Meeting KOL Needs: What Pharma Needs to Know
The role of the Key Opinion Leader (KOL) has changed over the past 30 years. And it's about to change again.
Once viewed with suspicion by their non-consulting peers, clinicians are now considered less significant if they do not collaborate with the pharmaceutical industry. Yet with the implementation this year of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (PPSA), that role is about to come under scrutiny once again.
How will transparency legislation affect KOL-industry collaborations? While some KOLs feel it could herald the end of such relationships, a wide-ranging FirstWord poll has found they have other, equally pressing issues. From how pharma utilises their expertise in planning drug trials to how it engages them professionally, KOLs are raising concerns about the state and future of their work with industry.
Report Overview
In Meeting KOL Needs: What Pharma Needs to Know, FirstWord taps into the mindsets of 33 leading international KOLs to discover how they view their industry work and where they want—and need—their collaborations to go. From KOL views on feedback, trial work and how follow-ups could be improved to invaluable insight on the PPSA's potential impact and how pharma cutbacks have negatively affected their knowledge base, the report exposes KOLs' major concerns. Based on in-depth, qualitative interviews and analysis, the report offers the industry an open window into the KOL relationship and how it can be strategically improved.
Key Report Features
“The PPSA has made the relationship become much more restrictive and defensive. Because of this fear of being tarnished on both sides, from the company's side and the KOL side, there's less interaction, there's less collaboration.” – Dr Christoph Correll, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.
“It’s frustrating, new people are just not as receptive. It’s too difficult to find the right people to talk to. Before we knew the medical director directly and personally, but now we've got to go through this quagmire of people to get to the right person.” – Professor David Vesole, John Theurer Cancer Center at HUMC, NJ.
“I think that pharma is so big that although it works with KOLs, it doesn’t do very much listening to KOLs.” – Professor Laurence Steinman, Stanford University School of Medicine, California.
Once viewed with suspicion by their non-consulting peers, clinicians are now considered less significant if they do not collaborate with the pharmaceutical industry. Yet with the implementation this year of the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (PPSA), that role is about to come under scrutiny once again.
How will transparency legislation affect KOL-industry collaborations? While some KOLs feel it could herald the end of such relationships, a wide-ranging FirstWord poll has found they have other, equally pressing issues. From how pharma utilises their expertise in planning drug trials to how it engages them professionally, KOLs are raising concerns about the state and future of their work with industry.
Report Overview
In Meeting KOL Needs: What Pharma Needs to Know, FirstWord taps into the mindsets of 33 leading international KOLs to discover how they view their industry work and where they want—and need—their collaborations to go. From KOL views on feedback, trial work and how follow-ups could be improved to invaluable insight on the PPSA's potential impact and how pharma cutbacks have negatively affected their knowledge base, the report exposes KOLs' major concerns. Based on in-depth, qualitative interviews and analysis, the report offers the industry an open window into the KOL relationship and how it can be strategically improved.
Key Report Features
- Insight on how the forthcoming PPSA will affect KOL-industry ties
- Discussion by KOLs on how pharma can best utilise their expertise in trial design and drug development
- Analysis of core issues facing KOL-industry relations and how to move forward
- Unparalleled access to KOL views on collaboration, diminishing pharma industry contacts, post-trial feedback, the use of digital media and the development of new technologies and therapies
- Insight into the thinking of 33 leading KOLs from across the United States, Canada and Europe
- Strategic thinking and analysis on how KOL-industry collaborations can be improved
- Examples of how to identify shortfalls in KOL management and where to go next
- In which areas is the industry not fully utilising KOLs and what new avenues can be created to do so?
- What are the reasons for KOLs' widespread disagreement with the PPSA?
- How have staff cutbacks in the pharmaceutical industry affected KOL collaboration?
- To what extent do KOLs want more involvement in drug-development work?
- How can the industry improve engagement, collaboration and feedback with KOLs?
- Medical and scientific affairs directors
- Clinical trial executives
- Key account and territory managers
- Marketing, brand and sales managers
- Medical Science Liaisons
- Business development executives
- Regulatory and government affairs professionals
“The PPSA has made the relationship become much more restrictive and defensive. Because of this fear of being tarnished on both sides, from the company's side and the KOL side, there's less interaction, there's less collaboration.” – Dr Christoph Correll, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York.
“It’s frustrating, new people are just not as receptive. It’s too difficult to find the right people to talk to. Before we knew the medical director directly and personally, but now we've got to go through this quagmire of people to get to the right person.” – Professor David Vesole, John Theurer Cancer Center at HUMC, NJ.
“I think that pharma is so big that although it works with KOLs, it doesn’t do very much listening to KOLs.” – Professor Laurence Steinman, Stanford University School of Medicine, California.
INTRODUCTION
METHODOLOGY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
KOLS' VIEW OF THE CURRENT PHARMA RELATIONSHIP
How KOLs view their role
KOLs' engagement with pharma
Continuing Medical Education support from pharma
INTERNAL CHALLENGES TO THE KOL-PHARMA RELATIONSHIP
Diminishing interaction with pharma personnel
Staff changeover is a problem
Lack of knowledge is a frustration for KOLs
Pharma has its own agenda
EXTERNAL CHALLENGES TO THE KOL-PHARMA RELATIONSHIP
New regulation affecting the KOL-pharma relationship
Misconceived regulations make collaboration less appealing
WHAT WOULD KOLS MOST LIKE TO EXPERIENCE FROM PHARMA IN FUTURE?
WHAT WOULD KOLS NOT LIKE TO EXPERIENCE FROM PHARMA IN THE FUTURE?
KEY FACTORS FOR AN IDEAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PHARMA
WAYS TO IMPROVE THE KOL-INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIP
KOL BIOGRAPHIES
METHODOLOGY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
KOLS' VIEW OF THE CURRENT PHARMA RELATIONSHIP
How KOLs view their role
KOLs' engagement with pharma
Continuing Medical Education support from pharma
INTERNAL CHALLENGES TO THE KOL-PHARMA RELATIONSHIP
Diminishing interaction with pharma personnel
Staff changeover is a problem
Lack of knowledge is a frustration for KOLs
Pharma has its own agenda
EXTERNAL CHALLENGES TO THE KOL-PHARMA RELATIONSHIP
New regulation affecting the KOL-pharma relationship
Misconceived regulations make collaboration less appealing
WHAT WOULD KOLS MOST LIKE TO EXPERIENCE FROM PHARMA IN FUTURE?
WHAT WOULD KOLS NOT LIKE TO EXPERIENCE FROM PHARMA IN THE FUTURE?
KEY FACTORS FOR AN IDEAL RELATIONSHIP WITH PHARMA
WAYS TO IMPROVE THE KOL-INDUSTRY RELATIONSHIP
KOL BIOGRAPHIES
