Decision-Making and Process

The energy was palpable at the 2025 Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) Global Annual Meeting. Conversations were expansive, workshops immersive, and the questions being asked were less about what Medical Affairs can do and more about how it must evolve to meet the future.

In our biopharma world, we frequently hear the term “Key Business Questions (KBQs).” And while it’s often thrown around as a buzzword (or buzz phrase, in this case), it has quite a bit of practical value when its full depth is explored.

How do we think about biopharma annual planning differently? The analogy I will draw on is fitness trackers and apps—built for mindfulness and exercise—these devices and apps create a habit for daily (weekly, monthly, etc.) self-challenges.

In the biopharma industry, the Target Product Profile (TPP) is a critical tool for guiding the development and commercialization of new drugs.

In the ever-evolving biopharma landscape, success hinges not just on innovation but also on a clear roadmap guiding clinical and commercial development.

At the core of every successful launch lies a meticulously crafted plan, a robust governance structure, and expert management of its execution.

In the not-so-distant past, physician prescribing data was essentially a commodity with limited breadth or depth for the purposes of drug development and commercialization. Two primary third-party providers aggregated data from essentially the same sources.

Commercializing a pharmaceutical asset in one country is hard enough. Doing it on a global scale, with multiple country differences, is exponentially more difficult.

Every horse race has a starting bell, a push to move as fast as possible, and a finish line. In many ways, the launch of a new drug can feel similar. But the metaphor only goes so far — launch preparation is not simply about speed, and in this case, the “horses” keep changing, and the track is anything but predictable.

A better metaphor is that of an orchestra, with many instruments contributing distinctly at specific times. All play the same piece of music but contribute based on their respective roles.