Marketing Antidepressant: Prozac and Paxil-Case Qns

1. What was the value proposition of the early antidepressants (the MAOIs and the
tricyclics)? Was the value proposition of Prozac similar to these early
antidepressants, or different? How was the value proposition of Paxil
differentiated from that of Prozac?

2. Why did the early antidepressants (the MAOIs and tricyclics) fail to achieve
widespread acceptance in the market? What factors accounted for the success of
Prozac? What factors accounted for the success of Paxil?

3. Case Exhibit 10 consists of a self-test for Social Anxiety Disorder. Look at the
questions on this test and come up with a prediction for what an average
individual of average mental health would score on this test. (Possible scores
range from 0 to 68)

4. What are the different ways that Lilly and SmithKline Beecham/GlaxoSmithKline
(SKB/GSK) have captured value from their respective drugs? Have these
companies done a good job of maximizing their product’s revenue potential?

5. In anticipation of Prozac coming off patent, Lilly has adopted a multi-pronged

strategy. What do you think of the various elements of this strategy? In general,
should the company scale back on marketing Prozac, or should it ramp up its
Prozac marketing efforts in anticipation of generic competition? What should
GSK’s marketing strategy be for Paxil now that Prozac is coming off patent?
Should it be similar to, or different from, Lilly’s strategy?