Strategy & Planning for Global Commercial Launch Success in Pharma
With Jo Lopez
Course Details
When launching a new pharmaceutical, you only get one chance to get it right. Yet, many launches fail to achieve their full potential.
Achieving global commercial launch success requires an early start—beginning as early as proof of concept—along with specialised expertise and seamless cross-functional collaboration.
This course equips you with all the concepts, evidence-based tools, and strategic insights to make informed decisions and effectively plan every step towards a successful global launch.
Not only will you have the opportunity to consult directly with an experienced expert, but you’ll also engage in meaningful discussions and share experiences with international peers, making this a truly unique learning experience.
The early commercial activities required to maximise product differentiation versus the competition at launch.
The market and stakeholder analyses that are crucial for identifying all growth opportunities.
How to define the components of an impactful brand strategy: segmentation, positioning, strategic imperatives, and financials.
How to prepare for a global launch in terms of scenario planning, customer engagement, and critical deliverables.
How to allocate resources, define KPIs, and engage country affiliates.
To see the detailed agenda, please submit your details in the form below the table.
Day 1
| Welcome & Introductions (~30 min) |
| What ‘Early Commercial’ Should Do in Pharma Right After Proof of Concept (~1 h 15 min) |
| How to Maximise Product Differentiation at Launch Through Early Commercial Activities (~1 h 15 min) |
| Lunch Break |
| Critical Analyses to Determine Growth Opportunities for Your Brand (~2 h 15 min) |
| Defining the Brand Strategy (1): Segmentation & Positioning (~1 h) |
| Wrap-up of Day 1 (~15 min) |
Day 2
| Roadmap for Day 2 (~15 min) |
| Defining the Brand Strategy (2): Strategic Imperatives & Financials (~1 h 15 min) |
| Preparing for Global Launch (1) : Scenario Planning – Customer Engagement – Critical Deliverables (~2 h) |
| Lunch Break |
| Preparing for Global Launch (2): Resource Allocation – KPIs – Engaging Country Affiliates (~1 h 45 min) |
| Skills & Capabilities of the Most Effective Commercial Leaders in Pharma (~30 min) |
| Wrap-up & Close (~15 min) |
To see the detailed agenda, please submit your details in the form below:
Jo Lopez is Practice Lead Early Commercialisation and Launch Excellence at Uptake, a global, value-driven independent healthcare consultancy focused on driving uptake across the pharma and biotech industry.
She is an international pharmaceutical leader with over 20 years of experience, specialising in launch excellence and early commercialisation. Before joining Uptake, she held senior global launch roles at GSK, as well as local commercial and market access roles at Roche.
Jo joined the CELforPharma faculty in 2023, and participants praise her for her deep expertise, engaging teaching style, and ability to provide practical, actionable insights that can be immediately applied to real-world launch scenarios.
A cross-functional launch team typically consists of executives from Marketing, Sales, Medical, Market Access, External Affairs and Business Intelligence. This course is a must-attend for all members of any cross-functional launch team that needs to launch a brand in the coming 1-3 years. In particular, all executives responsible for building, executing and measuring a launch plan.
If you are a consultant, please contact Annelies Swaan, who will check with the faculty whether you can attend.
As this is the first session of the "Strategy and Planning for Global Commercial Launch Success" course with Jo Lopez, there are no testimonials available yet.
1-2 April 2025
Brussels
Early bird € 2 970
(Full fee € 3 370)
(until 14/02/2025)
20-21 November 2025
Live online (CET timing)
Early bird € 2 670
(Full fee € 2 870)
(until 17/10/2025)
Important information:
Live online CET courses take place on Zoom between 9 AM and 5 PM CET (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris time zone).
Live online EST courses take place on Zoom between 8 AM and 4 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time).
Face-to-face courses are held at a four-star business hotel near Brussels Airport, running from 9 AM to 5 PM CET.
You will receive all practical details after your registration.
For any questions related to the above, please do not hesitate to email Margherita Mutto or contact her by phone at +32 472 03 11 38 .
How to Register
Click the green "Register" button on the course session of your preference.
The registration wizard will guide you through the personal and company data that we need to process your registration.
You have the choice between 2 payment options:
Payment by credit card. You will not be required to pay immediately, but you will receive a secured payment link together with the invoice.
Payment via bank transfer
Click "Register Now". You will be sent an automatic email confirming your registration followed by a personal email containing an invoice and further payment instructions.
