Recent analysis shows that pre-launch engagement with KOLs is associated with 1.5 times greater treatment adoption within the first six months of launch. Effective KOL engagement in the pre-launch phase shapes the knowledge of thousands of healthcare providers (HCPs) and sets up emerging pharmas for long-term growth.
Angela Smart, director of global medical excellence and operations at ADVANZ PHARMA, recently sat down with Gary Carson, associate strategy director at Veeva Link, to discuss the importance of deep data in supporting field medical for launch excellence.
Gary Carson: Tell me about how your field medical strategy has evolved over the years.
Angela Smart: ADVANZ PHARMA’s portfolio covers several therapeutic areas. Our purpose is to improve patients’ lives by providing specialty, hospital, and rare disease medicines. With multiple product launches ahead, our field teams need to learn new therapeutic landscapes quickly.
GC: How do you prepare for launches in new therapeutic areas?
AS: Entering a new therapeutic area involves assessing the molecule’s complexity, the disease area, and the competitive landscape. It’s also crucial to map out key stakeholders, including opinion leaders, centers of excellence, and patient groups, for effective planning.
Before we implemented Link Key People, gathering market intelligence involved weeks of desk research and engaging consultants to profile External Experts (EEs)—data that quickly became obsolete. We’ve since streamlined this process through our partnership with Veeva, enabling our field teams to get up to speed quickly on new therapeutic areas.
Link Key People is user-friendly, ensures comprehensive coverage, and saves time. In fact, we identified that 93% of our field teams save between one and five hours of desk-based work each week by using Link Key People. The return on investment is clear.
“We identified that 93% of our field teams save between one and five hours of desk-based work each week by using Link Key People. The return on investment is clear.”
GC: How does ADVANZ PHARMA stay competitive?
AS: As we expand into new therapy areas, we leverage Link Key People to enhance our engagement strategy. It assists our field teams in identifying not only established EEs, but also emerging experts and digital influencers. These groups help us disseminate our scientific messages more broadly.
The landscape has shifted. Gone are the days when medical could just focus on the top-tier scientific thought leaders. The range of stakeholders has broadened, as decision-makers along patient pathways can now include EEs, HCPs, payers, and Patient Organizations, for example. It’s imperative to expand our engagement strategies beyond traditional experts.
Link Key People simplifies the process of finding and engaging a wide array of stakeholders efficiently. This strategy keeps us competitive, even against larger pharmaceutical companies.
GC: How do you enable field teams to have effective engagement with experts?
AS: Pre-call planning is more important given how expectations have changed in the digital age. Much like what we experience with streaming platforms and online shopping, personalization has become a standard expectation for everyone, including EEs and other stakeholders. Tailored interactions are the new norm.
To prepare for engagements, our field teams use Link Key People’s deeply curated physician profiles, which include an expert’s past and upcoming presentations, publications, and guideline contributions. This preparation allows teams to tailor their discussions based on a stakeholder’s interests and expertise.
For example, by using Link Key People, one of our new Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) discovered a physician had interests across two of our unrelated therapy areas. This insight led to a win-win discussion, helping to build a strong relationship. Overall, 92% of our medical users say Link Key People helps them strengthen scientific discussions they have with stakeholders.
“Overall, 92% of our medical users say Link Key People helps them strengthen scientific discussions they have with stakeholders.”
GC: How does Link Key People assist with medical congress planning?
AS: We don’t have a dedicated team for managing congresses, as most large pharmaceutical companies do. Typically, the responsibility for organizing a global congress falls to Global Marketing and Medical Affairs, in addition to their regular duties. That’s why streamlining the congress planning process is crucial.
Link Key People provides detailed information on congresses, from international conferences to local events, which has been incredibly helpful. MSLs can quickly find relevant congresses, understand their reach, and view the full agenda, key contributors, and competitive activities. We can also easily track who’s talking about the event on social media.
Our MSLs have even discovered local congresses previously unknown to them, enhancing scientific engagement with increasingly relevant stakeholders.
Congress preparation is a great use of the platform.
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