Why the Pharmaceutical Industry Needs to Think Like Quentin Tarantino

Takeaway: The elephant in the room is the room itself, an approach to business and product marketing unchanged since the “modern pharmaceutical industry” began around 1849, when Pfizer was founded in Brooklyn.

The entire concept is the problem.

Updates since original publication on Fresh Paint on February 8, 2024:

• February 13 to integrate Biogen earnings readout
• February 24 to integrate BioMarin earnings readout
• February 29 to integrate Leqembi prescriber insights from Spherix
• March 21 to integrate BioNTech earnings miss
• May 9 to integrate Takeda’s $900 million restructuring
• May 22 to integrate Pfizer’s new cost cutting program
• July 24 to integrate the CDC’s restricted endorsement of RSV vaccines
• July 26 to integrate the European Medicine Agency’s rejection of Leqembi
• September 12 to integrate “the crash” at Moderna
• October 7 to integrate activist Starboard Value taking $1 Billion stake in Pfizer
• October 25 to integrate analysis by LEK that found half of all drugs launched in the past 15 years underperformed pre-launch forecasts by more than 20 percent
• November 6 to integrate Stephane Bancel stepping down as chief commercial officer of Moderna
• November 7 to integrate Moderna's 3Q earnings readout
• November 7 to integrate vaccine stocks dropping further on worries over RFK Jr. role in Trump administration

Listen to Hardcore Zen

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New Genre Required

"Stocks of vaccine-makers were underperforming on Wednesday, with Pfizer and Moderna both down around 2% while BioNTech was trading 2.5% lower.

Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist, could “do pretty much what he wants” in his administration. The comments didn’t clarify what specific role Kennedy would play. In a video posted last week, Kennedy said that Trump had “promised” him control of several health-focused governmental offices, including Health and Human Services.

There is plenty of populist anger on the right with vaccine-makers and agencies like the Food and Drug Administration. Whether that gets translated into real policy or a Cabinet post is something some investors don’t want to stick around to find out.'"

-- Vaccine Stocks Drop on Worries About an RFK Jr. Role, Wall Street Journal, 17 hours ago

When it comes to commercial model innovation in the drug market, you can either hope for the best from "the system" already 'out there' somewhere in the ether, or you can simply chop the knot and construct your own channel (think LillyDirect), become the visible hand shaping a new system of markets, where the markets themselves become characters in a new screenplay.

A unique and original strategy story.

Something that, like Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, delivers an ‘innovation shock’ to the audience.

A winning playbook starts with a different competitive mindset. You have to be willing to go full bore against the grain.

Access the full analysis here

/jgs

John G. Singer is Executive Director of Blue Spoon, the global leader in positioning strategy at a system level