The long and difficult 13-year journey to the marketplace for Pfizer’s Viagra – Case Solution

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The long and difficult 13-year journey to the marketplace for Pfizer’s Viagra Case Answers

The long and difficult 13-year journey to the marketplace for Pfizer’s Viagra

From an analysis of the case study and further research, Viagra was indeed the result of serendipity.

The case study explores the long thirteen (13) years’ journey from the laboratory to the marketplace and some of Pfizer’s challenges, most notably, project evaluation considerations and market penetration constraints in a situation where the available market research evidence suggested a small market for the product.

Viagra was something of an accidental discovery. The passage indicates that scientists testing an angina drug found that it seemed to cure impotence in many patients as a side effect. Pfizer decided to focus on its unexpected benefit and develop the product further as a cure for impotence.

The exact estimation of the market for such a drug was not clear. Survey results revealed that only 1 in 20 million men had erectile dysfunction; hence, even if a medicine could be developed, the market would be tiny.

At the time, Pfizer had many drugs under consideration to treat many other conditions, such as colonic cancer, diabetes, and asthma, for which the markets were well-known and understood. The business cases for all these projects and others could easily be made.

Accurate predictions could be made on the number of people who had asthma and what customers would be willing to pay for such drugs. It was not possible to draw up an accurate business case for Viagra due to the uncertainness of the market and the conditions.

There was not a similar drug on the market with which to make a comparison. This made it even more difficult for R & D managers at Pfizer. For these reasons, it was to ensure marketing was involved in the early stages of this new product development project.

Difficulty in product evaluation

Despite the enormous resources of Pfizer, the lack of available information made the evaluation of the new product proposal so very difficult. The major uncertainties which remained with the business case included:

1. What is the size of the market? How many people suffer from ED?
2. Could the market be bigger?
3. Could the market be made bigger?
4. The market for ED is not developed. Could it be developed, and how?
5. Is it a growing market?
6. Is there an existing customer base (i.e., current sufferers)?
7. Is the potential big enough to warrant the investment?
8. Does it support Pfizer’s short-term and long-term plans for the business?

The above-mentioned uncertainties were mainly attributable to the fact that up to the mid-1990s, impotence was considered a psychological condition and certainly not treatable with a drug.

There was no market data available, and there was no market for impotence drugs. This complete transformation of viewing the condition as treatable with a pill revolutionized not only this sector of medicine but many others as well.

An excellent example of good marketing

As an example of excellent applied science, we see how the authors explain that the scientists who discovered Viagra applied…