[May 23, 2013]

Create Effective Centralized Key Opinion Leader Management Teams

Many surveyed companies report that centralized key opinion leader development teams serve as a vital part of their overall thought leader management strategies.

Cutting Edge Information's latest study, "Pharmaceutical Key Opinion Leader Management," found that for most organizations, centralized KOL management teams do not play a large role in managing the activities that KOLs conducted. Rather, they primarily facilitate communication between commercial and medical teams in terms of how KOLs should be and are utilized.

Alongside their role as facilitators, centralized KOL teams generally maintain key opinion leader databases - providing information on thought leaders' abilities and willingness to work on certain activities. Among the most effective teams, pas experience also allows insight on individual thought leaders, often the kinds of information not stored within a CRM system.

Centralized teams also effectively prioritize internal functions' requests to utilize certain KOLs. Managing commercial and medical teams' requests together and determining the activities for individual KOLs provides the greatest companywide benefit. This practice also mitigates the overuse of specific thought leaders. Without this coordination, the company could be making simultaneous requests of thought leaders.

"Though centralized teams prove effective for many companies, this expansive centralized setup is not appropriate for all organizations," said David Richardson (News - Alert), research manager at Cutting Edge Information. "In smaller companies, a large centralized body risks losing the personal touch."

These personal relationships between executives driving thought leader programs, medical science liaisons (MSLs), their managers and physicians can be leveraged much more effectively. Companies with limited resources can often manage their thought leader programs quite effectively without centralized management.

"Pharmaceutical Key Opinion Leader Management: Effective Strategies for Segmenting Thought Leaders" (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/medical-affairs/key-opinion-leaders/) examines thought leader management resources and KOL segmentation at the global, US and EU levels. Metrics showcase team structures and staffing, as well as thought leader management database use and expenses. Compare Tier 1, 2 and 3 thought leader profiles across a wide range of data splits, including five company types and 26 individual therapeutic areas. Use this report to:

• Benchmark extensive pharma thought leader segmentation data
• Identify and recruit global, national and regional thought leaders
• Create centralized KOL development teams

For more information about KOL research, contact Cassie Demeter at 919-403-6583.

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