For pharmaceutical companies, competitive intelligence is critical to successfully introducing a new drug to market. However, this process can often be time consuming and difficult. Fortunately, with the right tools and the right strategies, this research can be made easier and more efficient than ever. EBSCO has outlined the steps that any researcher must take to conduct competitive intelligence research the right way.

Step One: Gather Preliminary Research

Before any competitive intelligence research can begin, you must first determine that there is an unmet need in the industry. Explore diseases where there is currently no available medicine, or there is medicine available, but the side effects are too severe. This is also known as the pre-discovery phase of biopharmaceutical research, where you aim to understand the disease and choose a valid target module.

To help with this research, EBSCO offers Biotechnology Source™. Through this database, you can access thousands of full-text biotechnology and pharmaceutical journals, as well as the largest collection of full-text content indexed in MEDLINE, EMBASE and BIOSIS, to help you begin your research.

Step Two: Dive Deeper

Once you’ve gathered the appropriate research regarding your target disease, you can begin investigating competitors. Using Biotechnology Source, you can find pharmaceutical companies that offer a drug for the target disease, or companies that are working towards developing a similar drug.

You can use this information to gather more in-depth research on competitors using Business Source® Corporate Plus. This customizable research solutions offers competitor information such as case studies, SWOT analyses, reviews, key executives, profit, etc, from one central location.

The information that you’ve gathered throughout your research should help you to enter the market with confidence.

Step Three: Stay Informed

Throughout the drug development process, you must remain informed on important news regarding your industry, competitors and disease target. Create RSS feeds and news alerts so that you never miss an update. Also, be sure to utilize this information to revise your strategy and research so that you are ahead of your competitors.

With its Current News view, Business Source Corporate Plus offers ongoing updates throughout the day from news sources such as Associated Press, CNBC, CNN, NPR, Reuters and BusinessWire.

Step Four: Enter the Market

The information that you’ve gathered throughout your research should help you to enter the market with confidence. Use the data to decide how you will introduce the drug to the market — consider what your competitors are doing as well. You should consolidate all important information into a comprehensive go-to-market plan that you can share with stakeholders.

EBSCO’s databases make pharmaceutical competitive intelligence research easier than ever. Biotechnology Source offers the industry-specific information needed to begin your analysis, while Business Source Corporate Plus helps you dive deeper and stay updated on your market and your competitors. To learn more about competitive intelligence for pharmaceutical companies, download our free infographic.