For assistance with your registration, please email Annelies Swaan or contact her by phone at +32 486 98 52 49.
Included in the Registration Fee:
For live online courses:
Access to a virtual small-class (max 20 participants), expert led course in real-time, using an interactive platform for break-out rooms, whiteboard exercises, polling, plenary discussions and chats.
Course material will be provided to you in both digital format (by email) and in hard copy (by post, so you can make notes during the course).
Certificate of attendance signed by the expert and CELforPharma.
For face-to-face courses:
Participation in a small-class (max 20 participants), expert led face-to-face course with interactive group exercises and plenary discussions. You will have the opportunity to meet the expert and discuss your own projects/issues during the breaks.
Course material will be provided to you in both digital format (by email) and in hard copy (so you can make notes during the course).
Opportunities for networking and informal discussions during coffee/tea breaks and lunch.
A group dinner in a nearby restaurant on the evening of day 1.
Certificate of attendance signed by the expert and CELforPharma.
VAT Information
The prices on our website are excluding VAT. Depending on the format of the course (face-to-face in Brussels or live online or self-study programme) and your location, we are obliged by Belgian law to apply VAT.
We are obliged by Belgian law to apply VAT in the following cases:
Face-to-Face public course organised in Belgium
Article 53 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112 states that : “The place of supply of services in respect of admission to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events, such as fairs and exhibitions, and of ancillary services related to the admission, supplied to a taxable person, shall be the place where those events actually take place.”
If the course that you register for takes place in Belgium, we are obliged to charge 21% Belgian VAT.
However, you can recover this Belgian VAT through the refund procedure. Note that this procedure differs depending on the country where you are located. It is best to contact your local VAT administration for this.
Online Public courses - live webinar
Webinars where the participants can communicate among themselves or ask questions to the speaker(s) (be it verbally, via a chat function or similar), are considered as ‘a service supplied by electronic means’ by the Belgian VAT administration.
According to Article 56 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112, these services supplied by electronic means take place where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Self-Study Programme:
A self-study programme is a service provided electronically. It is the period of self-study that is the most important in our self-study Basics of Health Economics and not the kickoff and closing webinars. As a result, the place of the service is where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Group Discounts
Team discounts can be offered to 2 or more delegates from the same company.
Email Annelies Swaan, Director Business Operations, for more details.
Transfer & Cancellation Policy
Flexible Transfer
If a registrant is unable to attend the scheduled course, they can avoid any cancellation charges by providing a suitable replacement participant.
Alternatively, the registrant may transfer once, on a 'space-available' basis and at no extra cost, to another course of the same value held within one year of the original course date, provided this is done at least three weeks prior to the event.
Registration Cancellation
Less than 14 days prior to the course date: The registrant is liable to pay the full invoiced registration fee.
Between 15 and 30 days prior to the course date: The registrant is liable to pay 50% of the invoiced registration fee.
More than 30 days prior to the course date: The registrant is liable to pay a cancellation fee of € 450 per registrant.
If a registrant postpones their participation to a future course and subsequently cancels again, no refund will be issued for the registration fees.
Benefits of CELforPharma’s face-to-face courses:
You have the unique opportunity to interact one-to-one with the expert(s).
Plenty of opportunity for informal one-to-one and group conversations with your international peers to exchange experiences and ideas, to discuss issues and to network.
Face-to-face interactions allow for more depth during Q&As and group work.
You can step away from your daily routine in the office and enjoy a more focused learning experience in a comfortable business hotel environment.
Benefits of CELforPharma’s live online courses:
The formal programme is as impactful as a face-to-face course thanks to the highly interactive format (using breakouts, polls, quizzes …).
No travel & accommodation expenses
You can attend the course from the comfort of your own office or home.
We send you the course materials by post so that you can take notes and fully engage with the course content.
No, if you choose credit card payment, we will send you a secure payment link together with the invoice.
Team discounts can be offered for 2 or more registrations confirmed at the same time. The level of discount will depend on the number of registrations and the availability of seats.
Email Annelies Swaan, Director Business Operations, for more details.
Depending on the format of the course (face-to-face in Brussels or live online or self-study programme) and your location, we are obliged by Belgian law to apply VAT in the following cases:
Face-to-Face public course organised in Belgium
Article 53 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112 states that : “The place of supply of services in respect of admission to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events, such as fairs and exhibitions, and of ancillary services related to the admission, supplied to a taxable person, shall be the place where those events actually take place.”
