Pharmaceutical companies will spend as much as $500 million to market a blockbuster drug over the course of its development, according to a recent report by Cutting Edge Information. Splashy investments fall short, however, if a company fails to successfully integrate its R&D and marketing teams - and thus bridge the gap between scientific and commercial concerns.

Cutting Edge Information's report, "Early-Stage Pharmaceutical Marketing: Uniting R&D and Commercialization," concludes that a successful union of R&D and commercial groups requires a common commercial vision among researchers and marketers. In short, everyone works toward the same goal: an effective, groundbreaking product that fits a specific set of market and medical needs. Achieving this vision requires early-stage marketers that work directly with the R&D organization.

Since most companies cannot afford to place complete marketing teams in discovery and development labs, many firms send experienced, solo marketers into their R&D departments. These lone marketing representatives join development teams and introduce commercial thinking as early as possible.

"This forward-thinking approach leads to lucrative commercial endpoints," said Jon Hess, senior analyst at Cutting Edge Information. "Collaboration between the marketing representatives and R&D provides a link from the laboratory to the market, thus shaping the scientific development of new drugs to better meet market needs."