The pharmaceutical industry depends on various business decisions. Companies have to decide the type of product to be produced, which market to enter, which suppliers to use, and whether a project can be worth investing in.

Such decisions can require substantial investments and lengthy product development, as well as pose financial and regulatory risks. Despite having large volumes of data at hand, pharmaceutical companies need to understand which of them is needed for the decision-making process.

This is where the term “Right Data, Right Decision” comes into play.

"Right data is not necessarily the one that is collected through the gathering of all the information that is available out there. Rather, it is the collection of the right kind of information."

Start With the Decision

Most companies start off by asking, “What do we know”? This could be better replaced by asking, “What decision should we make”?

In case of a company planning to enter into a new pharmaceutical market, it will require information about the market demand, growth, competition, prices, availability of products, regulatory policies, and consumer needs.

But when a company decides to choose an API supplier, its emphasis will shift to suppliers, manufacturing capacity, supplier reliability, regulatory background, geographic concentration, and other sources.

Each business decision requires a certain amount of information. Thus, the decision-making process should precede the collection of information.

Why Is Pharmaceutical Intelligence Useful?

Correct information is crucial, yet it is not sufficient. Four qualities of pharmaceutical intelligence are necessary for useful information.

Relevance: Information must be relevant to the specific decision being made. Country-specific information is more relevant than general global market information when entering a new market.

Currency: The market for pharmaceutical products changes on a continuous basis due to issues related to approval, patents, competition, and regulation.

Reliability: Organizations have to identify the source of the data they are using.

Contextual: Numbers sometimes lie but knowing why things change in a market is important.

One Decision Requires Multiple Data Sources

Major pharmaceutical decisions rarely depend on one report or database.

For example, when evaluating a generic drug opportunity, a company may need:

• Market intelligence to understand market size and demand
• Product intelligence to identify available products and successful formulations
• Competitive intelligence to assess existing and future competitors
• Patent and regulatory intelligence to understand entry requirements
• Manufacturer intelligence to evaluate production capabilities
• Supplier intelligence to identify reliable API and raw material sources

Individual data points provide information. Together, when this information is put together, it will become intelligence that can help make decisions.

From Data to Decision

The process can be understood in four stages:

Data: A database identifies 50 manufacturers of a particular API.

Information: The company identifies which manufacturers have the required capabilities and experience in regulated markets.

Intelligence: The sourcing team understands which suppliers can provide reliable supply while reducing concentration risks.

Decision: The company develops a sourcing strategy based on the available evidence.

This is what “Right Data, Right Decision” looks like in practice. Information becomes valuable when it helps a business determine its next step.

The Role of Pharma Database Services

Pharmaceutical companies operate across different functions. For business development, information on competitors might be needed; for sourcing teams, information on suppliers; for regulatory teams, information on approvals; and for R&D teams, information on clinical or technological advances.

Manually gathering such information can take time. Information on pharmaceuticals can be accessed using pharma databases. Such information includes that on products, APIs, manufacturing companies, suppliers, competitors, clinical research, market developments, and regulatory updates.

Lifescience Intellipedia provides services across database intelligence, market research, regulatory services, and consulting. Its portfolio includes the Chemxpert Database and Clival clinical trial database.

However, databases alone cannot replace human judgment. A database can show what is happening, while market intelligence helps explain what it means.

Why Pharma Market Intelligence Matters

Market intelligence involves gathering information on any changes which may have impact on strategic decisions in a business.

For instance, introducing a new product by a competitor is an event. The more important consideration should be how such an event may impact pricing, customer adoption, market share, or future competition.

In addition, manufacturing or logistical concerns may affect the availability of products and impact production strategies.

A business must know the bigger picture of events taking place in the market before concluding if they are threats or opportunities.

When Market Research Is Needed

Databases are useful for structured information, but some important questions require deeper research.

Companies may need to understand:

• Why customer preferences are changing
• Why physicians prefer one product over another
• What barriers affect product adoption
• How buyers perceive a product
• Which unmet market needs exist

These queries might call for interviews, questionnaires, customer studies, market research, and competitive analysis.

The best strategy would be the combination of database knowledge and market research. The first one tells us what is going on, while the second explains why.

Application of the Data for Business Creation

The appropriate data would be crucial in the case of creation or expansion of a pharmaceutical business.

A company should estimate product potential, market needs, competitors, sources, regulation, and economic possibility before investing heavily.

Lifescience Intellipedia's business setup approach includes idea assessment, industry and product identification, market analysis, business planning, regulatory compliance, financial insights, implementation, and monitoring.

The answer lies in utilizing relevant intelligence prior to making significant decisions, and not after money has been spent.

How Much Data Is Enough?

Businesses can easily spend too much time collecting information. There will always be another report to read or competitor to monitor.

Companies may have enough information when they can clearly answer:

• What is the opportunity?
• What evidence supports it?
• What are the major risks?
• What assumptions are being made?
• What information remains uncertain?
• What could change the decision?

Good intelligence does not eliminate uncertainty. Instead, it helps businesses reduce unnecessary uncertainty and make their assumptions more transparent.

Conclusion

Every year, the pharmaceuticals industry is creating additional information.Nevertheless, increased information does not guarantee good decision-making.

Good decision-making starts from having a good question. The company needs to determine what information affects the decision, verify the information, integrate it, assess the risk, and make a good decision based on all of this information.

That is the real meaning of “Right Data, Right Decision”.

It is not about having the biggest database or reading the most reports. It is about using information that is relevant, reliable, current, and connected to the decision at hand.

Pharma database services, market intelligence, market research, and business setup services can work together to help companies make decisions with greater clarity and confidence.