Medical

Assignment on Recombinant Human Insulin

Assignment on Recombinant Human Insulin

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Insupen-25 is human recombinant insulin. It contains 25% regular plus  75% isophan insulin  It is indicated to control blood glucose level in diabetic patients.

Marketing Strategy

Most of the resources of Insupen-25 will be deployed around large use area i.e. in Diabetic hospitals and Medicine department of all medical college hospitals.

Positioning

 Insupen-25 is efficacious insulin for smooth glycemic control for  Diabetic patients.

Proposition: why this drug- what is its superiority

Differentiation

Insupen-25  has following distinct features and benefits, which make it completely different and preferred choice of agent by diabetologists than other available products:

A)            Recombinant human insulin identical to the insulin secreted by human pancreas.

B)        Produced by recombinant DNA technology using the K12 strains of E coli.

C)        Proper dose adjustment of insulin.

D)        Proper cool chain maintenance –“Envirotrainer” (maintaining temperature at 2-8 °C) for

insulin supply.

Key Promotional Activities

Promotional activities will be concentrated around almost all targeted doctors, specifically Diabetologists around the country, and General Physician Practicing diabetic patients.

Most Significant Tactical Action

  • Diabetologists and GPs should be explained about the efficacy and benefits of  Insupen-25 which can ensure the best  glycemic control of diabetes mellitus.

Profit and Loss Account

Gross margin is 64% of Net Sales. Net product contribution is 2% in the first year and 12% in the 2nd year. Net Product Contribution gradually increases to 58% in the 5th year (i.e. 2010).

PRODUCT PROFILE

Composition

 Insupen-25 contains 25 % regular insulin plus 75 % isophan insulin.

Indications

 In patients with type 2 diabetes when oral therapy has failed. When change over from other insulin preparation is necessary because of, for example: (a) allergic reaction, (b) high insulin requirements in patients receiving semi synthetic insulin, (c) disturbance of fat metabolism which can be caused by animal insulin.

Drugs which increase the action of insulin

ACE inhibitors, Acetylsalicylates, Amphetamines, Anabolic steroids, Male sex hormone, MAO inhibitors, OAD, Sulphonamide, Tatracycline.

Drugs which decreases the action of insulin

ACTH, Adrenaline, Corticosteroids, Diuretics, Glucagon, Heparin, Laxatives, Oestrogen, Progesteron, Salbutamol, Sympathomymetric agents, Thyroid hormones.

Contraindication

Hypersensitivity to the active substance or to any of the excipients.

Overdose

 Overdose can produce hypoglycaemia. Mild hypoglycaemia symptoms with out loss of consciousness or neurological findings should be treated aggressively with oral glucose and adjustment in drug dosage and/or meal pattern

Dosage

The dosage of Insupen-25 should initially be determined by the doctor. There is no fixed rules for insulin dosage, adjustment in dosage is needed to achieve and maintain desired blood glucose level. The average insulin requirement is between 0.5 to 1 IU per kg body weight per day.

 Presentation:

Insupen-25 contains 100 IU per ml of suspension in cartridge.

 ii)Curreent market situation

Quantitative market data

Overall market situation (IMS, QTR-2, 2005)

A. Total insulin  market in Bangladesh was  Tk 312,835KBDT in the year 2005 with a growth rate of

      35%.

  1. Total Combination Insulin market is: 214,125 KBDT with growth market share of 68.40% and growth rate of 38%.

Background of the market

–            Insulin market is rapidly expanding in Bangladesh.

–           People are increasingly health conscious and awareness of diabetes mellitus among citizens are

        significantly increasing.

–          Physicians are becoming more dependent on premixed insulin.

Competitive environment

Table 1 Market share of various combination types of insulin:

ProductHuman Insulin -Combination
CompanySalesMarket ShareGrowth Rate
Mixtard HM100 & 40 IU 10 ml S/C VialNovo-Nordisk    77,001

36.0%

63%

Mixtard 50HM100 IU 10 ml S/C VialNovo-Nordisk    40,068

18.7%

3%

Mixtard 30HM100 IU 10 ml S/C VialNovo-Nordisk    33,588

15.7%

145%

Mixtard 50HM Penfil100 IU 3 ml S/C VialNovo-Nordisk    21,081

9.8%

15%

Mixtard 30HM Penfil100 IU 3 ml S/C VialNovo-Nordisk    17,957

8.4%

58%

Humulin 70/30100 & 40 IU 10 ml S/C VialLily    17,814

8%

-28%

Mixtard 30 Novolet100 IU 3 ml penfilNovo-Nordisk     4,297

2.00%

303%

Insuman Comb100 IU 5 ml IM VialSan-Aventis     2,318

1.10%

484%

Premixed insulin market is rapidly expanding. We can also observe from the above table that the growth of premixed insulin in pen form is increasing. Therefore, from 2006 the market is likely to grow faster than its normal trend.