If the course that you register for takes place in Belgium, we are obliged to charge 21% Belgian VAT.
However, you can recover this Belgian VAT through the refund procedure. Note that this procedure differs depending on the country where you are located. It is best to contact your local VAT administration for this.
Online Public courses - live webinar
Webinars where the participants can communicate among themselves or ask questions to the speaker(s) (be it verbally, via a chat function or similar), are considered as ‘a service supplied by electronic means’ by the Belgian VAT administration.
According to Article 56 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112, these services supplied by electronic means take place where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Self-Study Programme:
A self-study programme is a service provided electronically. It is the period of self-study that is the most important in our self-study Basics of Health Economics and not the kickoff and closing webinars. As a result, the place of the service is where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Our face-to-face courses in Brussels take place in four-star business hotels close to the airport. As part of our strong relationship with these hotels, CELforPharma has secured a discount on the daily room rate for our delegates who book their accommodation via us.
Upon your registration, we will assist you to make your hotel booking. For any assistance in this matter please do not hesitate to email Margherita Mutto, Course Coordinator, or contact her by phone at +32 472 03 11 38.
We do not record our live online public courses as we want to offer a safe environment for all attendees to share their experiences and freely ask questions.
This way, by participating in our courses, you do not only learn from our expert faculty but also from your international peers in the room.
No, we don't sell the course materials as a stand-alone.
Without the expert's explanation, the exercises and the discussions with other course participants, there is very little value in the slides.
Email Inge Cornelis (Director, Client & Product Projects) to help you choose the course that is best suited.
Yes!
We have helped many managers to set up an in-house training programme for their team.
Email Inge Cornelis (Director, Client & Product Projects) to discuss your team training needs.
Do you have any other questions?
Email Annelies Swaan or call +32 486 98 52 49.
People attending this course are typically also interested in:
By clicking on the below button, you will save this course to MY COURSES in the upper right corner of the website. This allows you to quickly retrieve it later.
Don’t forget to make a personal account using the Login button in the upper right corner of the website to keep your list of saved courses for your next visit.
Course Details
Upcoming Session
1-2 April 2025, Brussels
Early bird € 2 970
(Full fee € 3 370)
(until 14/02/2025) Prices are excl. VAT
When launching a new pharmaceutical, you only get one chance to get it right. Yet, many launches fail to achieve their full potential.
Achieving global commercial launch success requires an early start—beginning as early as proof of concept—along with specialised expertise and seamless cross-functional collaboration.
This course equips you with all the concepts, evidence-based tools, and strategic insights to make informed decisions and effectively plan every step towards a successful global launch.
Not only will you have the opportunity to consult directly with an experienced expert, but you’ll also engage in meaningful discussions and share experiences with international peers, making this a truly unique learning experience.
The early commercial activities required to maximise product differentiation versus the competition at launch.
The market and stakeholder analyses that are crucial for identifying all growth opportunities.
How to define the components of an impactful brand strategy: segmentation, positioning, strategic imperatives, and financials.
How to prepare for a global launch in terms of scenario planning, customer engagement, and critical deliverables.
How to allocate resources, define KPIs, and engage country affiliates.
To see the detailed agenda, please submit your details in the form below the table.
Day 1
| Welcome & Introductions (~30 min) |
| What ‘Early Commercial’ Should Do in Pharma Right After Proof of Concept (~1 h 15 min) |
| How to Maximise Product Differentiation at Launch Through Early Commercial Activities (~1 h 15 min) |
| Lunch Break |
| Critical Analyses to Determine Growth Opportunities for Your Brand (~2 h 15 min) |
| Defining the Brand Strategy (1): Segmentation & Positioning (~1 h) |
| Wrap-up of Day 1 (~15 min) |
Day 2
| Roadmap for Day 2 (~15 min) |
| Defining the Brand Strategy (2): Strategic Imperatives & Financials (~1 h 15 min) |
| Preparing for Global Launch (1) : Scenario Planning – Customer Engagement – Critical Deliverables (~2 h) |
| Lunch Break |
| Preparing for Global Launch (2): Resource Allocation – KPIs – Engaging Country Affiliates (~1 h 45 min) |
| Skills & Capabilities of the Most Effective Commercial Leaders in Pharma (~30 min) |
| Wrap-up & Close (~15 min) |
To see the detailed agenda, please submit your details in the form below:
Jo Lopez is Practice Lead Early Commercialisation and Launch Excellence at Uptake, a global, value-driven independent healthcare consultancy focused on driving uptake across the pharma and biotech industry.
