Navigating guideline changes in diabetes care
The Challenge
A global pharmaceutical company a faced a critical moment for its market-leading diabetes treatment as the UK’s NICE guidelines for Type 2 diabetes were set to be updated for the first time since 2022.
These changes were expected to reshape treatment pathways, with particular concern around:
- Increased emphasis on GLP-1 mimetics
- Potential shifts in clinical and cost-effectiveness positioning
- The knock-on impact on SGLT2 inhibitor prescribing, including Forxiga
The client needed to understand:
- How healthcare professionals (HCPs) and payers would react to the updated guidance
- How prescribing behaviour might change in response
- The broader implications for Forxiga’s role within treatment pathways
The objective was clear: anticipate and navigate risk to maintain their drug's position in a changing clinical landscape
Our Approach
Bryter designed a multi-audience, mixed-methods research programme to assess the real-world impact of guideline change.
Engaging the full decision-making ecosystem
We conducted in-depth interviews across key stakeholders, including:
- Primary care physicians and diabetes specialists
- Nurses and clinical pharmacists
- Integrated Care Board (ICB) payers
This ensured a robust understanding of both prescribing behaviour and system-level decision making.
Scenario-based testing
Participants were exposed to a series of hypothetical update scenarios, enabling Bryter to:
- Assess reactions to proposed guideline changes
- Explore how treatment choices shift under different conditions
- Identify thresholds for change in prescribing behaviour
This approach moved beyond stated opinions to simulate real-world decision making.
The Outcome
Bryter delivered a clear, actionable set of recommendations to support the client's strategy.
This included:
- Guidance on how to position their treatment within evolving treatment pathways
- Identification of key risk areas and opportunity segments
- Strategic recommendations to support HCP decision-making and confidence
- Insight into how payers would interpret and implement guideline changes
The work provided a forward-looking view of how the market would evolve, enabling proactive rather than reactive strategy.
The research delivered commercial value to the client by:
- Protecting and reinforcing their role within combination therapy pathways
- Enabling the client to anticipate and respond to guideline-driven change
- Improving alignment between brand strategy and real-world clinical decision making
- Informing subsequent research to further size and validate demand
The research ultimately helped the client's treatment to remain relevant in a shifting treatment landscape.
Learn more about how market research and insights can build a deeper understanding of the lives of patients, support in testing and development of new therapies and build effective marketing strategies in our 'ultimate guide to pharmaceutical market research and insights'
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