Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) are more narrowly focused than office-based colleagues on a company's science and innovative capability as the key drivers of corporate image, according to the results of the new 2009 MSImage study released by full-service custom and syndicated research and strategic consulting firm Market Strategies International.
The study found that with the exception of Genentech, most companies fail to provide KOLs with the valuable and objective information they require. The study was fielded in January with 100 KOLs, who evaluated over 30 sales force, corporate equity and R&D attributes to determine which measures drive an oncology company's image and performance. "This study indicates that companies evaluated as the best performers can drive those engagement behaviors that are most important in an environment where share of voice is becoming increasingly vital to success," said Peter Carlin, the head of Market Strategies' Global Healthcare Division.
"We tend to think about share of voice only with respect to marketing," Carlin added, "but among KOLs, the battleground is about recruiting clinical trial investigators and patients and getting your data published. Our study substantiates the correlation between top companies' high image among KOLs and their behavior toward those top companies." Genentech's overall MSImage rating among KOLs places it in a tier of its own, with a significant lead on the corporate and product/R&D dimensions. Genentech owes this ranking to its top performance on all attributes, "owning" all seven R&D performance measures.
Novartis, which finished a close second to Genentech among office-based oncologists in Market Strategies' 2008 MSImage study, is a distant second among KOLs, falling statistically behind in nearly every attribute. Amgen, which finishes third in our overall KOL rankings, places in the top five in all three attribute dimensions, while strong ratings on sales force measures help propel Eli Lilly and Pfizer into the top five overall.
Pfizer performs very well on several important attributes: having "dependable clinical trials," "valuing KOL contributions" and "facilitating drug reimbursement." Sanofi-Aventis finishes outside the top five, primarily because it ranks ninth in the R&D dimension, ranking 12 th on the key driver ¡ª "having an innovative R&D." Takeda/Millennium and Celgene finish a strong 7th and 8th, respectively, among KOLs. While Celgene's product and R&D performance is viewed favorably by KOLs, Millennium ranks higher on the sales force attributes.
A company's image among KOLs is driven by both its performance on a variety of R&D attributes and how it facilitates interactions between the company and the KOL, said Ellen Gordon, Ph.D., research director for Market Strategies' MSImage studies.
"In last year's MSImage study of office-based oncologists, sales rep attributes dominated the key drivers identified by these physicians as being most important in distinguishing companies," Gordon said. "But our research clearly shows that sales rep attributes are not as important to KOLs compared to other types of objective information." Unlike their office-based colleagues, KOLs are more narrowly focused on science and innovative capability as the key drivers of company image, while attributes like "values a KOL's contribution" and "facilitates a KOL's participation in clinical trials" are viewed as foundational to a company's relationship with its KOLs. Given Genentech's image among all physicians including KOLs, hospital and office-based oncologists, it's not surprising that they would dominate among those physicians who value innovation and science, Gordon said.
At a broad level, this MSImage study reveals that companies hoping to deliver the best customer experience will need to ensure they more effectively meet the needs of KOLs. This is true because of the direct role these stakeholders play in disseminating clinical results and treatment learnings to all physicians, Carlin said.
Market Strategies' MSImage studies are designed to help companies better understand their strengths and weaknesses among key stakeholders. The results provide guidance on how a company's focus can be redirected toward those key performance measures that drive image and ultimately influence customer behavior.
Market Strategies' 2009 MSImage Oncology Key Opinion Leaders Study was released to its subscribers in February, 2009. The questionnaire was fielded via the Internet among 100 KOLs in December and January. Physicians were recruited from a list of KOLs that Market Strategies has developed over the years.
