Managing Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Relationships How did Pfizer pull off the two most successful launches ever with Viagra and Celebrex? By targeting Key Opinion Leaders throughout the launch process, Pfizer reached more than 2 million prescriptions for each drug within the first 2 weeks of their launches. To remain ahead of the product life-cycle game, top companies like Pfizer harness and capitalize on knowledge “owned” by specialists and opinion leaders. Pfizer successfully employed opinion leader endorsements by consulting the Vatican when releasing Viagra and letting physicians review Direct-to-Consumer advertising before launching campaigns. Opinion leader relationship management is a critical piece of the evolving pharmaceutical sales process, as companies have increasingly emphasized the impact of experts’ impact on successful product launches and life cycle management. Businesses most effective at optimizing opinion leader capacities create a surge of influence and market-focused attention before, during and after product launch. By cultivating relationships with as many as 400 of these experts, companies employ opinion leaders to add tremendous value to the product, ensure market success, rapid uptake and extend the product’s life cycle. Companies with the most successful launches, however, integrate opinion leader development into a multi-phased process. The first phase is developing a clear concept of opinion leader criteria to target those experts that can provide the greatest benefit to the company. Successful companies capitalize on their market researchers, who are experts in identifying and influencing opinion leaders because of their interaction in the field. Other targeting techniques include asking medical practitioners to identify the most influential experts and having program directors constantly evaluate thought leader lists. Ideal characteristics of an effective thought leader include: A commanding knowledge of the disease A full understanding of the product’s treatment capabilities Excellent leadership skills, peer recognition and respect, and a broad sphere of influence
Segmentation Many pharmaceutical companies also segment opinion leaders into functional categories to promote clinical trials, build reputation and endorse brand prestige. some companies segment opinion leaders regionally and globally to address their specific needs. Regional opinion leaders do more clinical work. National leaders, usually academics, and are further segmented into categories according to prestige. This allows companies to prioritize experts and concentrate on smaller segments of opinion leaders. In addition to global and regional segmentation, other groups include therapeutic and localized categories. Segmentation also allows companies to target thought leaders at different stages of the drug’s development and launch cycle. Just in Time Companies need to plan ahead to target different opinion leaders throughout a product’s life cycle. Even at the earliest stages of a product’s development, world opinion leaders are targeted first for Phase I and II clinical trials. Key national and regional opinion leaders are identified two to three years before launch to shape Phase III trials and participate in them with their patients. In extensive development programs for a major drug, a company might seek to engage thought leading physicians from 100-250 key local U.S. markets for Phase III trials. Local market influencers are also engaged in conferences during the months preceding launch. “If the product is significant, you want every doctor to touch it…You want the doctor to be made a hero by offering a new therapy that provides relief for a patient whom previously they couldn’t help. That ties the doctor to the product and they tell the people about that Ongoing Relationships To maximize the effects of thought leaders, successful companies support opinion leaders through personalized contact and convey their vitality in the success of a product launch. Developing long-term relationships with key influencers ensures an active role in therapeutic areas. Top companies also continually and consistently support opinion leader development to send a clear product area message. Key steps Focus thought leader management efforts on all points.
The most effective opinion leader programs drive product performance by encouraging relationships that provide a cascade of influence and market-focused attention throughout the product lifecycle.
Build a strong support infrastructure to maximize opinion leader relationship efforts.
Top companies work to increase the amount of time the field-based employees spend with key physicians. For example, administrative tasks are reduced or eliminated.
Integrate thought leader programs to shape clinical development and market acceptance.
Assume an integrated approach to optimize opinion leader relationships and increase their effectiveness in promoting product success.
Constantly evaluate and improve opinion leader programs.
Measure and manage thought leader activities to help pin down a ROI. Track numbers of targeted thought leaders, experts involved in trials and programs, costs and publications about a drug.
The most successful key opinion leader relationships develop through years of consistent communications -- and mutually beneficial interactions between pharmaceutical companies and influential physicians. Strong opinion leader relationships are vital to decreasing products' time to peak sales and achieving blockbuster status. The companies that effectively and successfully develop a standardized approach to key opinion leader management benefit from stronger brands and higher bottom line revenues. The pharmaceutical industry’s leading corporations build strong key opinion leader relationships by focusing on three key strategic components: Timing – Brand teams create the most effective opinion leader campaigns when they begin interacting with opinion leaders early in the development cycle.
Involvement – Companies’ ability to increasingly involve opinion leaders in their research and marketing plans creates consistently beneficial relationships.
Critical Activities – opinion leaders provide valuable advice across a spectrum of crucial marketing activities.
Recurring, critical challenges face KOL relationship managers. Several companies engage in specific opinion leader management tactics worth noting. These ground-level practices focus on commercialization transitions, disease management boards and speaker training among other key topics. Key opinion leaders lend support to pharmaceutical companies throughout the product development process. Among other things, they provide advisory services, offer a unique medical perspective on key markets, and spread the word about new therapies and treatment regimens among peer groups. Their services are particularly important for three key aspects of product development – research and development, clinical development and commercialization. Some Companies work with opinion leaders in three major capacities throughout development: Early Development: The company needs KOLs to serve as researchers and advisors early in product development for pre-clinical and clinical work.
Clinical Development: Working primarily with the company’s R&D organization and clinical teams, opinion leaders’ develop early, intimate knowledge of a new product. They inform clinical trials and often grow into product champions by communicating study results to peers via medical literature and conferences and conventions.
Commercialization: KOLs also serve as advisors that inform key clinical and commercial decisions. The company uses advisory board meetings to gather input on clinical trials, identify gaps in scientific information, and develop commercialization strategies to improve product positioning. As with thought leaders involved in clinical development, these physicians become product advocates and promote drugs among their peers.
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