Project Experience

Generating More Uses for Existing Technology Platforms

Client Situation
There is an increasing divergence between the needs of animal health and the objectives of human medicine. Animal health product developers are expanding their R&D activities in an effort to introduce new, innovative products and technologies for companion animals. There is an ongoing 'avalanche' of new platform technologies that are becoming available for adaptation to animal health uses if the participating companies can successfully apply them to animal health-specific targets and markets. At the time of this study, only two of the top 20 animal health industry market leaders were freestanding companies; the rest were dependent on biopharmaceutical and life-sciences parent company resources and commitment. Our client, one of the world's largest pet food producers, sought to strengthen its global position and to leverage science and technology to distinguish its brands by studying how many of its animal health competitors were likely to benefit from transferring technologies developed for human products.

Fuld Approach
Fuld & Company was asked to investigate the leading animal health companies to learn what commitments they had made/would be making to companion animal genetics. We learned the key pattern of development in traditional human therapies - i.e., licensing from the biotechs - was also how many of these companies were patterning their animal health strategies.

Benefits and Implications
As a result of our findings and recommendations, our client was able to confidently determine its own strategies, particularly towards licensing and alliances in this area.
For more information about how technology can impact development decisions in the healthcare industry, contact either Anthony Nagle at tnagle@fuld.com or Cynthia Gerber Tomlinson at cgtomlinson@fuld.com