Eric Krapf
U.S. Commercial Lead – Respiratory
Regeneron
The Co-promote Master
“Eric Krapf’s approach to launching a brand is deliberate, focused, and embraces innovation,” explains Jeff Meehan, CEO and Co-founder of Cancer Expert Now. “His ability to absorb information is so dramatic that he—in an incredibly short time frame—is able to develop a deep understanding of the market landscape and competitive environment.”
Previous to joining Regeneron, Eric was with Pfizer where he helped launch Eliquis, which was a co-promote with Bristol-Myers Squibb. The brand was the third entry into a very competitive market that was dominated by generic warfarin at the time. But Eric and his team told a story positioned around the brand’s efficacy, safety, and morbidity and mortality that was able to differentiate Eliquis above and beyond the marketplace.
More recently, he launched the PCSK9 drug Praluent, a co-promote with Sanofi, which is meant to serve as an add-on to treatment with statins. So not only did he face a market of well-established statins, but the brand also had a direct competitor in Repatha. Eric admits that this was an extremely challenging environment to launch into, but ultimately the team found a way to make the message flow simple, impactful, and differentiating.
“My biggest accomplishment has been my ability to successfully launch these two products, in particular, because they are co-promotes, but also to bring these important medicines to the patients who needed them,” Eric explains. “When you’re launching within an alliance every decision is more complicated because you’ve got two different companies with two different cultures, and every role has at least two different people involved. Getting through this environment—and launching successfully to ensure these treatments reached the right patients—is very difficult and something I am extremely proud of.”
But the challenges that come with managing a co-promote have only invigorated Eric. In fact, he wants to do it again—with an added challenge.
“I would like to manage more co-promote products, both to launch and in later stages,” Eric adds. “When you’re working in a later stage, there are different types of challenges, and I’d like to try my hand at overcoming a new set of challenges.”