She is an international pharmaceutical leader with over 20 years of experience, specialising in launch excellence and early commercialisation. Before joining Uptake, she held senior global launch roles at GSK, as well as local commercial and market access roles at Roche.
Jo joined the CELforPharma faculty in 2023, and participants praise her for her deep expertise, engaging teaching style, and ability to provide practical, actionable insights that can be immediately applied to real-world launch scenarios.
A cross-functional launch team typically consists of executives from Marketing, Sales, Medical, Market Access, External Affairs and Business Intelligence. This course is a must-attend for all members of any cross-functional launch team that needs to launch a brand in the coming 1-3 years. In particular, all executives responsible for building, executing and measuring a launch plan.
If you are a consultant, please contact Annelies Swaan, who will check with the faculty whether you can attend.
As this is the first session of the "Strategy and Planning for Global Commercial Launch Success" course with Jo Lopez, there are no testimonials available yet.
1-2 April 2025
Brussels
Early bird € 2 970
(Full fee € 3 370)
(until 14/02/2025)
20-21 November 2025
Live online (CET timing)
Early bird € 2 670
(Full fee € 2 870)
(until 17/10/2025)
Important information:
Live online CET courses take place on Zoom between 9 AM and 5 PM CET (Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris time zone).
Live online EST courses take place on Zoom between 8 AM and 4 PM EST (Eastern Standard Time).
Face-to-face courses are held at a four-star business hotel near Brussels Airport, running from 9 AM to 5 PM CET.
You will receive all practical details after your registration.
For any questions related to the above, please do not hesitate to email Margherita Mutto or contact her by phone at +32 472 03 11 38 .
How to Register
Click the green "Register" button on the course session of your preference.
The registration wizard will guide you through the personal and company data that we need to process your registration.
You have the choice between 2 payment options:
Payment by credit card. You will not be required to pay immediately, but you will receive a secured payment link together with the invoice.
Payment via bank transfer
Click "Register Now". You will be sent an automatic email confirming your registration followed by a personal email containing an invoice and further payment instructions.
For assistance with your registration, please email Annelies Swaan or contact her by phone at +32 486 98 52 49.
Included in the Registration Fee:
For live online courses:
Access to a virtual small-class (max 20 participants), expert led course in real-time, using an interactive platform for break-out rooms, whiteboard exercises, polling, plenary discussions and chats.
Course material will be provided to you in both digital format (by email) and in hard copy (by post, so you can make notes during the course).
Certificate of attendance signed by the expert and CELforPharma.
For face-to-face courses:
Participation in a small-class (max 20 participants), expert led face-to-face course with interactive group exercises and plenary discussions. You will have the opportunity to meet the expert and discuss your own projects/issues during the breaks.
Course material will be provided to you in both digital format (by email) and in hard copy (so you can make notes during the course).
Opportunities for networking and informal discussions during coffee/tea breaks and lunch.
A group dinner in a nearby restaurant on the evening of day 1.
Certificate of attendance signed by the expert and CELforPharma.
VAT Information
The prices on our website are excluding VAT. Depending on the format of the course (face-to-face in Brussels or live online or self-study programme) and your location, we are obliged by Belgian law to apply VAT.
We are obliged by Belgian law to apply VAT in the following cases:
Face-to-Face public course organised in Belgium
Article 53 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112 states that : “The place of supply of services in respect of admission to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events, such as fairs and exhibitions, and of ancillary services related to the admission, supplied to a taxable person, shall be the place where those events actually take place.”
If the course that you register for takes place in Belgium, we are obliged to charge 21% Belgian VAT.
However, you can recover this Belgian VAT through the refund procedure. Note that this procedure differs depending on the country where you are located. It is best to contact your local VAT administration for this.
Online Public courses - live webinar
Webinars where the participants can communicate among themselves or ask questions to the speaker(s) (be it verbally, via a chat function or similar), are considered as ‘a service supplied by electronic means’ by the Belgian VAT administration.
According to Article 56 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112, these services supplied by electronic means take place where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Self-Study Programme:
A self-study programme is a service provided electronically. It is the period of self-study that is the most important in our self-study Basics of Health Economics and not the kickoff and closing webinars. As a result, the place of the service is where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Group Discounts
Team discounts can be offered to 2 or more delegates from the same company.
