How to choose the ideal KOLs for pharmaceutical marketing

Introduction

Bringing your medications to market and establishing trust can be challenging processes. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) with substantial knowledge in particular therapeutic areas (TAs) of the pharmaceutical sector are known as key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the industry. Pharma companies need recommendations from professionals and word-of-mouth advertising. KOLs in the pharmaceutical industry are crucial in this situation. KOLs are primarily independent scientific and medical professionals who advise pharmaceutical firms on a variety of tasks, from pre-clinical and clinical stages of drug development research to clinical trials, regulatory approval, and product launch. KOL engagement helps pharmaceutical companies with new product development, data collection, strategy improvement, and creation of pertinent, reliable, and persuasive marketing messaging.

KOLs in pharma: Benefits

KOLs’ function in pharmaceutical market research

Pharmaceutical companies look for KOLs with experience and expertise in their target therapeutic areas (TAs) to assist them with patient recruitment for clinical trials and data analysis. KOLs are crucial when it comes to spreading knowledge about new medications and treatments. In the medical community, they also give emerging treatments credence.

A KOL can also instruct doctors on the physiological effects of a given medication and the types of patients who will benefit from it the most. Additionally, they can share information on treatment plans and describe their own firsthand knowledge of the therapies. Making a KOL engagement plan is therefore essential for brand acceptability in the pharmaceutical sector.

The significance of KOL engagement

KOL engagement, also known as KOL management, includes the full life cycle of selecting, evaluating, and working with the right KOLs in accordance with business objectives. It also includes planning research and marketing activities that involve them. KOL relationships should be based on trust and a shared desire for long-term cooperation.

KOL engagement experiences an early rise, a plateau, and a gradual decline in involvement throughout the same lifecycle as the company’s products. Before recommending the best engagement strategy, pharma companies must ask pertinent questions to determine whether a particular KOL’s current work is in line with the company’s scientific and business goals.

Choosing the best KOLs for your organization

It is crucial to appropriately assess a KOL’s relative influence and TA proficiency. The following criteria can be used to assess a KOL’s strength based on their level of involvement, brand adoption, and influence behaviors:

Knowledge of a therapeutic area (TA) – KOLs may have been cited as authorities in a TA, published works, spoken at forums or peer-to-peer gatherings, or they may be affiliated with eminent university medical centers or disease state centers. Understanding a KOL’s research interests, contributions to the clinical and scientific literature, and thought leadership activities in medical groups and associations is essential before starting any engagement initiatives with them.
Awareness of problematic medical situations – KOLs can specialize on difficult diseases that are more likely to recur and require further treatment. There are groups of doctors who are considered as thought leaders by their peers within the medical community. Their viewpoints contribute to the comprehension and validation of existing and novel treatments for uncommon lung illnesses.
Zone (Geographical area) of influence – KOLs may treat patients who have been referred to them from all over the world (national, regional, and local) and across affiliation boundaries. This strategic viewpoint is beneficial for developing new KOL engagement and management initiatives.
Clinical trial involvement and knowledge – A KOL may occasionally act as the clinical trial’s main investigator (PI) or recommend participants to take part in the study. When several study sites are involved, the PI is very important for organizing the clinical trial procedure. Therefore, KOL participation can be essential to ensuring the success of the drug development process.
Using novel treatments – KOLs could be early adopters of particular innovative medicines and genetic testing modalities (for instance, cytogenetic testing). Early adopters typically take part in clinical trials and establish expertise in a specific therapy field. They perform an early evaluation of the drug and as a result play a significant part in its initial acceptance as well as affecting trials generally.

Learn how pharmaceutical companies utilized eMediWrite to partner with KOLs in their target TAs to create a panel of national experts across the country. Strong KOL management plans are essential for pharma companies in order to handle the shifting dynamics of KOLs in pharma. An early KOL endorsement can generate a lot of attention in the industry and increase the efficacy of a breakthrough medication. But for pharmaceutical companies, finding, keeping, and managing KOLs has never been an easy task.

Why and how eMediWrite can be useful

Any KOL management procedure should be backed by thorough and reliable data sources. Additionally, the data is useless unless the right filters and analytics are applied to produce insightful results. As a result, businesses frequently turn to companies like eMediWrite.

Global businesses can access full-service pharmaceutical market research services from eMediWrite in a variety of therapeutic areas. We combine local knowledge with deep insight from rigorously verified KOLs, including doctors, nurses, allied healthcare professionals, administrators, thought leaders, and payers. Contact us right away to learn more about how we can assist you.