Want pharma launch excellence? Destroy the silos
Picture this: Your marketing team has developed a compelling value proposition, but your market access team is pursuing a completely different pricing strategy. Your clinical team has generated powerful data, but it doesn't align with what payers actually need for reimbursement decisions. This is the cost of organizational silos, and the data proves it's devastating to launch performance. The stakes couldn't be higher: research shows that launches missing expectations in year one rarely recover, with 78% still underperforming in year two.
When pharmaceutical companies break down internal silos and achieve true cross-functional alignment, the results are dramatic. Mid-size companies, naturally less burdened by bureaucratic barriers, demonstrate what integrated execution looks like. They achieve an 87% success rate in meeting or exceeding analyst forecasts, compared to just 72% for large pharma giants.
Sources: Deloitte Center for Health Solutions analysis of 284 new drug indications launched in the United States between 2012-2021; McKinsey pharmaceutical launch performance research. Success defined as meeting or exceeding pre-launch consensus analyst sales forecasts for first year. Company size based on annual revenue at time of launch: Small (<$1B), Medium ($1B-$25B), Large (>$25B).Specialty Medicines: High-cost treatments for complex conditions requiring specialized handling, administration, or monitoring. Examples include biologic therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (e.g., Humira) and multiple sclerosis treatments (e.g., Tecfidera).
The specialty drug data tells an even more compelling story. In high-volume specialty medicines, where large companies should theoretically dominate with their extensive sales forces and contracting leverage, mid-size firms achieve a remarkable 89% success rate versus just 62% for their larger rivals. According to research, this isn't about resources; it's about organizational structure. Mid-size companies naturally possess "deep therapeutic area expertise and agile, less bureaucratic organizational structures," free from the functional silos that can paralyze larger organizations.
The lesson for large pharmaceutical companies is clear: launch excellence isn't about outspending competitors or deploying larger sales forces. It's about dismantling the silos that prevent different functions from working toward the same goal. Companies that can replicate the integrated, agile operating model of their mid-size competitors will unlock these performance gains. The challenge isn't knowing what to do; it's creating the organizational conditions where cross-functional teams can collaborate effectively around a unified strategy.