All investments and partnerships with innovative life science products are based on assessment of unmet medical needs in the future, based on current information and projections by investors and partners. As a company or researcher trying to advance a new product, you must understand these unmet needs better than anyone else. Your understanding must be grounded in key opinion leader and practitioner perceptions, though in the case of disruptive technologies, these may provide simply a starting point. Regulatory considerations are also important. Analysis of current marketed products and the development pipeline is necessary, but not sufficient.