The Handbook of Market Research for Life Science Companies Navigating the Gap Between Lab and Market

Preface. About the Author. Foreword. Introduction. Chapter 1 – The Basics of Market Research and Healthcare. Chapter 2 - Primary Research. Chapter 3 - Secondary Research. Chapter 4 - Analysing Data. Chapter 5 - Models and Frameworks. Chapter 6 - The Look n’ Feel. Chapter 7 - Final Words. Appendix A

Biography

Jean-François Denault is the author of three books on life sciences commercialization and market research, published by CRC Press and Productivity Press (Taylor & Francis). His latest work, Innovate, Fund, Thrive: The Entrepreneur's Playbook to VC Fundraising in Life Sciences (2024, co-authored with Philippe Tramoy), builds on his previous books: The Handbook of Marketing Strategy for Life Science Companies (2018) and The Handbook of Market Research for Life Science Companies (2017), which won the American Library Association's Outstanding Business Reference Sources Award in 2018.

With now 25 years of consulting experience, Jean-François has completed more than 450 projects across 32 countries for Fortune 500 companies including Johnson & Johnson, Novo Nordisk, AbbVie, Procter & Gamble, Microsoft, and Adobe, as well as government agencies and over 100 innovative life sciences startups. He specializes in market research, competitive intelligence, and commercialization strategy for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies.

In the last few years, he has worked with incubators and accelerators across Canada. Jean-François serves as Expert in Residence at the Quebec Biotechnology Incubator (CQIB) and has mentored over 75 startups through leading programs including Next AI, HEC Montréal, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, and Connect'Innov (Tunisia). He sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Brand Strategy and Applied Marketing Analytics.

He holds an Executive MBA in Bio-Industry from UQAM and graduate degrees in Management Consulting and Organizational Communication, as well as undergraduate degrees in finance, international commerce and east Asian studies (Chinese concentration). Based in Montreal, Canada, he can be reached at [email protected] or through LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/jfdenault. 

"The author's expanded engagement over the past eight years with startups, universities, and incubators shows clearly in this edition. The tone is more pragmatic without becoming reductive; more grounded without losing conceptual clarity."
Ajit Singh, PhD. CEO, Harbinger Health. CEO-Partner, Flagship Pioneering. Adjunct Professor, Stanford University.

“When I found the 1^st edition of the Handbook, we were year one into building a therapeutic cell sorter. We had a promising technology but no way to quantify the market or argue to investors that one strategy was better than another. Jean-François and his book gave us a structured approach to sizing the opportunity, gathering primary evidence, and proving product-market fit. Our company was acquired by STEMCELL Technologies in 2025. The book remains my go-to framework for market research to this day.”
Samson Roger, CEO of Cytkit. Founder of Cellular Highways (acquired by STEMCELL Technologies, 2025)