May 21, 2026
Launch failures are rarely clinical-only
Growth-stage biopharma CEOs often treat launch as a commercial finish line - sales force hired, KOL plan locked, pricing chosen. Revenue disappointments frequently trace to payer sequencing, net price architecture, and contracting posture decided too late, not to weak science.
This is why life sciences advisory on launch often belongs with operators who have launched in complex U.S. payer environments - not only with brand agencies or generalist consultants.
Mistake 1: Pricing before access narrative
Setting WAC and list price before the payer story is board-ready produces elegant spreadsheets and weak formulary outcomes. Boards and PBMs buy the clinical-economic argument and the contracting path together.
Operator move: lock the reimbursement narrative and target account list before final price bands. Use a structured framework - Katogen's reimbursement strategy PDF is a starting point.
Mistake 2: Parallel workstreams that never integrate
Medical, market access, and commercial often run separate timelines. Launch week exposes gaps - missing codes, weak HEOR, inconsistent messaging to payers.
Operator move: one integrated launch critical path with shared milestones and a single owner who can say no to scope creep.
Mistake 3: Treating biosimilar and novel launch playbooks as identical
Biosimilar economics depend on access speed and net price discipline; novel therapies may prioritize site-of-care and medical policy depth. Copying a peer's launch plan without modality fit burns cash.
See biosimilar market access execution gaps for modality-specific lessons.
Mistake 4: No early signal review
Teams wait for quarter-end revenue to judge access. By then, contracting alternatives are expensive.
Operator move: weekly access signal reviews for the first 90 days - formulary actions, PBM feedback, hub friction - with pre-agreed escalation triggers.
Where this sits in Katogen's consulting model
Market access and launch support live in our biopharma consulting services hub - alongside M&A, capital, supply chain, and fractional leadership - because launch decisions intersect with financing and deal timing. We do not run a separate “access agency”; we help CEOs and boards make integrated decisions.
Next steps
- Download frameworks on Resources
- Read the consulting FAQ on engagement fit
- Contact Katogen if you are within 6-12 months of launch and want an operator review of sequencing and payer strategy
