Propecia Case Study

PROPECIA®: Helping Make Hair

Loss History

“One day science will create a pill for hair loss.

That day is today”

Agenda

2

• Company background

• Propecia: a major breakthrough against MPHL

• 1997: the opportunity

• A new horizont in front

• Potential market

• Strategies assessment

• Product Claim Ad, a “Merck-ating” strategy

• Key-message to consumer

• Marketing to/through physicians

• Sales assessment

Company background

3

• Merck & Co. Inc., a small family business founded in 1668 by H. E.

Merck, became 300 years later the world’s largest pharmaceutical

company employing more than 70,000 people worldwide.

• One of the most successful and admired company according to

Fortune’s list with no government-imposed drug recall ever received.

• Strong focus on R&D, rather than on licensing other company’s drugs,

for a broad range of both human and animal health products

• Impressive therapy line-up:

1995 1997 1998

• COZAAR

• HYZAAR

• CRIXIVAN

• FOSAMAX

• ZOCOR

• SINGULAIR

• MAXALT

• AGGRASTAT

• COSOPT

• PROPECIA

Propecia: a major breakthrough against

MPHL

4

• Merck had originally developed PROSCAR, a compound used to treat

enlarged prostates, which active principle is 5-mg finasteride. Later on

scientists also understood that 1mg finasteride could be useful in the

treatment of MPHL. Then, the plan was to market the 1mg dose under the

brand name PROPECIA

• Propecia is a revolutionary product and clinical trials conducted over a sample

of men between 18-41 with ongoing DHT hair loss prove its effectiveness:

a) At least 83% of partecipants did not have a net loss of hair

b) 66% of men who took Propecia experienced visible re-growth after 1year