Biopure Case Analysis

Biopure: Case Analysis

Problem Recognition

Biopure has developed two blood substitutes: Oxyglobin for animals and Hemopure for humans. They have received FDA approval for Oxyglobin, and Hemopure is expected to be approved in two years. They are now faced with an internal conflict on whether to immediately launch oxyglobin or delay it and launch together with Hemopure. Should they decide on launching Oxyglobin immediately, they need to figure out how to market, distribute and price it.

Potential Solutions

1. Proceed to launch Oxyglobin

2. Shelf Oxyglobin until Hemopure is approved and launch them together

Recommendations

1. We suggested that Biopure Corporation should launch Oxyglobin first, which will be further discussed in analysis section. This movement can help them build their brand name, and also set a solid base for the future product, Hemopure.

2. As a strategy for launching Oxyglobin, there is no such product launched in current market, they have the first mover advantage. The company should try their best to increase their market share as soon as possible.

3. In the price aspect, the price should be high enough to cover the costs of company operation and launch of Hemopure. On the other hand, Oxyglobin should not be over-priced because it will have a future impact on the pricing Hemopure.

4. Incase there is price war, Biopure will be at a disadvantage given that the competitors have better infrastructure, production capacity and more resources.

Analysis

Pros and Cons of Potential Solutions

1. Proceed to launch Oxyglobin

Pros:

● There is a current demand for animal blood substitutes with no product available in the market. Launching Oxyglobin imminently will exploit this opportunity of creating revenue with the added advantage of market monopoly position. This would aid in recovering cost of development of Oxyglobin and support the advancements of Hemopure.

● In case of new entrants to the market in the future, they have the early mover advantage which will enable them to sustain their market share.

● Oxyglobin will serve as a channel for Biopure to establish their brand and customer loyalty.

● This will also throw light on how to proceed with marketing and distribution for hemopure in the future.

● It is important to launch Oxyglobin now as there are chances of it being the sole product of the company, as the approval of Hemopure is uncertain.

Cons:

● The only major limitation to the early launch of Oxyglobin is that it will potentially jeopardize the ability of Biopure to price Hemopure high. Launching Biopure now will set unrealistic price expectations as they have very similar constituents and production process and hence cost of production.

2. Shelf Oxyglobin until Hemopure is approved and launch them together

Pros:

● Since Biopure has put a lot of effort in making Hemopure as their main product in the human blood market, launching Oxyglobin after Hemopure can ensure a strategic distance from harming Biopure's pricing capacity.

● The performance of Hemopure will greatly influence company to go for an IPO. As human market is a lot bigger than veterinary market, success with Oxyglobin will not help Hemopure gain bigger market share. On the contrary, public will question the huge price differences between two similar products.

Cons:

● Both products will be launched together without prior experience which means there will be no useful feedback for Biopure to adjust their marketing strategy which could lower the risk of making mistakes in selling Hemopure. In addition to this, a brand-new delivery network has to be created which might decrease initial revenue.

● If Biopure launch Oxyglobin and Hemopure together they will miss a prime opportunity of being the market leader and control the blood substitute market, especially the animal market since Oxyglobin would have been the first product in the field of veterinary market.

● There is a potential threat of competitors like Baxter International with better innovation and manufacturing capabilities, launching the identical products at same time or even earlier.

● Since Hemopure’s blood substitute is targeting a larger market, it will be accompanied with a higher expense. Biopure will be required to hire a large salesforce to get a greater reach in the market. They will then need to allocate more resources on educating sales reps to advertise for Hemopure.

● Market demand for human and veterinary blood is increasing with time, but Biopure would lack the infrastructure to make enough quantity of both products at the same time. This issue will impact the company sales and market share eventually.

SWOT Analysis (refer to Appendix A)

STRENGTHS:

● Oxyglobin had just received