LONDON, April 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Forecasting in pharmaceuticals has its up's and down's, with new markets and products proving more complex and requiring sophisticated approaches to forecast these areas.

Dealing with uncertainties is no easy task. With a number of risks to consider, pharmaceutical forecasting teams need to be able to recognise commercial uncertainties surrounding a given product, capture it and manage the associated risk.

As recent times have demonstrated the future is uncertain, but we have to make decision now. Says Nich Guthrie, Head of Forecasting - Global Marketing, AstraZeneca. How we handle uncertainty, and not be paralysed by it, is critical to making good investment decisions.

Adopting successful risk management strategies and scenario analysis techniques can turn information into something more meaningful when tackling this challenge. Guthrie will discuss his experience and ideas on this very topic at the Pharma Forecasting Excellence summit in Zurich.

With a view to bringing key topics and innovations in forecasting to the forefront, Pharma Forecasting Excellence Europe 2010, 8-9th June, Zurich, presents best practices from pioneers in the industry.

A particular highlight will be Christian Naumann, VP Global Commercial Operations at Bayer-Schering who will be discussing their forecasting process and how to maximize the value for a global business.

To view the full discussion visit http://www.eyeforpharma.com/forecastingeu

MarketsandMarkets offers a specialized patient based forecast solutions for pipeline drugs across a brand's lifecycle

Forecasting plays a significant role in the pharma industry. Forecasting helps a Pharma company with opportunity analysis, resource planning allocation, investment planning, go-no-go strategy, launch and go to market strategy. An epidemiology matrix is the back-bone of a forecast model. It takes into account prevalence, diagnosis and treatment. Epidemiology captures the impact of disease and patient dynamics; however, it is important to factor in impact of market dynamics to accurately estimate products and market potential. Capturing the impact of all market events and calibrating the forecasted model with the actual market is the appropriate way to accuracy. Calibration with the actual market scenario at every stage of forecast, including peak patient share estimation, treated patient calculation, sales calculation, etc makes the forecast more realistic and accurate.

MarketsandMarkets' patient based forecast solutions have assisted many pharma companies in their forecasting processes for pipeline and in market drugs. MM Pharma forecasting solution is designed for phase I, II and III drugs. Forecasting has a significant impact on pricing, product launch life cycle management, market entry strategy, manufacturing planning, sales force, promotion and planning.

For more information visit http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/patient-based-forecasting.asp

Meet up with the MarketsandMarkets representatives at the conference to discuss your forecasting needs!

Media contact : EyeforPharma Contact : MarketsandMarkets Puja Pankhania Navrose Singh Sandhu VP Europe T: +1-888-989-8004 T: +44-(0)-207-375-7563 E: Navrose@marketsandmarkets.com E: Puja@eyeforpharma.com

SOURCE: Markets and Markets

CONTACT: Media contact : EyeforPharma, Puja Pankhania, VP Europe, T:+44-(0)-207-375-7563,E: Puja@eyeforpharma.com; Contact : MarketsandMarkets, Navrose SinghSandhu, T: +1-888-989-8004, E: Navrose@marketsandmarkets.com