ABSTRACT
Many factors determine the situational context for a drug. To assess them systematically, the “Patient and treatment flow, promise Options, Direct competition, Unmet needs and Money flow (PODiUM)” framework has been developed. The actual PODiUM analysis can be relatively broad, for example in the very early stages of development, or very detailed, for example pre-launch for complicated situation. Some of the PODiUM elements are further illustrated with two examples: A typical physician office treatment situation with mostly pharmacy dispensed drugs, prescribed by the PCP or specialist; a fictitious new oral diabetes drug is used as an example. A typical hospital inpatient situation, where a drug is dispensed through the hospital pharmacy and administered to the patient. A fictitious new stroke drug is used as an illustrative example. Safety or tolerability improvements can be very important in cases where side effects are debilitating and require treatment or in cases where tolerability is causing a barrier to reach the required efficacy levels.
