1. Define Propecia’s potential customer base. What is Propecia competing against in the consumer’s mind? What can be learned from Rogaine’s experience in the marketplace?
Propecia is a drug against hair loss, effective both on stopping and reversing the Male Pattern Hair Loss. According to Tom Casola, the brand manager of Propecia, the potential customer base is at least half of the male population, as MPHL occured in 30-40 million American men, which is around 50% od Caucasian men under the age of 50, with the lifetime incidence to reach 100%. But when compared to others race and nationalities. Neither black men, Japanese men nor Chinese men were as likely to develop MPHL as frequantly as Caucasian men, at least not until later ages.
What Propecia is competing against in consumer’s mind is that, according to the research Merck did, consumers believe hair loss to be a slow process and they do not seek treatment early enough, at least not before trying a couple remedies of their own including brushing, wearinh hats, combing the hari over bold spots, which is mainly because they are not fully aware of the degree of their hair loss, as it is most likeley happening at the back or top of their head. Although 2/3 of men losing hair consider of it to be a problem, half of those consider it to be a futre problem, and the remaining 1/3 does not even consider it to be a problem. The consideration of this problem to be a future problem, or an inevitable problem, builds kind of a resistance in terms of the willingness to fight it. And Merck needs to focus on showing that it is a current problem and not a future problem and shoudl be addressed as soon as possible, in order to have success over it, and making it not inevitable.
Rogaine, a topical including minoxidil, affective against hair loss, as long as used, was the frst FDA approved topical hair loss intervention, which was not successful as a prescribed