Hi Guys!!
With this post, I am uploading the first version of Post-Launch Brand Performance Tracking Tool ─ LaunchTraX (Download LaunchTraX_v1.0). Before jumping to the tool, I would like to share a small concept used in the pharmaceutical industry for the launch performance tracking.
Launch Date Standardization
Sales performance tracking generally involves comparing value/volume sales of brands for same time periods (e.g. Year 2011 sales of Drug A vs. Year 2011 sales of other drugs). However, in case of newly launched brands, it would make more sense to compare the sales of brands for equivalent months/quarters of launch, so as to relate the post-launch growth curve of different brands irrespective of their launch dates.
For instance, if I have recently launched a new drug (say in Jan 2011) in the Hypertension market, I can compare my drug’s first-12 month (Jan-11 to Dec-11) performance with one of its competitors (launched in Jul 2007) for the same period i.e. Scenario1 or with the competitor’s first 12-month (Jul-07 to Jun-08) i.e. Scenario2. These equivalent months of launch are represented as M1, M2…., Mn.

The Scenario2 is usually preferred for new brands to benchmark their post-launch performance with the competitor brands in the same market, thereby helping companies in fine-tuning their strategies. Continue reading →