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In the last few years, I have seen membership subscription websites take the Internet by storm. Most subscription sites offer their subscriptions for a fee; however, a handful offer their information for fr

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ee to anyone who will provide an email address and name.

The focus of this article will be on the fee-based membership subscription websites. Back in the Internet dark ages in 1997 or so, everyone expected

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

everything online to be free of charge. For a few years, as more and more people purchased computers and chose to be online, that philosophy worked quite well. Around the year 2000, however, that philosoph

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

began to change. The dot-com bust was beginning, and many companies realized that continuing to provide their services or content free of charge wasn't going to work in the new Internet marketplace. The fe

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

e-for-content phase was beginning, and many were skeptical, saying the people would never pay for something that was once free.

Now, paying for information online has become the rule, rather than the excep

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ion. Newspapers charge to access their article archives; membership associations charge to access their membership lists; and membership subscription websites charge to access the "insider" information that

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

a particular industry or niche finds vital for success.

I am amazed at the number of membership websites out there that cater to all interests. Here are some examples:

-- The Janitorial Store (http://www

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

.thejanitorialstore.com): provides tools and resources on how to open and run a cleaning business.

-- Landlord Support (http://www.landlordsupport.com): helps property managers with the challenges of ma

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

aging and maintaining rental property.

-- Patterns Patch (http://www.patternspatch.com): offers cross-stitch design patterns to avid cross-stitchers.

-- Dog Problems (http://www.dogproblems.com): teache

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

s you how to train your dog to become better behaved

There are a number of companies providing membership subscription software and services in the marketplace, and the prices are all over the board. Two t

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

at come highly recommended are MemberGate, http://www.membergate.com, which is a membership website development company that will host and help you develop your website, and aMember Professional, http://www

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

.amember.com, which is software that you purchase and install to help you manage your membership site.

Integrating a membership website as a key part of your marketing funnel will be a time-consuming ende

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

avor, but I think you'll find it worthwhile. Here are some tips to keep in mind, as you think about launching your own membership subscription website:

1. Pick a niche market with which you have some expe

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

ience and credibility. Your audience is paying for your expertise and insight, so trying to fake it won't work.

2. Talk to members of your target market and evaluate their enthusiasm for providing content

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

they want online. You may find out that they'd prefer the delivery of the content via a different medium.

3. Determine the size of your market. Are there already some products and services available for

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

his market? How does your pricing compare? How will they find you? What will be their incentive for joining? What sets you apart and makes you different from others offering a similar product or service?

4

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

. Is the information you're providing readily available offline? If it is, people may not be willing to pay a monthly or yearly membership fee to access the information.

5. Don't think of a membership s

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

ubscription website as a "get rich quick" effort. It will take 8-12 months for you to develop the content for and then launch the website, and at least another year to build your membership and begin showin

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

a profit.

A membership subscription website can be a phenomenal way to leverage your expertise and can grow to become a lucrative multiple profit center for your business. Create your business plan for yo

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ur site and do the research up front to determine if this strategy will be a viable profit center for your business and how you will integrate it into your current offerings.

Copyright (c) 2007 Donna Gunte

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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