Useful Advices - Business

Let me take you back to the days when Flagstaff was a small town. When complaints were flying that you had to go to Phoenix if you wanted to shop. And when you could find a parking space downtown. I’m talking about the time before the Flagstaff Mall, Wal-Mart,

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

Kohl's, and Target. Oh, there were still lots of stores, even some large chain stores like Long’s Drugs, Thrifty Drug, and Safeway. But there were also lots of unique little stores owned by folks who lived and worked in Flagstaff .

But that was twenty-five

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

lus years ago. The town has grown and times have changed. Phoenix shopping has arrived in Flagstaff and has brought with it both the good and the bad. Prices, selection, and service have improved. Traffic has increased. Parking downtown is almost an impossi

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

bility. And we’ve lost many of the unique little shops that once catered to the needs of Flagstaff and the surrounding area.

The Daily Sun’s coffers are probably overflowing with all the full-color ads and shopping inserts that added all the extra weight to o

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

r newspapers before Thanksgiving. The stores were packed on the 26th as eager consumers lined up to grab the 25 to 50 percent off bargains from the shelves. But were they really bargains?

Think about it! The markup for most retail products is 40 to 50%. Wh

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

n you see this type of discount at a small retail shop, what you are receiving as a savings is actually a large portion of their profit for that item. But what about the larger chains who offer just about everything in the store with a large markdown Do you r

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

eally believe that these savvy businesses are going to give you their total profit and survive? Not likely. There are two ways to give that big discount and still make a profit. One is to increase the markup and then offer the discount. The second is a secr

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

t that Sam Walton, the ultimate entrepreneur who used to advertise "all our products are made in the USA", discovered years ago. Buy large quantities cheap in China and mark up as much as 300% when selling in the U.S. These are concepts that the corporate wor

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

ld has used for years. They are concepts that the big chains understand very well. And they provide a marketing ploy that the consumer falls for every time.

These concepts are here to stay. It's a fact of the American retail system. And we (yes, even me) l

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

ve thinking that we are getting a great deal. But the price of that bargain is high. The uniqueness of a hand-created product, requiring many many hours of labor, is harder to find since the hand crafter can no longer receive even a reasonable wage for those

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

ours once the product has been discovered and sent to China for reproduction.

The so-called bargains that the consumers eagerly purchased filled the cash drawers of Wall Street and stockholders of the corporations who understand the concept of Madison Avenue m

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

arketing. But this money, and the benefits that go with it, left Flagstaff —never to be seen again.

The unique small stores, locally owned by entrepreneurs striving to compete in today’s corporate-driven world, were left mostly empty that day. Their cash dra

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ers didn’t even cover the expenses of remaining open. As a result, these unique little stores will struggle for awhile until, like many before them here in Flagstaff , they, too, will close their doors and fade away like a ghost in the night.

“So what?” you a

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

sk. “So they couldn’t compete. What difference does it make? We still have the selection and the bargains. We shop locally now. Isn’t that what the Chamber of Commerce and its many business owners have been harping about for years?”

Are you really shoppin

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

locally? Is your money staying in and benefiting Flagstaff ? True, the proceeds from local sales taxes has grown over the past twenty-five years. Salaries paid to local workers remain in the city. But that’s only a drop in the bucket compared to the profit

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

that now enrich the out-of-town and even out-of-state big corporations that lead us, like a bull with a ring in its nose, to the bargain trough.

You probably won’t even miss the unique small stores when they disappear. The people in Phoenix haven’t. San Jos

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

e , California traded its uniqueness for corporate greed in the 50’s and 60’s. At a League of California Cities meeting, which I attended as a City Council member is the 70’s, I heard the mayor bemoan what they had lost. And, for them, it was too late.

Is i

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

too late for Flagstaff? Probably. The Chamber of Commerce advertises “They don’t make towns like this anymore!” And it’s true. Once its uniqueness and small-town businesses disappear to be replaced by corporate giants, we can never go back. And, we are wel

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

l on our way as more and more trees and small local businesses are being sacrificed for "our economic growth."

Growth is inevitable. The stores, controlled by Wall Street, make a contribution to the shopping experience in Flagstaff and will continue to arrive

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

But, if we fail to remember and shop at the little stores, with their uniqueness that only a local owner can provide, the very things that make Flagstaff special and why many of us moved here will disappear. It’s up to you and me---and whether we care enough

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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The number of web designers have increased in the past years mainly because more and more people have discovered the benefits of doing business online. If you look around, you will notice that the most successful web designers in the business are those who are very creative and original. The different software available in the market could never duplicate natural talent and skills. Many web designers today have chosen to be self-employed.

Because first impressions really count, you need to take a careful approach to writing cover letters in order to avoid rejection. This article tells you 10 dont's to avoid.

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