Case Study: Top-10 Pharmaceutical Company achieves stronger Rx-to-OTC growth with Merkle

Ensuring Growth after the Rx-to-OTC Conversion

Top-10 Pharmaceutical Company faced a major challenge as patent protection neared expiration on a blockbuster drug and it prepared to switch the product from Rx to OTC. The company needed to defend revenue, stand out against existing store-brand competition, raise awareness among consumers and HCPs, and move existing Rx patients to the new OTC product, with Merkle supporting the effort using a customer-focused CRM promotion plan.

Merkle developed an integrated solution that combined HCP insight, value-based targeting, offline and online marketing tied to the sales force, and a coordinated consumer campaign. The results were strong: over 60% of targeted HCPs engaged, sample requests were 4x expected, brand recommendation was 60% above benchmark, market share was 25% above benchmark, and conversion rates exceeded prior Rx-to-OTC switch benchmarks, helping preserve significant revenue during the transition.