For lifescience companies, case studies are critical for getting across the applications and benefits of technologies or services in a way that resonates with potential clients. In a few sentences you can convey how your unique capabilities have been validated in real-life situations. The main aim: to engender trust in your potential client base.
The difficulty with assembling a good case study that succeeds in this aim lies with obtaining approval that lets you disclose confidential information without risking a lawsuit. If your case study is about a large pharmaceutical company you’re unlikely to obtain this approval in your lifetime unless you’ve specifically embarked on the project with the aim of a joint disclosure or publication. You might have more luck if your case study concerns a smaller biotech but usually only if there is something in it for them – such as free PR for attracting further investment.
You need to be careful to maintain credibility whilst at the same time gaining the interest and confidence of the audience. For maximum effectiveness you should try to include these elements:
- A good headline (see here for tips)
- What did you set out to do? Challenge/aims?
- What was the context of the study (eg budget constraints, competitive environment)?
- What methods and resources did you use?
- What was the outcome?
Here are the some different types of case studies that won’t get you into trouble:
- The client-endorsed case study. The most powerful form of case study is the one in which you can name the client concerned and reveal details of the data and methodologies used to generate it. There is nothing better than including the client’s name along with the case studies details to add some gravitas. For the icing on the cake, include a quote from the client. And for the majority of us who can’t use this format there is:
- The anonymous case study. As above, but with the client name and all data descriptors removed. I really liked this format by McKinsey. For a web format for consultants, I thought this format was also simple yet effective.
- The expert commentary. Instead of using your own case histories with the potential litigation headache not to mention the work involved in delving through archived project files, why not showcase your expertise by writing a commentary on a published example? Say your company provides formulation technology and expertise to improve oral bioavailability for poorly soluble compounds. Pick a drug with known low solubility and write a case study “The Secret to Achieving Decent Bioavailability: How Company X Would Have Tackled Drug Y.” I liked this business world example in which the business expert talked about how it’s important to understand local target markets and competitive environments before launching a new product: How Apple Blew It in China.
- The summary case study. Add up all the studies you’ve done and categorize them in order to draw conclusions about certain aspects of, for example, pharmaceutical R&D pipelines. I’ve used this format a couple of times and it drew a lot of interest for scientific posters and as an editorial eg Can oral drug absorption be accurately predicted from in vitro data? Summary of 30 pharmaceutical compounds.
- The hypothetical case study. For when you have exhausted all other options. Personally I just don’t think they work well in scientific arenas but I thought I would include it for completeness. It’s the easy way out. You just make up the data and the scenario and say what you would have done to overcome the issue. It’s O.K for talking about general problems that might be recognizable for your audience, but you can’t add in the anecdotes and specificities that make the example that bit more captivating. There’s also the danger that in the wrong hands (eg an overzealous salesperson) a hypothetical example could be “talked up” as if it were real – a very dodgy situation!
