New E-Course Series Delivers Standardized Marketing Training for the Pharmaceutical and Biotech Industry

RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Pharmaceutical Institute, a leading provider of specialized training solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, today announced the launch of a new e-course series titled the Cornerstone Series™ on Pharmaceutical and Biotech Marketing.  The series, developed in partnership with subject-matter experts from Campbell Alliance, is designed to address the pharmaceutical and biotech industry's escalating need for standardized marketing training.

"The Cornerstone Series was developed to satisfy the substantial unmet need for foundational marketing training within today's pharmaceutical and biotech companies," said Garry O'Grady, General Manager of Pharmaceutical Institute.  "In an industry where the stakes are higher than ever, new marketers need the knowledge necessary to make value-producing decisions throughout the product life cycle."

By focusing on topics relevant to both pipeline and in-line brand teams, the Cornerstone Series™ delivers significant value to clients.  Current course offerings include:

• An Introduction to Life Cycle Management

This course begins with a baseline description of life cycle management and its importance. It reviews various life cycle management strategies implemented to achieve success throughout a drug's life cycle, including combination products, branded generics, and OTC conversions. It reviews the most common life cycle planning challenges and suggests potential solutions for addressing them.

• Launch Fundamentals

This course explains the importance of a robust plan to manage a product launch. The course describes differences between the global and local launch processes and how they fit together.  It covers the steps necessary to develop the launch process, create the launch plan, and manage the launch process, as well as effective remedies to the main challenges that can arise during a launch. The course highlights launch plan variants, including similarities to and differences from the standard process.

• New Product Commercialization

This course discusses the benefits of early commercialization planning and overviews of the functional areas involved. It overviews phases I, II, and III and outlines the key questions, major milestones, deliverables to be completed, and the go/no-go decisions that need to be made during those stages. It describes the main challenges that can arise, as well as potential scenarios that can affect planning.

Cornerstone Series™ courses prioritized for accelerated development in 2011 are:

• Fundamentals of Pharmaceutical Marketing
• Market Research Methods and Application
• Project Management for Marketers
• Ad Agency and Vendor Partnerships
• Brand Planning
• Developing Promotional Materials
• Treatment Flow Modeling
• Market Segmentation

For more information on the Cornerstone Series™ on Pharmaceutical and Biotech Marketing, please visit: http://www.pharmainstitute.com/elearning/cornerstone/index.cfm.

About Pharmaceutical Institute

Pharmaceutical Institute is a leading provider of specialized training programs for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. We partner with subject matter experts from our parent company, Campbell Alliance, to develop high-impact distance learning solutions for professionals within all major pharmaceutical company functions including brand management, business development, clinical development, managed markets, medical affairs, sales, and trade and distribution. Pharmaceutical Institute is based in Raleigh, N.C. For more information, please visit www.pharmainstitute.com.

SOURCE Pharmaceutical Institute