Glaxo
The Headaches of GlaxoWellcome (
Migraine medicine is a key growth area for Glaxo Wellcome Inc. (Glaxo); a Britain-based pharmaceutical company with global operations.[1] Glaxo's primary business is to market prescription products to physicians and healthcare providers. Glaxo was the first pharmaceutical company to manufacture and market a revolutionary new class of prescription migraine medications called “triptans”. Triptans, which Glaxo launched in 1993, are a class of medications that work specifically on the 5HT-1 receptor sites, which are believed by doctors to be the primary cause of migraine headaches. In mid May of 1997, Sir Benjamin Palmer, the general manager of Glaxo’s CNS/GI Metabolic division, sat at the head of the conference table in room G-1 of the Glaxo Wellcome global headquarters in Stockley Park West, England. A group of 6 marketers (3 from the “Professional” team and 3 from the “Commercial” team) were staged in front of Palmer and two Vice Presidents of sales (East and West). The three officers listened attentively to the final marketing presentation that more than 60 marketing team members had worked on for the past 19 months. The issue: How to launch Naramig, Glaxo’s new (2nd generation) prescription migraine medicine, in the U.K. In the back of Palmer’s mind were the following considerations: • How would U.K. hospitals and doctors react to Glaxo’s promotion of Naramig?
• What was the best product positioning of Naramig with respect to Imigran?
- Although Naramig was considered by Glaxo to be a better triptan than Imigran, in reality, there were some attributes of Naramig that were inferior to those of Imigran.
- It was not as if Imigran had not been successful: Glaxo had captured 91% of the prescription medication market share (in £s) for migraines in the U.K.
- Glaxo expected the approval and launch of its competitor, Zeneca’s first triptan medication (Zomig) prior to that of Naramig, and
Migraine medicine is a key growth area for Glaxo Wellcome Inc. (Glaxo); a Britain-based pharmaceutical company with global operations.[1] Glaxo's primary business is to market prescription products to physicians and healthcare providers. Glaxo was the first pharmaceutical company to manufacture and market a revolutionary new class of prescription migraine medications called “triptans”. Triptans, which Glaxo launched in 1993, are a class of medications that work specifically on the 5HT-1 receptor sites, which are believed by doctors to be the primary cause of migraine headaches. In mid May of 1997, Sir Benjamin Palmer, the general manager of Glaxo’s CNS/GI Metabolic division, sat at the head of the conference table in room G-1 of the Glaxo Wellcome global headquarters in Stockley Park West, England. A group of 6 marketers (3 from the “Professional” team and 3 from the “Commercial” team) were staged in front of Palmer and two Vice Presidents of sales (East and West). The three officers listened attentively to the final marketing presentation that more than 60 marketing team members had worked on for the past 19 months. The issue: How to launch Naramig, Glaxo’s new (2nd generation) prescription migraine medicine, in the U.K. In the back of Palmer’s mind were the following considerations: • How would U.K. hospitals and doctors react to Glaxo’s promotion of Naramig?
• What was the best product positioning of Naramig with respect to Imigran?
- Although Naramig was considered by Glaxo to be a better triptan than Imigran, in reality, there were some attributes of Naramig that were inferior to those of Imigran.
- It was not as if Imigran had not been successful: Glaxo had captured 91% of the prescription medication market share (in £s) for migraines in the U.K.
- Glaxo expected the approval and launch of its competitor, Zeneca’s first triptan medication (Zomig) prior to that of Naramig, and