Recommendation: Based on my analysis of this case study, my opinion is that Biopure should go ahead and launch Oxyglobin instead of shelving it until FDA approval for Hemopure is received and it is launched. The single most important reason for this recommendation is that, Biopure, being the first and only firm approved for any type of blood substitute product in the world, it is uniquely positioned to take advantage of its first-mover status. With the reduced availability and transfusion of blood in the veterinary market, by appropriately pricing the product, Oxyglobin will offer significant benefits to consumers and require minimal behavioral changes from them-in terms of price sensitivity-Oxyglobin can become a “Smash Hit” blood substitute product ever.…show more content… With no other competition for at least another 2 to 5 years—the time it would take for any of its competitors to bring a product to the market even if they started in 1998—Biopure will be able to consolidate its position in the market and expect to garner a greater share of the animal market. Similarly, in the human market, Biopure can adjust its production capacity from 150,000 to 300, 000 units, against an existing market potential of 11.3 million units in 1995, which is expected to increase to about 12.92 million by 2030. Even if all the three firms—Biopure and its competitors Baxter and Northfield—receive FDA approval for their respective human blood substitute products, the combined capacity of all the three firms will be approximately one tenth of the total market for blood substitute products in the human
