Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly challenged to demonstrate the value of new products — in particular by payers who are demanding hard comparative economic and clinical value (ECV) data to justify premium pricing, price increases and sometimes just to maintain the status quo. On a global basis, government health authorities are increasingly requiring economic and clinical evidence as cost containment becomes a central issue. Individual physicians remain important, but the power of payers and organized provider groups to impact market access, product uptake and profitability is rapidly growing.

In this new environment, most companies understand that they must create a product “value proposition”. However, the practical implications of developing persuasive and compelling data for different stakeholders often are not realized, and the organizational changes required to develop this data are difficult to implement across an entire company. Significant differences exist between the perspectives of manufacturers and those of other stakeholders (payers, in particular) over what features add value or are considered innovative. These differences have implications for how the potential of a new product is identified and how its value proposition should be developed. Going forward, companies will need to refine their insight into stakeholder value perspectives, and ensure that they are developing compelling data-based narratives to support effective market positioning.