How an understanding of the patient journey helped identify the potential for an AI product in the treatment of a rare disease

The challenge

Our client had an existing product in the market for the treatment of an autoimmune condition and wished to explore the opportunities for using this drug to treat another more low-prevalence orphan disease where there is no current targeted treatment available.

The client wished to determine the market potential for the existing drug and the challenges they may face.

The solution

Interviews were held with a mix of specialties in key markets to ensure correct identification of the most relevant physician target audience. Physicians were asked to map out a decision tree of their most recent relevant patients in order to explain each stage of the patient journey and management/treatment decisions taken. This information was further complemented with discussion of real cases from patient record forms. A future framing exercise was also conducted with the physicians to assess expectations of future treatment options and explore the impact of biosimilars on the product as an orphan drug.

The outcomes

The research confirmed that opportunity for the drug existed and identified the necessary insights into the key messages that will drive uptake. The findings provided our client with deep insights into patient characteristics and treatment drivers, which allowed them to extract realistic patient segments. A dashboard of the PRFs visualized the market landscape and provided quantifiable market potential information. In addition, the inclusion of the future framing exercise gave the client relevant feedback to help create a bottom-up forecast. The client was able to use this information to develop a clear and concise future brand strategy for a successful launch of the product in the new indication.