Table 2 :Pricing position of currently available 2 major brands and Insupen-25:

Brand

Generic

Dosage Form & Pack Size

MRP/Pack(Tk)

TP/Pack (Tk)

Insupen-25

Human insulin

300 IU / 3 ml,

1 box contains 5 cartridges.

1420

1630

Mixtard 30 Novolet

Human insulin

300 IU / 3 ml,

430

520

Mixtard 30HM Penfil

Human insulin

300 IU / 3 ml,

1 box contains 5 cartridges.

1420

1627

(iii) SWOT ANALYSIS

(iv) MARKETING OBJECTIVEs

General statement

To establish Insupen-25 as an agent of choice to control glucose level  in diabetic  patients.

Sales forecast, growth and market share

Table 3 :Five year sales forecast of Insupen 25 for 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010 are given below:

BrandYear-1: 2006Year-2: 2007Year-3: 2008Year-4: 2009Year-5: 2010

Total Market

Total Market

Total Market

Total Market

Total Market

 

295492

407779

562735

7765741071672
 

Val

MS %

G

%

Val

MS %

G

%

Val

MS %

G

%

Val

MS %

G

%

Val

MS %

G

%

(‘000)

(‘000)

(‘000)

(‘000)

(‘000)

Insupen-25

5910

2

12233

3

1

28137

5

1

54360

7

1

107167

10

1

Fig: Kilo BDT

* G = Growth Rate

MS = Market share

Key issues

  • Institutional sales, more specifically purchase by Diabetic association of Bangladesh will greatly influence in attaining the desired sales forecast.
  • Negotiation with purchasing committee of other institutions will also affect the achievement of the forecasted sales.

Key assumptions

  • Quality of products of sanofi aventis is highly appreciated by physicians for years.
  • Current insulin products have already laid the foundation for the launch of Insupen-25
  • Less time will be required in raising the Brand Image of the Insupen-25.

 

(v) Marketing  STRATEGY

Target Customer

Doctors of following categories will be our customers for Insupen-25.

  • Diabetologists
  • General Practitioners.

Total 400 doctors are planned to be covered, of which 30 are opinion leaders, 70 high prescribers and 300 followers.

Table 3 : Target Customers/Sales Force Allocation Overview

Target customerTotal numberOpinion leadersHigh prescribersFollowersTotal coverage (%)
Diabetologists

100

10

20

70

100%

General Practitioners.

300

20

50

230

100%

Total

400

30

70

300

Total calls per year per rep60X4=240140×4=560300×2=600
1 Sales executive equivalent:   4 calls per day X 24 days  = 96 calls per month
Total number of calls on Insupen-25=  1400 calls per month
Rep equivalents needed:1400/96 = 15 Sales Executives

Positioning

Insupen-25 is efficacious insulin for smooth glycemic control of Diabetic patients.

Packaging/ Dosage Forms

Following strength will be  launched in Bangladesh:

  • Insupen-25 will be launched in Pen form. Each cartridge  containing 3 ml of human recombinant insulin( 100 IU/ml).

Pricing

Insupen-25  is an imported product, therefore price is given by Directorate of Drug Administration and licensing Authority with definite mark up basis which is dependent on duty structure. Pricing calculation is done based on no duty, but 15% VAT. So, 180.88% mark up should be calculated on C&F price to derive MR, that will give 12.5% commission to retail chemists on trade price. 

Discount policy

No provision for general discount. However a 3% discount may be offered in order to secure bulk orders.

Institutional retail / Purchasing group

Price is the key issue for institutional purchase. Indispensable support of opinion leaders can only be the tool for institutional business.

So Insupen-25 is planned to be included in the purchase list of the institutions by brand name after massive lobbing to the opinion leaders. 

Distribution

Insupen-25 will solely distributed by in-house distribution system. Since insulin is temperature sensitive molecule proper cool chain will be strictly maintained. In addition to this, we will do business with only those chemists who have their own refrigerator facilities.

Promotional  Strategy  and  Platform

Promotional objectives and method

1. Develop awareness of benefits of using insupen-25 among physicians and patients.

  • Demonstration program in will be conducted in major diabetic hospitals.
  • Demonstration program will also conducted in various scientific seminars.

2. Develop relationships with key prescribers & institutional purchase decision makers.

  • Sponsorship and training program will be arranged for physicians.
  • Scientific tools and apparatus will be donated to hospitals.

3.  Increase the Brand image.

  • Diabetes awareness program will be arranged followed by free diabetes test.
  • Social club will be formed to increase the interaction among the patients.

