Many people think that marketing a biotech company is easy. And while it may seem like one of the easiest things to do, you will find out soon enough that this is not true. Biotech marketing can be difficult and time-consuming if you don’t know what you’re doing.
What is a Biotech Company?
A biotech company is a business that focuses on medical research and development. Scientists have discovered new drugs, therapies, and medical technologies to cure diseases or improve existing conditions. They often create medications containing living organisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi. These medications are usually referred to as biopharmaceuticals. Biotech companies will take these biopharmaceuticals and sell them to doctors and patients needing a lot of money. Financial success in the biotech industry is about controlling operating costs and maximizing sales revenue. What’s cool about this business is that you create living organisms in a lab and then sell them to people as medications.
Three factors shape biotech, namely:
Technology – this is a factor that influences the development of new products. Technology helps develop therapies meant to solve complex human problems using biology.
The operational model is how a biotech company delivers its product to market. The working model includes concepts such as choosing manufacturing sites and outsourcing materials and services.
The core values and culture – are things that allow people to bring out the best in them. The core values help create a culture that improves collaboration between people within an organization across departments, making them more efficient and effective.
BioTech Trends
1. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence in BioTech is making medical devices smarter. For example, Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare uses machine learning to analyze large data sets to generate insights that help doctors make better decisions about their patients. AI can develop RNA platforms to aid therapeutic development, drug discovery, or research and development. It can be used to help us transition from idea generation to clinical trials faster than ever before. AI can also identify genetic markers in DNA to identify early-stage cancers.
2. Big Data and Analytics
Big data and analytics is becoming more critical for biotech companies. It helps us discover the root of biological questions and find patterns in complex sets of information such as DNA, protein, and clinical data. Bioinformatics is a subset of big data that analyzes these vast amounts of data to help us identify new targets for treatment or disease prevention.
Data and analytics help implement precision medicine strategies and genomics-based drug discovery programs. In addition, many large pharmaceutical companies use this technology to discover new drugs using Big data and analytics.
3. Gene Editing
Gene editing is a fast and accurate way to change DNA structures. It can develop therapies for various medical conditions such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, and many other diseases. For example, CRISPR-Cas9 is a gene-editing technology used to create new treatments for bone marrow disorders and leukemia.
4. Precision Medicine
Precision medicine is giving more options to patients. It uses genomic information and data on the patient’s lifestyle, environment, and medical history to formulate individualized healthcare plans. This can be used for detecting genetic diseases early or finding their causes. For example, Precision Medicine has been proven helpful in Alzheimer’s disease by helping us understand how some genes accelerate aging, and others do not.
5. Gene Sequencing
DNA sequencing allows us to read the genetic code of organisms. Recent advances in DNA sequencing technologies have reduced the costs involved allowing more people access to it. This technology can diagnose rare diseases, identify infectious disease outbreaks, and test therapeutic drug candidates/treatments.
6. Biomanufacturing
Biomanufacturing is a process used to make biological products from living organisms. Biomanufacturing helps reduce the costs and complexities of traditional manufacturing processes while improving product quality, yield, and consistency. For example, Gene editing can be used in biomanufacturing since it is fast, accurate, and produces few errors compared to other methods, such as PCR.
7. Synthetic Biology
Synthetic biology is an emerging technology that allows scientists to engineer biological parts and systems. Synthetic biology makes it possible to produce chemical substances in cells like biofuels, drugs, chemicals, etc. For example, RNAi (RNA interference) reduces or stops the production of specific proteins that might cause diseases like Huntington’s. Synthetic Biology is also used in the production of other products like biofuels. They are produced by living organisms that are genetically modified to have more than what they usually do.
8. Bioprinting
Bioprinting is a technology that allows us to print cells onto biological materials. Bioprinters produce tissues, skin, bone, and other organs for transplantation. These printers enable scientists to use bio-ink containing human cells, which can be made by biomanufacturing. They help in replicating or repairing damaged tissues or organs. For example, researchers use bioprinting to create cartilage tissue by inserting stem cells into the printed structure.
9. Microfluidics
Microfluidics is used in the development of lab-on-a-chip devices. These chips can conduct chemical or biological analyses on fluids at tiny scales. They are more efficient and cost-effective when compared to standard lab equipment. For example, Microfluidics has been used in molecular diagnostics screening of cancer biomarkers.
10. Tissue Engineering
Tissue engineering is a technology that allows us to grow living tissues from cells. They help develop new ways of treating injuries and diseases by enabling us to replace or regenerate damaged tissue. For example, Tissue engineering can be used to create skin grafts for burn victims using cultured skin cells. These tissues can be grown in the lab and transplanted into the patient.
For more trends, check out our 2023 Our Biotech Trends Outline
Biotech Marketing Challenges
1. Complex Products
Many biotech products are very complex and require much time to understand. In addition, they use new technology for most people, which makes it hard for them to understand the product.
2. Diverse Teams
Different biotech companies have different types of people in their teams with different skill sets. This makes it difficult for these companies to market their products. For example, some scientists are great at communicating complex topics to the masses, while others might struggle.
3. Shortened Timelines
The timelines for product development are much shorter than other products. This puts more pressure on the marketing team. For example, companies need to create awareness for their products within a short time frame, like 2-3 years, instead of the 10+ years it might take for consumer or non-biotech companies.
4. Global Rollouts
Biotech companies must launch their product in multiple countries, increasing costs and complexities. For example, a company might want to sell its product in the US and Europe, which adds cost since it must design different marketing strategies.
5. Varied Audiences
Biotech companies have many different audiences to market to. Each audience has its knowledge base, emotions, and interests that must be addressed in the marketing efforts. For example, scientists might understand what you are saying, but non-scientists will probably not understand your message.
6. Competition with Pharma
Since there is so much competition, biotech companies must spend more on marketing than other industries. For example, big pharmaceutical companies might be willing to pay $1 billion on their ad campaigns, while smaller biotech companies are most likely unable to do that.
Biotech Marketing Strategies and Services
1. Focus on Product Quality
One of the most effective strategies for biotech companies is to focus on providing quality products. As a result, people are willing to pay more for quality products and recommend them to their friends. For example, when buying cars, people are eager to spend more money on well-known brands with good reputations instead of unknown brands.
2. Feature case studies of your products in action
Many people might not understand the results of studies, but they can easily relate to case studies. You should partner with organizations that can implement your product and then showcase its use in those organizations. For example, you could partner with hospitals or universities and do a case study on how your product helped someone and impacted the community.
3. Use your industry certifications to your advantage.
Many biotech companies are industry leaders in their area, which can be used to generate awareness. For example, you could become an “Authorized Partner” or enter a “strategic partnership” with more prominent tech companies like Apple or Google. They can push out updates on their products. This will help drive people towards buying your product.
4. Use videos to bring products to life
Many people are visual learners, so using videos, infographics, and animations is vital since they make the concepts easy to understand. For example, suppose you are showcasing how different cells work together in a body to fight disease. In that case, you could create an infographic that shows how these specific cells respond to various conditions.