Yet with Big Pharma companies merging into mega-companies (e.g., Pfizer acquired both Warner-Lambert and Pharmacia to become the largest company in the industry), some companies have opted to organize therapeutic areas and their associated products into separate business units, so that marketing management decisions get made with fewer layers of oversight and with closer contact with customer physicians and targeted patient groups. In this organizational model, therapeutic areas (i.e., oncology drugs, cardiovascular drugs, anti-hypertensives, etc.) and the products associated with them become wholly integrated business units. Most Big Biotech companies have opted for the second model, since their more-targeted products are best delivered in smaller organizations.

The main job title in marketing management (consistent throughout the industry) is product manager. A product manager's responsibilities fall into two main categories, management and administration. The product manager must develop and manage the short term product strategy and marketing plans for assigned products, oversee development of business plans, specify the positioning of a product among its competitors, monitor those competitors' products, acquire both a quantitative and intuitive feel for customer needs, and act as an in-house champion for a product or brand. Administratively, product managers must develop budgets, maintain records of expenses, and manage and develop entry-level support staff (e.g., market research analysts, marketing associates, undergraduate interns and co-op students, etc.).

In companies where therapeutic areas and associated products are organized as business units, product managers effectively become mini-CEOs, involved in virtually every aspect of getting a product to market. Product managers should also have substantial communication and negotiation skills, as they are required to interact with professionals from every part of the organization. Cash compensation for product managers ranges from $75K to $104K.