Marketing models for the life sciences industry

The life sciences industry forms the innovative producer side of therapies in the healthcare industry. The industry has several unique features and is an important part of the economy. The life sciences industry gives rise to interesting research questions, as well as enables new model development to support managerial decision making. The academic marketing literature has produced a sizeable array of decision-support tools for the life science marketers. In this chapter, we present to researchers and managers in the life sciences industry a broad overview of these analytical tools, categorized according to subject areas, and the key managerial insights that have been derived from them. We first present the typical models employed in the following modeling traditions: choice model, count model, learning model, modeling key opinion leaders, diffusion model, sales growth model, and launch model. We then discuss the findings on the role of marketing categorized according to the following decision areas: direct-to-physician promotion, direct-to-consumer advertising, pricing, and product usage adherence. We conclude with a number of areas that we think need more research.