REAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE · CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND STRATEGY

Managing change: a strategic response to generic competition

A Product Manager anticipated generic competition affecting two products, assessed dozens of scenarios and mobilised the sales team around a differentiation strategy. Over the following 12 months, the portfolio grew by 1%, compared with a reference scenario projecting a 35% fall.

Experience predating the Luís Valente 360° brand · Organisation anonymised · Figures recalled from memory · No independent documentary audit

Context: competitive pressure on a significant portfolio

As Product Manager in a large pharmaceutical company, the manager oversaw a portfolio of three products generating approximately €30 million in annual sales. Two of those products were about to face generic competition. A reference scenario forecast a 35% drop in sales. This was a planning assumption, not an observed loss.

Assessment: weighing dozens of scenarios

The manager reviewed dozens of potential responses. Two main commercial options emerged: cutting prices to try to protect unit volumes, or maintaining prices while emphasising the differentiated value of the 100 mg presentation, which did not face generic competition at the time. Any use of a particular dosage remained dependent on appropriate clinical indications and the prescribing clinician’s judgment.

Strategic choice: maintain prices and communicate differentiation

The decision was to maintain prices and highlight the authorised differentiating benefits of the 100 mg presentation. The plan set a commercial target to shift 30% of units previously associated with the 50 mg presentation towards the 100 mg presentation; according to the manager, that target was achieved. This aggregate commercial measure is not a recommendation to change every patient’s treatment or dosage. Clinical decisions remained with healthcare professionals.

Change leadership: securing the sales team’s commitment

The manager prepared extensively for a meeting with the sales force, considering possible concerns and objections. The communication explained the emerging competitive threat, the scenarios evaluated and the reasoning behind the strategic choice. In the manager’s recollection, the sales force committed to the approach. No independent measure of team commitment or contribution from individual actions is available.

Results after 12 months: growth instead of the forecast decline

During the 12 months following generic entry, the three-product portfolio recorded 1% growth according to the manager’s recollection. The target of a 30% shift in unit mix between presentations was achieved within clinicians’ treatment decisions. The company’s Managing Director highlighted the outcome. The 36-percentage-point gap between the −35% forecast and +1% observed result is a scenario-to-outcome comparison, not an independently established causal effect of the strategy.

Financial interpretation: illustration, not attributed impact

Using €30 million as a comparable annual base, a −35% scenario equates mathematically to €19.5 million, while a +1% result equates to €30.3 million. Their €10.8 million difference is illustrative only and cannot be claimed as incremental revenue caused by the intervention. Neither the historical forecast nor the results have been independently verified through records.

Management lesson: anticipate, decide and mobilise

The experience highlights three management practices: anticipating market disruption, examining strategic alternatives before committing, and making sure teams understand and adopt the chosen direction. Beyond selecting a strategy, leading change requires preparing people for its implementation.