KOL Relationship & Brand Building in Pharma Marketing

Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in Pharmaceutical Context are the clinical experts who can play a critical role in influencing the opinion and clinical practice of their peers and also the healthcare organizations. Thus it is important to have KOL Management as a part of the Marketing strategy.
KOL Management is a continuous process that involves identifying the right experts who are interested and aligned with your brand/molecule, profiling their key strengths and segmenting them according to their positions, mindset and collaboration preferences etc.
Involving KOLs throughout the product lifecycle helps in instant feedback, building long-term relationships and customer loyalty in a long run.

1. KOL Relationship Management and It’s importance in Pharma Marketing Anjali Makhijani Bsc -Biotech, MBA- Healthcare Management Asst. Manager- Medico-Marketing

2. A key opinion leader (KOL) is a trusted, well-respected influencer with proven experience and expertise in a particular field. Definition- Key Opinion Leaders Physicians with rich experience of 25 or more years Super specialists, like Endocrinologists, Diabetologists, Cardiologists etc. with expertise in their area

3. Professor of a medical institute Spoken at a national conference or event Published their research in a medical journal Participated in a significant number of clinical trials Held a position as a board member within a respected organization Treated or diagnosed a high volume of patients in a single specialty area Characteristics of a KOL

4. Dr. V. Mohan MBBS, MD, Ph.D , D. Sc., FRCP Academic Positions: Adjunct Visiting Professor - Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, USA Adjunct Associate Professor- University of Ulm, West Germany Visiting Professor- Department of Medical Research, SRM, Medical College Hospital & Research Centre Chennai PhD Supervisor- Sastra University, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India Publications: Over 1350 Publications- Includes 878 original research articles in peer reviewed journals Over 1,36,000 citations with a h-index of 137. 309 review articles and invited editorials and 170 chapters in text-books on Diabetes and Internal Medicine published in India and abroad. Books Published: MVDSC Handbook of Diabetes Mellitus Dr. Mohan’s MVDSC Handbook of Diabetes Mellitus World Clinics Diabetology: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Current Trends in Diabetes: Focus on South Asians

5. Medical Organisations/Bodies associated with: Past Chairman, RSSDI Research Committee, Research Society for Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) Member, Advisory Board , SRM School of Public Health, Chennai Past President , Diabetes in Asia Study Group (DASG) WHO Temporary Adviser , Consultation on Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus and related disorders of glucose metabolism, Geneva. Awards/Recognitions: Dr.R.V .Sathe Award for research in Diabetes.(Diabetes Association of India). Indian Medical Association - Tamil Nadu State Branch Award Medirock 2005 by IMA, Vellore Life Time Achievement 2012 by Indian Medical Association , Pondicherry State Branch, Puducherry Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Centenary Award for Excellence in Biomedical Research by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi Dr.B.C . Roy National Award by the Medical Council of India, New Delhi Padmashri Binode Kanungo Gold Medal Oration Award during National Update on Clinical Diabetes (NUCD) 2016

6. Role of a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) in Pharmaceutical Industry Research & Discovery Identifying unmet medical needs Proposing Research Areas Identifying Pharmacological goals Instigating their own clinical trials Clinical Trials Phase II & III Assist in the design of the Clinical Trial Provide advice on product profiling & labelling Advocacy Advice on the approval process Provide information on the drug benefits Presentation of trial results Conducting their own studies & presenting results Product Awareness & Building Product awareness Publications and Lectures Medical education programmes Contribute to patient management

7. Example of Successful KOL Engagement Dr. Shashank R. Joshi is an Indian endocrinologist, diabetologist and medical researcher , considered by many as one of the prominent practitioners of the trade in India World’s first approved dual PPARA- Lipaglyn TM ( Saraglitazar ) Involvement of KOL in the Phase III Trial

8. Example of Successful KOL Engagement Developing Brand Advocacy by group of KOLs World’s first approved dual PPARA- Lipaglyn TM ( Saraglitazar ) Involvement of Cardiological Society of India

9. Example of Successful KOL Engagement Product Awareness & Brand Building World’s first approved dual PPARA- Lipaglyn TM ( Saraglitazar ) Editorial by KOL to Create Brand Awareness

10. Example of Successful KOL Engagement Proposing New Research Areas and Positioning World’s first approved dual PPARA- Lipaglyn TM ( Saraglitazar ) Poster Presentation, Abstract Prsentation - AACE, ADA: Saraglitazar in NASH

11. Benefits to Pharma

12. Different Types of KOL Engagement Activities Medical Advisory Board Meetings Speaker Training Programs Peer-to-peer presentation Clinical Trials Disease Awareness

13. KOL Marketing Vs Influencer Marketing KOL Marketing Influencer Marketing Preferable to have Experts from the same therapy area, field, expertise as the molecule/brand Not necessary to have Experts from the same therapy area, field, expertise as the molecule/brand Involvement throughout the product lifecycle Ad hoc, as per the need of the promotional strategy Dominate the Leadership mindspace Many other companies approaching the same experts for different activities- Leadership Mindspace is not developed Tangible outcomes and Business Generation from the engaged experts in the long term May only give brand visibility but Tangible outcomes are not guaranteed

14. Steps in KOL Engagement

15. THANK YOU!