Transformative Insight: Helping a Biotech Innovator Find Their Target Audience

Patients with chronic conditions often live with near-constant pain and discomfort, compounded by long-term treatments that come with unpleasant side effects. So when a biotechnology company discovered that an existing treatment could be adapted to treat and possibly even cure a select group of non-malignant chronic diseases, they knew that had the potential for a breakthrough new therapy. They also knew they needed to learn more about the medical professionals who might one day be offering this transformative treatment to their own patients.

After searching for a research firm, the company connected with Thinkpiece and knew they had found a kindred partner — one who is just as energized about the potentially life-changing treatment they were developing. Our healthcare research team offered exactly the multi-faceted experience the client was looking for: first-hand healthcare knowledge as former clinicians-turned-researchers combined with B2B expertise.

A Partnership Built on Shared Passion

We jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with this innovative biotech company led by a brilliant team of doctors and scientists. As this was the company’s first foray into qualitative market research, the client was excited to be part of the process and open to learning as much as possible about their audience. We were equally excited to join the client’s journey at the early stages of development and discovery, where our research could have the greatest impact.

In the first year of our partnership with the client, our research focused on answering two key questions: does it make sense to pursue this treatment for chronic diseases, and if so, what does it mean for the future direction of the company? For the initial studies, we found and recruited doctors with a specific specialty to glean their level of interest in offering this therapy to their patients, and how doing so might affect their practice. The response we received confirmed what the client suspected, while also revealing unexpected truths.

Finding Answers and Direction

Our first research studies clearly identified a need for a novel treatment like the one our client is developing, and excitement on the part of doctors. We also discovered that the doctors we interviewed were hesitant about the prospect of delivering this complex new treatment to their patients through their own practices. Based on these findings, we uncovered that delivery of the therapy would likely require collaboration and coordination with a highly specialized healthcare team.

These initial studies opened the door to additional research into the types of practices and specialties that would be more likely to have the competencies and willingness to deliver this highly complicated treatment. For these follow-up studies, we were tasked with finding a very specific type of respondent with unique management responsibilities within a healthcare organization. Our resourceful field manager was able to recruit the right respondents to meet the criteria and get us the answers we needed.

The client additionally credits our team with having the clinical experience to converse comfortably and confidently with high-level medical professionals, know which questions and follow-up questions to ask, and expose a more meaningful layer of insight. Building on our previous familiarity with this particular field of therapy, we were able to quickly grasp the highly technical and complicated nature of the treatment and dive into the studies quickly.

(Re)usable Reports

The studies we’ve completed with the client to date have provided the leadership team with the foundational insight to steer the company’s strategic direction and future research. By bringing Thinkpiece into the process early in the company’s development, the client has been able to avoid incorrect assumptions and make more informed decisions about where to take their treatment.

The client has additionally been able to leverage the insights from the reports we generated for external presentations, including with investor audiences, and plans to leverage the insight for key decision-making moving forward. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with this innovative, mission-driven company as they bring their breakthrough treatment to market and in the hands of medical professionals who will use it to improve millions of patients’ lives.

Explore Thinkpiece’s healthcare research experience here.