4. Focus and limit our promotion in diabetic hospital through a hospital team: commitment, willingness to succeed

  • All prescribers and prospective prescribers of the target doctors of Insupen-25 will be covered in 2006 with the objective of increasing awareness and usage of Insupen-25 by highlighting its superiority over other hypoglycemic agents available in the market.
  • Opinion leaders will be visited five  times a month to establish the brand as first choice of hypoglycaemic agent routinely in all patients with blood glucose  problems. High Prescribers will be visited at least five  times also in a month and the followers will be visited twice in a month. They will be reminded about the better efficacy, tolerability, and compliance of Insupen-25  over competitive products.
  • Attractive folders, detail aids, booklets, product monograph, video cassettes on mechanism of action and product reminders with creative ideas to highlight benefits of Insupen-25 will be used. For these materials, good retention value and focus on product name and logo will be specifically considered.
Media strategy

Detailing, with more than 50% weightage of promotion for Insupen-25 is planned for 2006. Weightage on doctors meetings will be 30%, and on journal service, product monographs, etc it is 20%.

Budget

Promo Budget for Insupen-25 for 2006 is Tk 3200 K of which Tk 1500 K is for doctors’ meeting and symposia, and Tk. 400 K is for advertising. Rests are for detail aids and product reminders(Table :5).

Dedicated Team

We have a dedicated team to promote. This team with additional 3 members this year and 4 members next year is enough to reach Insupen-25 in target customers

Product position in detailing

In detailing, Insupen-25 will be discussed with 1st Priority & 2nd priority – in all cycles round the year, since it will be promoted by a dedicated team.

Sales Training

A 7-day special training programme will be organized on Insupen-25. In order to make the programme an effective one, we need a trainer from Germany, if possible. One of the resource person should receive train the trainers course from Germany 

Other resource personnel would be: Training Manager, Medical Affair Executive, Business Unit Manager, guest speakers from BIRDEM, BSMMU etc.

Contents of these programs would include Anatomy, Physiology, Diagnostic tests, product profile, competitive advantage, Clinical efficacy, Competitors etc.,

A refreshers course, follow-up training would be conducted after one month of the induction training to measure the knowledge level and reinforce their activity.

Medical advertising

  • Insupen-25 will be advertised in annual endocrinology conference organized by diabetic association of Bangladesh.
  • Sanofi-aventis symposium will also be organized.

Product Publicity

For 2006, two ‘branded gifts’ are planned: Digital Blood Pressure machine and Purse. These are the gifts, which will have good retention value for the doctors. Product name and logo will be clearly imprinted on these gifts to ensure continuous reminder to the doctors.

Doctors meeting on Insupen-25 will be arranged in all Diabetic  Hospitals. We are planning to organize at least 24 meetings in 2006. Number of participating doctors in each meeting is about 30. Budget per meeting is about Tk. 15000.

 

Table 4 :Tactical Plan Overview: 2006
ActivityQ4/05Q1/06Q2/06Q3/06
Training Materials:

a)       Training Manuals for sales force: with trainers guide, OHPs, slides, video, etc.

b)       Product Monographs

c)       Posters, Display materials

d)       Reprints: Original

Get Ready

Get Ready

Get Ready

Get Ready

Implement

Feed Back

&

Implement

Feed Back

&

Implement

 Market   Research   Plan

A small scale market survey will be done to prepare the market map and to calculate future market potential segment wise.

(vi) PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT

Table 5: Profit and Loss Account

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Gross Product Sales (K Tk)

5910

12233

28137

54360

107167

Discount & allowance 2%

118

245

563

1087

2143

Net Sales

5,792

11,989

27,574

53,273

105,024

Cost of Goods Sold (K Tk)

2068

4282

9848

19026

37509

Gross Margin

3,723

7,707

17,726

34,247

67,515

Gross Margin (% of net sales)

64

64

64

64

64

Direct A&P

2,400

5,000

4,500

4,000

3,500

Direct Marketing

800

800

900

1000

1000

Direct local R&D (RECORD Trial)

0

0

0

0

0

Total Direct Exp.(K Tk.)

3,200

5,800

5,400

5,000

4,500

Total Direct Exp. (% of net sales)

55

48

20

9

4

Gross Direct Product Contribution

523

1,907

12,326

29,247

63,015

GDPC (% of net sales)

9

16

44

54

59

Sales Force Allocation (SFA)

400

400

450

500

550

Net Product Contribution (after SFA)

123

1,507

11,876

28,747

62,465

Net Product Contribution

(% of net sales)

2

12

42

53

58

 

(Vii) CONCLUSION

Key Message

Insupen-25 is recombinant insulin identical to the insulin secreted by human pancreas. It has the ability to control blood glucose level of diabetic patients for 12-19 hours.

Conclusion

Create regional and/or national committee of experts to build core users and make Insupen-25 a successful product in Bangladesh.

Recommendation

Utilize large portion of resources on key opinion leaders because fate of the product will mainly depend on their acceptance.