InvYramid | Impact | Product Launch Strategy

GURGAON, India - Jan. 3, 2015 - PRLog -- Insulin

What happens when you are in a business for over 30 long years in a country and you still don’t understand the pulse of the market all that much? We helped one of the world’s leading medical devices manufacturing companies grow their presence in India from the time when they were significantly losing out on their presence from the shelves of the drug stores, prescription forms of the doctors & medical kits of the diabetes patients. How it happened - as we said - it’s all about knowing the right pulse.

In-depth learning from deep immersion

The main objectives of our research were to decipher the Indian Diabetes Care Ecosystem. We had to identify the various key stakeholders involved, the decision makers/influencers & their unmet needs & desired expectations. In the end of the research, we provided our client with ample lucid & actionable insights that helped fulfill their desired long-term business goals in India.

During the six months project, InvYramid team spent #6 weeks undertaking in-field research with #10 teams of #3 researchers & local business associates each, interviewing #100-150 respondents in Mumbai and its adjoining Tier II & Tier III cities. We met Diabetes patients, HealthCare providers, Diabetes specialists/Endocrinologists, Hospital administrators, Health insurers, Chemists & Government Representatives and learnt from them about the present state of Diabetes Care in India.

We spent time with Type I & Type II Diabetes patients at their homes and discussed at length about their daily lives & challenges they face due to their Diabetes. Before continuing lets understand some basic medical terms- Type I Diabetes is Insulin dependent, wherein the bodies (pancreas) of patients do not produce insulin and therefore are required to take insulin regularly. Type II Diabetes is non-Insulin dependent & in this case the bodies (pancreas) of patients with does produce insulin, but either the amount of insulin produced is insufficient or the body is not able to use the insulin produced. In the case of Type II Diabetes, depending on the patient’s condition, they can either manage by taking pills or sometimes they are also required to take insulin to control their blood sugar levels.

We met Type I & Type II Diabetes patients who shared with us their daily unpleasant experiences of taking insulin. They showed us how they administer insulin (using devices such as an Insulin needle and/or an Insulin pen); they shared with us their unwanted ordeals of dealing with the daily (often multiple) pricks, undesirable prick marks on body, upkeep of their stacked medicine boxes doctors & the regular intake of medicines. Patients narrated to us some dreadful episodes of sudden hypoglycemic (low blood sugar levels) shocks they suffered when alone at the middle of the street or buying vegetables in the market with no one to provide them with insulin or some immediate medical aid.

It was all too jarring to know & it struck to us that the three key learnings we were taking back with us were that - patients want lesser pricks, lesser dependability on regular insulin intake & a solution to their sudden hypoglycemic shocks.

The next set of people we met was the moms-to-be & young mothers who have/had Gestational Diabetes during their pregnancy. Biologically, if the pancreas is not able to cope up with the increased insulin demand of the body during pregnancy, the blood glucose levels in the body reaches high levels, resulting in Gestational Diabetes. We saw the mothers being very cautious of their state, as were their healthcare providers, because they knew that any mistake from them would have put two lives at jeopardy.

Later, we learnt from the doctors that, most women with Gestational Diabetes do not remain diabetic after their child birth, but are at high risk of contracting it again in case of any future pregnancies & developing diabetes later in life.

The doctors stated that most patients are diagnosed of Gestational Diabetes by the first trimester of pregnancy and can be treated with diet regulation and medications. However, administering insulin becomes necessary if the patient either does not adhere to her diet and medication regime or is diagnosed late, around 30-32 weeks into the pregnancy. Insulin monitoring is the key concern in this case.

As a next logical step, we spent time with the HealthCare providers – who, we found, in most cases are the patient’s Son / Daughter / Spouse / a close family person / a friend /a Nurse – & spoke to them on a variety of issues ranging from their constant state of vigil as a dutiful person, the regular insulin and medicines reminders they dare never forget and some unfortunate instances when they forgot about their reminders that led to serious repercussions. We understood then, that spreading awareness amongst the patients & healthcare providers alike is most important.

Diabetes awareness & treatment options amongst the people

Our motive was to understand the current awareness levels on the various forms of Insulin administration devices available in the Indian market & the usage trends of these devices.

We observed that most diabetes patients we met have advanced to using Insulin pens, but there were patients who still use the more painful & inconvenient insulin needles to take insulin. Less than half the number of patients we met were aware of other insulin administering device such as the insulin pump but almost all of them were unaware of what an insulin patch or an insulin pod is and how it works.

We learnt from the doctors that the concept of an Insulin Patch & Insulin Pod is still untested in the Indian market; therefore they do not yet recommend patients going for these devices. Doctors prescribe insulin pumps to patients with brittle diabetes (uncontrolled Type I diabetes), patients who can afford the machine & who can control/manage the device. Patients are usually trained for insulin self administration during their first few counseling sessions with the doctors or diabetes nurses. Other business models such as the Device Rental Services (for insulin pumps) are available but have yet not gained popularity amongst the patients, one of the key factors being the high costs associated with the system.

We also tried to understand the patients’ perspectives on receiving Home care support & Virtual support for their medical needs, to which patients preferred Home care support to Virtual support, the differentiator being the confidence on the veracity of information provided through Virtual support.

Concepts for a revolutionary diabetes monitoring device specially designed for the Indian consumers

We helped our client develop an actionable product launch strategy by identifying optimum price points & key partners across the distribution chain.
http://www.invyramid.com/impacts/product-launch-strategy