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Pharmaceutical consulting

Pipeline, forecast and launch research for decisions about which assets to advance, license or launch

Credence Research helps pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and the investors and advisers who work with them, assess the commercial potential of drugs in development. We map the competitive pipeline in a disease area, build patient-based forecasts with stated assumptions and examine the pricing and access conditions a product is likely to face. Each study starts from the decision you need to make.

Discuss your pharmaceutical research questionSee what the outputs include

Where commercial evidence is usually thinnest along a drug's path to market

1Discovery and preclinicalEarly competitive signals
2Phase I and IILikelihood of advancing
3Phase IIILabel and launch timing
4Regulatory reviewReview timelines by country
5Launch and accessPrice, access and uptake

Marked items rarely appear in trial registries or company disclosures in usable form. They usually need expert input, analogs or modeling.

What is pharmaceutical pipeline analysis?

Pipeline analysis identifies the drugs in development for a disease or target, their clinical stage, mechanism and sponsor, and the evidence available on their likely timing and positioning. Combined with patient-based forecasting and access research, it helps estimate how much of a future market a specific asset could realistically capture.

Decisions that bring pharmaceutical teams to us

Drug development decisions commit years of spending before revenue is visible. These are the situations where commercial research most often changes the answer.

Prioritizing assets in a portfolio

You have more candidates than budget and need a consistent view of market potential, competition and timing for each.

Evaluating an in-licensing or acquisition opportunity

You need an independent view of a target asset's likely position against the pipeline it will launch into.

Choosing an indication or patient population

A mechanism could work in several indications, and you need to compare patient numbers, unmet need and competitive crowding.

Planning launch sequencing by country

You need to compare review timelines, pricing conditions and reimbursement hurdles across markets before committing resources.

Responding to a competitor's readout or approval

A rival's trial result or approval changes your assumptions, and you need to test how much.

Supporting an investment or financing case

Investors or lenders need forecasts with transparent assumptions they can challenge.

Start with what you already know

Most teams already have clinical data on their own asset, trial registry searches and at least one published forecast. What usually remains uncertain is how competing assets will perform, when they will launch, how many patients are truly eligible under a likely label, and what payers in each market will accept.

Questions pharmaceutical market research can investigate

Pipeline and competition

  • Which assets are in development for this indication, and at what stage?
  • Which competitors are likely to reach the market before us, and with what positioning?
  • How crowded is our mechanism or target class?

Patients and demand

  • How many patients are diagnosed, treated and eligible under a realistic label?
  • How do treatment patterns differ by country and line of therapy?
  • What would lead prescribers to switch from current treatment?

Pricing and access

  • What price range do comparable therapies achieve in our target markets?
  • What evidence do payers and health technology assessment bodies typically require?
  • How long does access usually take after approval?

Forecast and risk

  • What peak sales range is plausible, and which assumptions drive it?
  • How sensitive is the forecast to launch timing, share and price?
  • Which regulatory changes could affect our timeline? See regulatory environment analysis.

What public sources can tell you, and what needs further validation

Trial registries, regulatory agency databases, company pipelines and published literature describe much of the development landscape. They say far less about commercial outcomes.

Where desk research is often sufficient, and where decisions usually need more evidence
TopicDesk research can often establishWhat often remains unresolvedHow it can be tested
Pipeline landscapeRegistered trials, phases, sponsors, endpoints and enrollment targetsWhich programs are active, delayed or deprioritizedRegistry change tracking, company disclosures and expert interviews
Launch timingEstimated completion dates and announced filing plansRealistic approval dates by countryHistorical review-time analogs and scenario ranges
Eligible patientsPublished prevalence and incidenceDiagnosed, treated and label-eligible patients in a specific subgroupEpidemiology-based patient funnel checked with clinical experts
Prescriber behaviorTreatment guidelinesActual practice, switching triggers and barriers to adoptionPhysician and key opinion leader interviews or surveys
Price and reimbursementList prices and published assessment decisionsNet prices, confidential discounts and likely payer response to a new assetAnalog analysis and payer or market access expert interviews
Conflicting forecastsSeveral published market figuresWhich figure matches your indication, geography and definitionDefinition reconciliation and a transparent bottom-up model

AI tools can help search registries, summarize trial publications and track disclosures across many programs. Their conclusions are only as reliable as the underlying sources and the checks applied. Commercial questions such as net pricing or prescriber intent usually need direct evidence from people with first-hand knowledge.

