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The Replacement Architecture: How Biopharma Companies Build Beyond the Blockbuster

The companies best positioned for life beyond a blockbuster may not be those doing the most deals, but those building a credible replacement architecture before loss of exclusivity arrives.

Every blockbuster creates a future challenge.

The same product that delivers exceptional value to patients and shareholders will eventually face loss of exclusivity, forcing companies to answer a critical question:

How do you replace today's growth engine while building tomorrow's? 

In this new Point of View, Ipsos introduces the Replacement Architecture Framework, a strategic approach for evaluating how pharmaceutical companies prepare for life beyond blockbuster brands.

Drawing on analysis of Lilly, AbbVie, Merck/MSD and Bristol Myers Squibb, the paper examines how companies combine flagship stewardship, internal innovation and external innovation to create future growth opportunities. 

Key insights include:

  • Why replacing a blockbuster requires more than business development activity alone.
  • How leading biopharma companies build distinct "dealmaking fingerprints".
  • What investor reactions can reveal about future growth preparedness.
  • When external innovation strengthens a growth narrative and when it falls short.
  • How pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies can apply the framework to partnering, portfolio and investment decisions.

Whether you are responsible for portfolio strategy, business development, licensing, corporate strategy or commercial planning, this paper offers a practical framework for evaluating future growth readiness.
 

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