Launch excellence: innovative thinking meets insightful strategy

Launch success starts long before regulatory approval. A strong Target Product Profile (TPP) should be a dynamic blueprint for value creation, not a static checklist. Too often, TPPs drift away from early market insights as development progresses, weakening the value story at launch.

Best-in-class TPPs start before phase 2b and are co-created with healthcare professionals (HCPs), payers and patients to ensure claims and endpoints resonate with customers and healthcare systems. Aligning the evidence plan to these needs reduces late-stage surprises and strengthens market readiness.

AI now enhances this process: predictive analytics can uncover untapped patient subgroups, simulate competitor moves and refine evidence priorities. Combined with deep, empathy-led research into patient pain points, HCP diagnostic challenges and payer definitions of unmet need, this creates a launch proposition that truly connects.

Even the best product can stall if the market isn’t ready. Market shaping means educating, inspiring and equipping the ecosystem – HCPs, advocacy groups and payers – to embrace new therapy. Smaller, more specialised patient groups and tightening access make timing and coordination critical.

Market shaping is no longer just commercial territory. Medical affairs now play a central role in building trust, particularly in competitive or complex therapy areas. Market access leaders must also engage early, embedding payer requirements into planning.
Innovative engagement approaches are expanding possibilities:

• Immersive scientific storytelling: VR and AR bring mechanisms of action to life, letting HCPs explore pathways and interact with demos pre-launch
• Real-time HCP dialogue: digital Q&As, online advisory boards and social listening enable two-way feedback to refine positioning
• Patient-centric education: co-created digital tools empower patients to understand their disease and advocate for treatment
• Patient-led access journeys: in some markets, digital platforms guide patients through reimbursement pathways, as seen in obesity and oncology.

Without organisation readiness, any strategy will likely fail. High-performing companies unite commercial, medical, market access, digital and patient services in a shared plan from the start.

Timely training, clear governance and robust project management are essential. Misalignment, siloed decisions or poor risk planning can derail a launch, harming revenue, reputation and even share price. Launch governance should include contingency plans and rapid decision frameworks to pivot as market signals change.

Sustained success requires continuous evidence generation, digital optimisation and stakeholder engagement analysis to adapt to evolving dynamics. A launch plan should be treated as a living strategy – not a one-off event.

Across all three dimensions, the most successful launches share a principle: put users at the centre. Leading companies are replacing rigid global blueprints with approaches tailored to patient, HCP and payer needs.

By combining human insight with emerging technologies – AI for foresight, immersive tech for engagement and digital co-creation for authentic communication – launch teams can reduce uncertainty, resonate with stakeholders and accelerate uptake.

Launch excellence is no longer a milestone owned by commercial. It’s a cross-functional journey, blending innovation with disciplined execution. In a market where timelines are unforgiving, those who master this integrated, insight-driven approach will be the ones who achieve lasting success.

References are available on request.

Mervyn Ward is Senior Strategist at Kanga Health - www.kangahealth.com