How evidence gaps translate into research

This example is illustrative. It shows how a study could be designed and does not describe a specific client engagement.

In-licensing a Phase II asset

Illustrative example
Business question
A midsize pharmaceutical company is deciding whether to in-license a Phase II asset for a subtype of an inflammatory disease.
Evidence gap
Published forecasts cover the whole disease, not the subtype. Several competing assets are in Phase III, but their likely labels and launch timing are unclear.
Research method
Pipeline mapping, an epidemiology-based patient funnel for the subtype, interviews with treating specialists and scenario forecasting around competitor launch dates.
Deliverable
A forecast model with patient, share and price assumptions, plus a competitive launch timeline with evidence dates.
Decision supported
Whether to proceed, what value range to test in negotiation and which assumptions to monitor after signing.

Our research approach

Our pharmaceutical research combines secondary research, including paid data sources, with primary interviews with industry stakeholders to interpret market dynamics, verify data and test forecast assumptions. We choose methods according to the evidence gap.

Methods, what they are used for and their limits
MethodPurposeLimitation
Registry and regulatory database reviewMap trials, phases, sponsors and approval historiesRegistries lag real program status
Clinical expert and key opinion leader interviewsTest assumptions on patient eligibility, practice and positioningReflect individual views; need several sources
Payer and market access interviewsUnderstand evidence requirements and likely access conditionsCannot predict specific pricing decisions
Epidemiology-based forecastingBuild patient numbers from prevalence to treated and eligible populationsSensitive to data quality in each country
Analog analysisEstimate uptake and timing from comparable launchesNo analog matches exactly
Scenario analysisShow how outcomes change with timing, label and competitionScenarios are not predictions

We do not provide medical, clinical or regulatory filing advice, and we do not seek confidential information about competitors' programs.

What you receive

Deliverables depend on scope, and not every study includes every output. We agree on outputs during scoping.

  • Pipeline landscape

    Assets by stage, mechanism, sponsor and expected timing, with evidence dates.

    Use it to see who you will compete against and when.

  • Patient-based forecast model

    Patient funnel, share, price and uptake assumptions with sensitivity ranges.

    Use it to compare assets or test a licensing valuation.

  • Competitive launch timeline

    Likely approval and launch windows for competing assets, shown as ranges.

    Use it to plan positioning and launch sequencing.

  • Pricing and access landscape

    Comparable prices, assessment outcomes and access timelines in target countries.

    Use it to set realistic price assumptions and access plans.

  • Decision memo

    Options, recommendation, risks and open questions, with findings, estimates and assumptions labeled separately.

    Use it to support a portfolio, licensing or investment committee.

Published report, focused study or broader engagement?

Choosing the right scope for your question
OptionBest whenLimitation
Published pipeline or market reportYou need a disease-level view of the pipeline, market size and major players. Browse pharmaceutical market reportsNot built around your asset or subgroup
Focused studyYou have one question, such as patient numbers in a subgroup or competitor launch timingNarrower scope
Broader engagementA licensing, portfolio or launch decision depends on several linked questionsRequires more time and client input

If you mainly need to know which assets exist and at what stage, registries and a published report may be sufficient. Additional research matters when the decision depends on eligible patients in a narrow group, net pricing, prescriber behavior or competitor timing.

Is custom pharmaceutical research right for your decision?

  • You can name the asset, indication or portfolio decision the research should inform.
  • A published forecast does not match your indication, subgroup or geography.
  • The decision depends on assumptions you cannot yet support, such as uptake or price.
  • You have a decision date, such as a licensing deadline or portfolio review.
Discuss your pharmaceutical research question

Frequently asked questions

Discuss your pharmaceutical research question

Tell us about the asset or decision you are working on. A short brief helps us judge whether a published report, a focused study or a broader engagement fits best.

What happens next

A member of our research team reviews your brief and contacts you to discuss scope and approach. If existing research can answer your question, we will point you to it.

Prefer to start with existing research? Browse pharmaceutical market reports

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