Launch Excellence

Summary of work

When launching Toujeo®, a once daily basal insulin that has favourable pharmacokinetic profile on 24-hr glucose control, Sanofi ensured core marketing principles - segmentation, targeting and positioning - were at the heart of its strategy. The team combined their substantial diabetes knowledge with fresh, original thinking to ensure a deep and meaningful understanding of customers and patients. The design and development of the segmentation, targeting and positioning was highly sophisticated, yet the team excelled at simple, consistent and effective execution.

Sanofi recognised that while diabetes is a serious problem for patients and the NHS nationally, it’s what happens on the local doorstep that really matters; local decisions made for local people. Localising their market access communication, and tailoring customer calls to individual beliefs and attitudes, created impactful sales conversations.

Launch goals were transparent and clear from the start and aligned across the organisation. Objectives were rigorously measured and tracked with tools that have now become embedded in the Sanofi culture.

Over 6,000 patientshave already benefited from Toujeo®, and access has been achieved for nearly two-thirdsof the target patient population. With reduced incidence of nocturnal hypoglycaemia but cost parity with the current leading therapy, the ultimate winners are patients, payers and the NHS.

Judges' comments

This was a simple but coherent piece of work that had a really nice approach to segmentation and absolutely smashed its KPIs, achieving excellent results in a busy marketplace.