Situation Analysis

A major biotech company was conducting its first asset portfolio strategy. The company’s portfolio had grown considerably over the preceding five years, and it required a new approach to efficiently allocating resources. The company needed a process and system to enable it to analyze its entire pipeline of therapeutic drugs in phase I, II, and III of the development process. Strategic Decisions Group was called in to help the company decide upon its optimal resource allocation and overall portfolio strategy for the next five years.

Discovery & Solutions

To begin the process, SDG organized a large team and paired each of its members with a corresponding professional across a variety of departments within the company, including product development, medical affairs, marketing, and regulatory teams, among others. Each of these smaller teams worked in tandem with a multifunctional asset team over the course of four months, and the process culminated in a series of meetings with the executive team to decide on the optimal allocation of the R&D budget and the keys initiatives to implement the new strategy.

One of the crucial byproducts of this process was that the teams revisited several drugs that had lingered and not moved into Phase III of clinical development. Through rigorous quantitative and qualitative analysis, the SDG team was able to provide clarity around the value and risk profile for each of these assets, taking into consideration technical, regulatory, and market risks.  In particular, one of the drugs was a palliative therapeutic treatment for cancer patients. Despite its proven efficacy, the company still had uncertainty surrounding its long-term safety.

Results and Impact

Overall, through SDG’s efforts with the executive team, as well as the multiple asset teams across the company, the company’s leadership was able to develop a portfolio strategy that maximized value for shareholders and positioned the company well for the next phase of growth. Further, SDG’s analysis and insights enabled the company to make a defensible decision regarding the palliative cancer therapeutic, and the company accelerated its move into Phase III. With this added clarity and confidence, the company was able to quickly advance the drug through the remainder of the development and regulatory approval process, and the product was launched shortly thereafter. As a result, this palliative care treatment has dramatically improved the quality of life for thousands of cancer patients as they undergo chemotherapy.