[February 18, 2013]

Budgets for Medical Education Speeches Down, but Not out at Pharma Companies

Due to the current regulatory environment, pharmaceutical companies are only allowed to maintain a fraction of their prior medical education budgets, according to a new report published by Cutting Edge Information.

Even at large drug manufacturers, medical education budgets pale in comparison to what they once were. Ten years ago, a large pharmaceutical organization could have a $15 million budget on the books for educational speaker programs. However, according to one interviewed managing director of medical education, current restrictions require companies to place a wall between educational and any promotional activity. Despite these barriers and difficulties, educational speaker programs are an important part of any brand strategy.

Cutting Edge Information's recent study, "Educational Speaker Programs: Event Management and Recruitment in a Complex Regulatory Environment," revealed that the increases in technological advances have helped pharmaceutical companies continue their role in medical education.

"Social integration allos doctors and key opinion leaders (KOLs) to more easily interact with drug companies than before," said Michelle Vitko, senior research analyst at Cutting Edge Information. "Major compliance issues can disappear with better integration of technology in speaker programs."

These efforts to support better integration will allow the industry to continue to safely educate physicians. Since the pharmaceutical industry has such an interest in continuing educational speaker programs, but drug companies need to optimize medical education teams' structure and staffing to effectively managing opportunities. Properly distributing funds to these medical education programs can also make or break the success rate of a company's speaker programs.

"Educational Speaker Programs: Event Management and Recruitment in a Complex Regulatory Environment" (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/medical-affairs/educational-speaker-programs/) features detailed data on educational speaker program teams' structure, recruitment methods, training and event compensation. Research also highlights metrics illustrating educational speaker event management including typical attendance, average cost per attendee, and best times to hold events. Use this report to:

• Create superior educational speaker programs by recruiting, training, and compensating high-caliber speakers.
• Understand the impending Sunshine Act requirements and increased transparency's impact on speaker events.
• Prepare educational speaker programs to face increased public scrutiny and smaller budgets.

For more information about educational speaker programs, contact Cassie Demeter at 919-403-6583.

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