The first rule of rare: There are no rules. There are over 7,000 different rare diseases – each with its own symptomology, history, and clinical and political landscape. Most are virgin territory for marketers; only 5 percent have an approved treatment.

According to the National Organization for Rare Diseases 2019 Fact Sheet, more than 90 percent of the 7,000 known rare diseases do not have an FDA-approved treatment. It’s a privilege to bring brands to market for the patients, caregivers, families and physicians who so badly need them. In order to effectively launch into the rare disease space, there are elements to consider that take us well beyond standard launch prep. It’s these elements that will set one brand apart from another and contribute to a successful launch.

The statistics are staggering and well-known. Despite an increasing pipeline of drugs targeting rare diseases, 95 percent of the 7,000 disorders classified as rare still have no indicated treatment option. Eighty percent of rare diseases are genetically based, and more than half of the 30 million Americans affected by rare disorders are children. Rare diseases can take five to seven years to be accurately diagnosed, partly because they are inherently difficult to identify and because there are relatively few physicians equipped to recognize and design an appropriate treatment plan for a disorder that will, at most, affect 200,000 people (but often far fewer).

Paying field sales representatives is harder than it sounds. Companies need to rigorously analyze data and thoughtfully develop payout structures that help sales reps maximize earning potential and sales results. If a company’s compensation plan fails to properly motivate or adequately reward sales reps, they may underperform or move to a competitor.

inVibe Labs, a market research innovator dedicated to changing the way healthcare organizations listen to their customers, helps healthcare companies better understand the thoughts and feelings of patients and physicians by reading between the lines to uncover meaningful language patterns hidden in plain sight.

Prevea Health and DocASAP will discuss how to create an access optimization strategy to drive measurable results for health systems and physician groups across the U.S.

Through consultation with physicians and patients, the Canadian Breast Cancer Network (CBCN) outlined five key recommendations for consideration when implementing biosimilars in oncology

Outcome Health, a healthcare innovation company focused on making the point of care experience more meaningful for patients and physicians, announced a new content strategy across its nationwide platform.

Abbott announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the TactiCath Contact Force Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled, a new ablation catheter designed to help physicians accurately and effectively treat atrial fibrillation (AFib).

2018 was filled with a number of significant developments for healthcare marketers. The rising demand to respect individual privacy rights dominated conversations surrounding digital marketing, as did the increasing importance of using data-driven email marketing tools to increase physician engagement and retention.