Answer:
Metabical is revolutionary product and forecasted to be the first FDA approved prescriptive drug for overweight individuals with weight-loss goals. The previous prescriptive drugs have a negative side effects that out weighed its positives. Metabical, on the other hand, did not display as many negative effects in its trail runs and thus was being strongly endorsed by the medical community. The current weight-loss drugs can be classified as prescriptive drugs or over the counter remedies. OTC drugs were not as a popular among overweight individuals due to lack of regulation and safety concerns. OTC drugs lost out to diet plans, exercise plans and meal replacement/ weight management products, as they were safer options.
The only drug that was approved by the FDA for over-weight individuals was Alli. Alli used to block the body’s absorption of fat, leading to weight loss. However, it had a lot of side effects, which could cause dangerous medical situations. Metabical, on the other hand, was a dual layer, controlled release formulation. It acted as an appetite suppressant and also had a fat blocker and calorie absorption agent. The over-all product was far superior in achieving weight-loss, over its competitors, for over weight indiciduals but not for obese and severely obsess individuals.
Therefore, Merabical was aunique product, which was focuses towards a particular segment of the market, the over weight segment. It was the first of its kind and had that advantage. There were other products, but they were not as popular in the market segment Metabical was targeting. It was pictured as a low-risk, high returns drug and had built good support in the medical community, who were needed to prescribe this drug.
2. What are the pros & cons of the forecasting methods presented by Printup? If you had to estimate demand for this product, how would you go about it? What would your demand (unit)