Accelerating product access: How channel strategy drives success for new product launches

Channel strategies help address access challenges

A customized channel strategy aims to create optimal product access based on product attributes and patient needs. It considers the multiple factors that go into safe distribution doses and helps anticipate and prevent potential roadblocks to a successful launch, such as time constraints, unique ordering or order flow requirements, storage and shipping considerations, and even financial and reimbursement complexities. Whether a new biopharma company is preparing for its first launch or an established one is launching in a different therapeutic area, distribution channel strategy decisions can help successfully navigate the complexity and accelerate time to market.

At the same time, the channel strategy needs to remain flexible enough to evolve distribution services over time. Ultimately, it can have a positive impact on your patient and provider’s experience and your brand’s impact.

How well do biopharma companies understand the value of channel strategy? “They recognize the importance of it, but sometimes there are assumptions about the capabilities of channel partners in the market as being a one-size-fits-all model,” says Joshua Guinter, Vice President, Channel Strategy and Product Access at Cencora.

“With many of the new product archetypes coming out today, we may need to assess different needs and models based on product attributes and patient and provider needs. Even where a company has used a specific channel strategy for a previous product launch, we don’t always assume that the same strategy will work with their next product,” he says.