Multi-product portfolios: addressing complexity through smarter value communication

Many pharmaceutical companies build portfolios of related products, ranging from new formulations of existing treatments to related products addressing different indications or patient segments. Such portfolios can strengthen a franchise, diversify risk, and extend product lifecycles, while offering flexibility across markets and payer environments. However, product portfolios also create specific challenges for market access, particularly when products within the same franchise have different value drivers, evidence packages, pricing considerations, competitive contexts, or reimbursement pathways. Here, Clarivate Value Communications experts consider the most common issues, and how they can be overcome to ensure optimal product uptake.

Why traditional value communication approaches often fall short for multi-product portfolios

1. New formulations and delivery modes create payer communication challenges

New formulations can offer advantages to patients, but these benefits can be difficult to present convincingly to payers, especially when they have a higher price tag. Payers may view formulation changes differently from clinicians or patients, particularly when the benefits relate to convenience, adherence, administration burden, or patient preference rather than direct clinical outcomes. For portfolios that include new formulations or modes of delivery, the impact on target populations and potential for replacement of, differentiation from, or market share protection for the established product will shape the market access approach and need to be considered carefully. Value communication must therefore translate formulation-related benefits into outcomes that are meaningful to payers, such as improved treatment persistence, reduced healthcare resource use, or better alignment with patient and service delivery needs.

2. Product derivatives often need to be presented differently by market

While new versions of existing products that have an enhanced efficacy or safety profile often replace the original product in the long run, they may be marketed in parallel for some time. When it comes to developing market access materials like value dossiers, value propositions, objections handlers, or similar, a differentiated approach may be needed. Value communication strategies may need to support markets where both products are available alongside one another, as well as markets where only the newer or older product is available. Strategies may also need to account for differences in local treatment pathways, reimbursement status, comparator expectations, and willingness to recognise incremental benefit. Consequently, messaging frameworks often need to accommodate multiple reimbursement and treatment scenarios without creating confusion about the role, value, and positioning of each product.

3. Repurposed products will require differentiation and price justification

Licensing of existing products for new indications can help to mitigate the sharply rising costs of research and development, while addressing unmet patient needs faster through shorter time to market. Challenges associated with repurposing products in this way often include justification of any price differences, and the risk of off-label use, which can lead to potentially dangerous dosing errors. From a payer perspective, the value of a repurposed product cannot be assumed to transfer automatically from one indication to another. Ensuring that the value, positioning, and appropriate use of each indication are clearly communicated is therefore critical, so that payers and decision-makers understand the rationale for any price differences and clinicians feel supported in using each product appropriately.

4. Product families require a large volume of supporting information

Product families generally comprise related products that may target an overlapping market share, such as devices and their associated consumables or medical nutrition product groups. For product families, the challenge lies primarily in the volume of information. Each product may have its own value proposition that must be conveyed to payers and decision-makers, while the portfolio materials should stay concise for effective communication around the whole portfolio. Communicating the distinct value of each product without losing clarity around the value of the portfolio as a whole can be hard to achieve without careful consideration.

Value communication challenges vary by multi-product portfolio

Tailored value communication helps portfolios reach their full potential

For many multi-product portfolios, global market access materials built around a single narrative and set of key messages are unlikely to meet the needs of all markets, stakeholders, and reimbursement scenarios, being too broad to support meaningful payer engagement.

Instead, a clear strategy, tailored to the type of market or decision-maker, is required to guide the development of materials that address needs specific to every product range, situation, market, and payer. This requires a clear communication approach that defines the overarching portfolio narrative, clarifies the role and positioning of each product, and provides enough flexibility for affiliates and field teams to tailor discussions to local access priorities.

One of the most effective solutions is the creation of modular materials that allow affiliates and field teams to selectively combine messages to build a highly tailored, yet globally approved story specific to local needs. Modular frameworks can help organisations maintain global consistency while enabling local adaptation, reducing the risk that affiliates develop unapproved, inconsistent, or duplicative value stories. In contrast, some product portfolios will be best presented as a more structured core narrative, with common features highlighted upfront, and product-specific benefits described in dedicated sections, allowing for customisation only within the overarching framework. The appropriate approach will depend on the degree of similarity between products, the expected variability across markets, and the extent to which local teams need flexibility in payer discussions.

Interactive materials, allowing the user to drill down to further detail through the use of navigation menus and pop-ups, keep the core information concise, as well as providing the required detail. This enables field teams to speak directly to the specific needs and interests of each decision-maker with a single tool.

Additionally, it is also important to ensure field teams have the knowledge and confidence to use the available resources. Market access materials for product portfolios or related products are almost invariably longer and more complex than for single products, resulting in additional training needs for affiliates and field teams, which should be addressed through accompanying user- or localisation guides and/or workshops. Online platforms can also be used effectively to manage these materials and their updates, coordinate related training activities, and collect user contributions and feedback.

Clarivate helps make complex portfolio value easier to communicate

The optimal materials to support market access for multi-product portfolios will be as unique as the products they support. A tailored communication strategy is therefore essential to demonstrate value clearly and guide discussions with payers and decision-makers.

Based on almost two decades of experience in market access for portfolio products, Clarivate’s Value Communication team is ideally placed to create individual solutions that allow field teams to easily and effectively communicate value to payers and decision-makers, facilitating market access. We help pharmaceutical companies develop portfolio communication strategies and supporting materials that make complex value stories easier to navigate, adapt, and deliver — from value dossiers, value propositions, and objection handlers to interactive tools, localisation guidance, training workshops, and digital platforms for managing content and updates.

To learn more about Clarivate Value Communications and other consulting services or to contact the team, please visit us here: Life Sciences and Healthcare Consulting Services | Clarivate

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