Life Sciences: Advanced Analytics
Advanced Analytics
CRA has the analytical tools and market experience needed to make the most of your one and only product launch opportunity. CRA helps companies develop superior commercial strategies based on sound market fundamentals – from launch strategy to portfolio optimization to franchise expansion.
Our advantage
- 25+ team members entirely focused on advanced analytics within pharma
- Innovative approaches built over 10+ years in the space
- Integration across consulting teams to maximize effectiveness
- Secondary data capabilities are source agnostic and delivered by a dedicated team of analytics experts skilled in extracting unique insights for evidence-based decision making around product launches
Strategic expertise
Our analytics solutions support clients throughout the product lifecycle.
- Longitudinal patient journey
- Market maps / cross-sectional analysis
- Opportunity assessments
- BD support / due diligence
- Forecasting
- Patient finding and imputation
- Key behavioral influencers
- Receptivity analysis
- Physician segmentation and targeting
- Simulation
- KPI Identification and Tracking
- Economic value proposition
- Persistency and compliance tracking
- Dispense as written analysis
- ROI / promotional response
- Payer / access analysis
Sample engagements
Our client sought to better understand disease state market dynamics, connect siloed domain experts and data gatekeepers, and prioritize investment opportunities for a new Alzheimer’s Disease asset.
CRA approach- Conducted a "data audit" to identify available internal data and expertise
- Prioritized Key Business Questions (KBQ) facing the franchise team in launching into a new disease space
- Facilitated cross-functional workshop to describe and prioritize data purchase and analytical project investments
- Identified “quick wins” enabled by existing data
- Invested in data acquisition and analytical projects addressing the most important business questions
- Identified opportunities to leverage advanced analytics in other client franchises
Our client sought to develop an “agile launch” approach to commercialize its second generation diabetes asset in light of competitor pressures and anticipated U.S. market access challenges.
CRA approach- Conducted internal interviews and applied advanced analytics to “fingerprint” U.S. regions most likely to be amenable to the new asset’s launch
- Conducted a series of cross-functional working sessions to build buy-in for new go-to-market model
- Developed function-level strategies and execution guidance
- Implemented changes in resource deployment, skills training, incentive compensation, and various non-personal and market access investments
The client was seeking to maximize the opportunity of a new oncology product in a crowded and generic marketplace.
CRA approach- Create reliable, high-quality data set by leveraging internal expertise, auditing existing data assets and conducting market research with leading KOLs in the marketplace
- Leverage unique oncology experience to determine actionable patient segments, strategic options, and associated commercial opportunity
- Build incidence-based financial model and validate assumptions through market research
- Our deep oncology experience, asset review, and market research helped identify opportunities for the product to play an essential role in an evolving treatment landscape
- Maximized NPV and opportunity by weighing forecasted sales against the anticipated development costs
- Identified that the best strategy was to lead the charge on evolving treatment goals within the indication for the product to maximize opportunity
Our client was a global pharma company that wanted to assess the market landscape, define residual unmet need and identify and value strategic options required for commercial success.
CRA approach- Strategic sessions with internal stakeholders defined important value propositions to address unmet needs for patients with Cancer X and core benefits of Product Y
- Analysis of patient segments clarified patient treatment dynamics, facilitated market sizing and defined revenue potential
- Market research allowed for testing of hypotheses generated during the analysis and assessing of new therapy receptivity amongst KOLs
- Identified opportunities for the client’s product to play an essential role in an evolving treatment landscape and deliver value to the company
Provided our client with evidence that the healthcare biotech industry adds value in two quite distinct ways:
- By modeling the data, we were able to identify possible patient segments into which the client could launch product to address residual unmet need
- Elucidated the evolving landscape, providing target patient segments and strategic direction for Product Y to maximize commercial opportunity
Our client sought to identify and quantify reasons patients do not receive or discontinue their product. This research was motivated in part by client perceptions that the product was under-performing in the market.
CRA approach- Qualitative interviews with physicians, nurses, and other staff to inform understanding of the buying process
- Quantitative research with physicians and nurses to capture physician and patient-level data, providing a real-world view on who receives the product and when/why they discontinue
- Secondary/claims data analysis to supplement understanding of primary market research
- Developed single model to quantify patients entering/exiting the buying process based on extensive primary and secondary research
- Identified which leverage points should be prioritized in the future strategy
- Informed the development of new services and support channels for the client’s drug
- Delivered an Excel model that could be updated in the future as more market data became available to provide a current picture of the market

Our life sciences practice is made up of 185 consultants that blend decades of global business experience with an extensive understanding of life sciences.