Benicar and Sankyo Pharma: Marketing Challenges of Launching Into a Crowded Pharmaceutical Market

How should a relatively small player in the US pharmaceutical market launch a drug in a crowded market dominated by pharmaceutical giants?
Cliff Cramer  | Fall 2010
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When Sankyo Pharma prepared to introduce Benicar, a new hypertension drug, to the US market, the company's vice president of marketing predicted it would be a $1 billion product within six years. The challenges were daunting: Benicar would be competing against similar, established drugs from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. However, Benicar had the potential to be prove best in its class, and the company hoped its strategy could overcome the obstacles of a crowded market. In this case, students analyze marketing, pricing, and sales strategies as Sankyo plans for Benicar's launch.

Case ID: 100411

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