Despite sound science, many recent drug launches are failing. The root cause is not the data but an underinvestment in market conditioning. Cautious investors and tighter budgets mean companies are starting their educational and scientific storytelling efforts too late, failing to prepare the market adequately.

AI can easily generate a list of health recommendations. However, human adherence to a protocol is far more likely when the underlying mechanism is understood. For AI to be an effective health coach, it must go beyond listing 'what' to do and excel at explaining the 'why,' just as effective human communicators do.

The true value of a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) lies in preparing the entire healthcare system for better care, not just educating individual physicians. This means focusing on systemic changes like improving diagnostic pathways or guideline implementation. Science is only powerful when it moves systems, not just conversations.

Pharmaceutical companies invest in creating high-quality, patient-centric educational documents. However, these resources often fail to reach patients because physicians are hesitant to distribute materials bearing a corporate logo, creating a "last-mile" delivery problem for crucial information.

Successful drug launches require nailing three fundamentals. Common failures include: misjudging the patient population (epidemiology), failing to secure reimbursement and patient access, and lacking clear differentiation against the established "gold standard" treatment in physicians' minds.

Instead of directly competing with Lilly and Novo Nordisk, Boehringer Ingelheim's obesity strategy will focus on "clinical inertia." They see the primary challenge as activating the 90% of the 100 million eligible US patients not yet receiving evidence-based treatment.

A primary driver of recent pharma launch failures is underinvestment in pre-launch market conditioning. Cautious investors and tighter budgets mean companies have fewer resources to tell their scientific story effectively before launch. This delayed and underfunded approach has a dramatic negative impact on commercial success.

Even after proving a device works, getting FDA clearance, and securing a reimbursement code, investors' final question is about market traction. They want to see revenue before funding the sales team required to generate it, creating a final catch-22.

Move beyond ad-hoc pre-launch activities by implementing "impression modeling." This systematic approach quantifies message frequency to key targets (HCPs, patients) and uses a feedback loop to monitor attitudinal changes, ensuring the market is properly prepared before the product goes live.