Email Annelies Swaan, Director Business Operations, for more details.
Transfer & Cancellation Policy
Flexible Transfer
If a registrant is unable to attend the scheduled course, they can avoid any cancellation charges by providing a suitable replacement participant.
Alternatively, the registrant may transfer once, on a 'space-available' basis and at no extra cost, to another course of the same value held within one year of the original course date, provided this is done at least three weeks prior to the event.
Registration Cancellation
Less than 14 days prior to the course date: The registrant is liable to pay the full invoiced registration fee.
Between 15 and 30 days prior to the course date: The registrant is liable to pay 50% of the invoiced registration fee.
More than 30 days prior to the course date: The registrant is liable to pay a cancellation fee of € 450 per registrant.
If a registrant postpones their participation to a future course and subsequently cancels again, no refund will be issued for the registration fees.
Benefits of CELforPharma’s face-to-face courses:
You have the unique opportunity to interact one-to-one with the expert(s).
Plenty of opportunity for informal one-to-one and group conversations with your international peers to exchange experiences and ideas, to discuss issues and to network.
Face-to-face interactions allow for more depth during Q&As and group work.
You can step away from your daily routine in the office and enjoy a more focused learning experience in a comfortable business hotel environment.
Benefits of CELforPharma’s live online courses:
The formal programme is as impactful as a face-to-face course thanks to the highly interactive format (using breakouts, polls, quizzes …).
No travel & accommodation expenses
You can attend the course from the comfort of your own office or home.
We send you the course materials by post so that you can take notes and fully engage with the course content.
No, if you choose credit card payment, we will send you a secure payment link together with the invoice.
Team discounts can be offered for 2 or more registrations confirmed at the same time. The level of discount will depend on the number of registrations and the availability of seats.
Email Annelies Swaan, Director Business Operations, for more details.
Depending on the format of the course (face-to-face in Brussels or live online or self-study programme) and your location, we are obliged by Belgian law to apply VAT in the following cases:
Face-to-Face public course organised in Belgium
Article 53 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112 states that : “The place of supply of services in respect of admission to cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment or similar events, such as fairs and exhibitions, and of ancillary services related to the admission, supplied to a taxable person, shall be the place where those events actually take place.”
If the course that you register for takes place in Belgium, we are obliged to charge 21% Belgian VAT.
However, you can recover this Belgian VAT through the refund procedure. Note that this procedure differs depending on the country where you are located. It is best to contact your local VAT administration for this.
Online Public courses - live webinar
Webinars where the participants can communicate among themselves or ask questions to the speaker(s) (be it verbally, via a chat function or similar), are considered as ‘a service supplied by electronic means’ by the Belgian VAT administration.
According to Article 56 of the European Union VAT Directive 2006/112, these services supplied by electronic means take place where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Self-Study Programme:
A self-study programme is a service provided electronically. It is the period of self-study that is the most important in our self-study Basics of Health Economics and not the kickoff and closing webinars. As a result, the place of the service is where the customer is established. Therefore, we follow the VAT rules applicable to the country of your invoicing address.
Our face-to-face courses in Brussels take place in four-star business hotels close to the airport. As part of our strong relationship with these hotels, CELforPharma has secured a discount on the daily room rate for our delegates who book their accommodation via us.
Upon your registration, we will assist you to make your hotel booking. For any assistance in this matter please do not hesitate to email Margherita Mutto, Course Coordinator, or contact her by phone at +32 472 03 11 38.
We do not record our live online public courses as we want to offer a safe environment for all attendees to share their experiences and freely ask questions.
This way, by participating in our courses, you do not only learn from our expert faculty but also from your international peers in the room.
No, we don't sell the course materials as a stand-alone.
Without the expert's explanation, the exercises and the discussions with other course participants, there is very little value in the slides.
Email Inge Cornelis (Director, Client & Product Projects) to help you choose the course that is best suited.
Yes!
We have helped many managers to set up an in-house training programme for their team.
Email Inge Cornelis (Director, Client & Product Projects) to discuss your team training needs.
Do you have any other questions?
Email Annelies Swaan or call +32 486 98 52 49.
People attending this course are typically also interested in:
By clicking on the below button, you will save this course to MY COURSES in the upper right corner of the website. This allows you to quickly retrieve it later.
Don’t forget to make a personal account using the Login button in the upper right corner of the website to keep your list of saved courses for your next visit.