Found" Show more
After the expiry of a patent, a pharmaceutical company was facing pricing pressure.
Moreover, Competitors were moving towards a more complete portfolio approach and there
was speculation about outcomes-based business models being launched. It was in this
competitive environment that this pharmaceutical company was considering launching an
innovative bio-similar product.
What Makes Us Unique
As experts and specialists in solving business issues where multiple players can influence the final outcome, Open Options is unique in several ways:
