Correspondence: Guenther Illert, Berliner Strasse 76, 63065 Offenbach a.M., Germany. Tel: +49 (0)162 234 3600; Fax: +49 (69) 9515 2566; e-mail: guenther.illert@capgemini.com

¹Vice President at Capgemini, is heading the Central European Life Sciences Business Unit. During his 15 years of consulting experience, he was very often involved in strategic projects focussing on market-oriented processes of complex business transformations. Prior to consulting, he worked for several years in marketing and market research for a major international consumer goods company. He studied business administration in Passau and obtained his MBA from IMD in Lausanne.

²managing consultant in the life sciences practice of Capgemini Central Europe mainly managing R&D and M&A projects. Before joining Capgemini, he worked for five years in investment banking and the venture capital industry. He studied biochemistry and economics in Bayreuth and Paris and obtained his PhD from the ETH Zurich.

Received 10 August 2007; Revised 10 August 2007.

Abstract

The increasing pressure on the pharmaceutical industry is widely described and attributed to constantly rising R&D-costs, decreasing R&D-productivity, increased generic competition and healthcare reforms in almost all Western countries trying to enforce price cuts and restrictions in reimbursement. With the changing healthcare environment, the focus in Pharma marketing needs to adapt to new stakeholders needs as payers and patients are becoming more actively involved and are requesting a higher health outcome. We believe that, given the increasing complexity due to the changing healthcare environment, a broader perspective on ROI helps to cope with rising uncertainty and propose a simple, illustrative formula to visualise the effects of the different actions that can be taken into account. We discuss the effects of targeted therapies, health education programmes and early commercialisation.