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Trilogy Tidings December 2011
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More random thoughts this month. (Sorry, but random is my strong suit.) So how can I possibly connect China, Nukes and Business Development? Not very well, I'm afraid. But these are all important and timely topics nevertheless.
Regards,
Joe
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| Opportunities in China
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We've just completed a consulting engagement for a US-based company considering a foray into GMP-compliance services to drug manufacturers. This was a great example of successful collaboration among domain experts, which I addressed in my October newsletter - but I digress.
One of our findings in the engagement was that the size of their potential business opportunity in China was substantial, much better than in the US or Europe. That's because capital expansion related to drug production in China is through the roof, whereas it's moribund in Europe and the US.
As you well know, many markets in China represent strong opportunities for suppliers worldwide. Maybe that's because quite a few people - some of whom might be consumers of your products and services - live there! Much has been written about business opportunities in China. Two of my favorite articles dealing specifically with medical products are:
Waiting for Superman: China Could Save Medical Device Sales
Pharmaceutical / Medical Products Industry in China
The takeaway messages are many, but in my view the most important ones are:
- Right now there are great opportunities for sales growth in Chinese markets.
- There are also considerable risks to those who do not fully understand Chinese markets, Chinese business practices, and Chinese government policies.
Learn all you can about these matters before you implement a "China strategy", and consider aligning your company with an in-country expert in these matters. |
| Nukes: Weapons and Energy
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We're facing a nasty problem regarding the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East. It's worrisome, and it reminds me in many ways of the Cold War. During the late 1960s (yes, I'm that old) my career was focused on nuclear weapon delivery and nuclear weapon effects. Quite a transition from that to medical products - but I digress.
If you happen to be interested in the early development of nuclear weapons in the US, I strongly recommend reading "109 East Palace" by Jennet Conant. Even if you're not, it's a good read. You may find this story of Robert Oppenheimer, Los Alamos, the Trinity test, and a team of isolated and captive physicists engaging, as I did. (I visited the 109 East Palace site while on a vacation trip to Santa Fe.)
Then there's nuclear power, about which each developed nation of the world needs to make a choice - use it or lose it. China is all in. Germany has decided to be all out. The US is currently on the fence. The arguments boil down to comparative risk and comparative economics. Most people think nuclear power is risky. After all, we've had three major accidents in the last 32 years: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. I think it's really important to properly assess the risks, understand how those risks can be managed, and choose a path toward energy security accordingly. There's a terrific, painstakingly researched article in the November issue of IEEE Spectrum entitled "Fukushima and the Future of Nuclear Power". I highly recommend it if you really want to understand this issue. |
| Business Development
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I've got a really snappy elevator pitch: "We help suppliers of medical products to develop new business". The inevitable response is either "Huh?" or "What do you mean by that?". So much for snappy elevator pitches.
Truth is, it means many things - too many things to recite in an elevator, although I have pushed the stop button for an occasional hot prospect. I'm not going to elaborate here either; if you've read this far your eyes have already glazed over. I'll just point you to my one-page Business Development Roadmap.
An essential part of many of our business development engagements is developing intelligence that leads our clients to "truth". (High-minded, but accurate.) Competitive intelligence is one kind of intelligence that we develop, and there's a great list of quotes dealing with CI that you can read here. Don't worry, you won't be taking a survey, just seeing some clever responses. |
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Resources from our Archives
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Check out our Reading Room to view my published articles, presentations and white papers on a variety of topics.
And, you can examine an archive of my prior newsletters (since February 2007). |
| What does Trilogy do?
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Trilogy Associates facilitates business growth and renewal through commercialization of new products, providing the following services:
- Opportunity assessment
- Business planning and enterprise growth strategies
- New-product conceptualization, commercialization and marketing
- Market research and competitive assessment
- Business development and partnering
- Market and technological due diligence
- Assessment of the therapeutic and diagnostic potential of novel technologies
- Design of efficient and effective development strategies for early-stage biomedical products
- Business and technical writing/publishing
Inquiries to establish whether and how we might support your business initiatives are always welcome. Contact us. And check out our partner, Innovalyst, A Catalyst for Innovation. |
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