ValueCentric offers a New Product Launch service leveraging CVS Caremark trade data

For several years now—ever since wholesalers began coughing up sales and inventory data as a consequence of their fee-for-service agreements with manufacturers—pharma marketers have been learning to take advantage of channel data coming from retail customers. These datasets present an alternative—and sometimes more insightful—window into market activity than sales data conventionally produced as orders are processed and reimbursements adjudicated.

Now, one of the leaders in this channel-data-management activity, ValueCentric (Orchard Park, NY) has paired up with PBM/retail giant CVS Caremark (Woonsocket, RI) to offer a service that can track the progress of a product launch as product flows through wholesaler and retailer channels. CVS Caremark is so big—it handles roughly one out of four prescriptions filled or arranged in the US—that it can more or less serve as a proxy for the entire market.

According to ValueCentric, manufacturers can view distribution center inventories pre-launch, pharmacy stocking data and key Rx data “for an entire therapeutic class or for a competitive market basket of products by pharmacy decile.” At launch, inventory uptake can be monitored in real time at the pharmacy level, along with switching activity from one product to another, and Rx reversals. These data can be analyzed at a regional level to gauge the impact of promotional or sales campaigns.

Joel Saban, CVS Caremark’s SVP, Industry Relations, adds, “I’m confident that the New Product Launch Services will allow us to enhance our business partnerships with our manufacturer customers and improve customer service at all levels of the supply chain.”

ValueCentric and CVS also collaborate on the CVS Data Service for channel management of products throughout their life cycle.