Roles, Resourcing and Management of Medical Science Liaisons Best Practices, LLC Benchmarking Report
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 1 INTRODUCTION4 Project Methodology and Study objective5 KEY FINDINGS6 UNIVERSE OF LEARNING13 List of Participating Companies14 Range of Career Levels Lend Insight15 SPECIALIST ROLES AND SERVICE SCOPE20 Pre-Launch Role and Activities for MSLs22 Post-Launch Roles and Activities for MSLs23 Pre-Launch Roles and Activities Related to Clinical Trials for MSLs24 Post-Launch Roles and Activities Related to Clinical Trials for MSLs25 Pre-Launch Roles and Activities for MSLs with Clinical Trials (2011 Data Only)26 Post-Launch Roles and Activities for MSLs with Clinical Trials (2011 Data Only)27 Pre-Launch Roles and Activities for MSLs with Thought Leaders28 Post-Launch Roles and Activities for MSLs with Thought Leaders29 Nearly All Educate KOLs and HCPs at Pre-Launch30 All Companies Seek to Educate KOLs and HCPs Post-Launch31 Other Pre-Launch Roles and Activities for MSLs32 Other Post-Launch Roles and Activities for MSLs33 MSLs Active in Developing Scientific Collateral & Delivering Speeches Pre Launch 34 All MSLs Deliver Speeches and Presentations Post-Launch35 MSLs Deployed in Relations to Number of KOLs in a Therapeutic Area36 Many Do Not Deploy MSLs Based on Revenue Calculations37 Table of Contents
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 2 Lifecycle Does Play Important Role in MSL Deployment38 Geographic Concentration of KOLs & Medical Centers Key Drivers in MSL Field Allocation…..39 MSL Alignment Driven by Reach and Frequency of Meetings with KOLs40 RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE41 Face-to-Face Meetings Most Widely Used Relationship Builder for MSLs with KOLs. 42 MSLs Continue to Call on Regional KOLs, Though Frequency Is Falling43 MSLs Calling on National KOLs Less Regularly than in Companies Take More Moderate Approach to Growing New KOL Relationships45 Maintaining KOL Relationships Takes Fewer Touches46 RESOURCE MANAGEMENT/SHIFTING AND FORECASTING47 MSL Work Kept In-House With Tight Managerial Oversight48 Companies Engage MSLs Early For Success49 Drivers to Increase the Number of MSLs in the Field50 More Reasons to Raise Number of MSLs Utilized51 Not Standard Policy to Cut MSL Staff After Launch of Product52 Maturity of Product and Reimbursement Changes Can Influence MSL Reductions53 Other Factors Declining In Importance for Cutting MSLs54 Factors for Shifting MSLs - Voices from the Field55 VALUE ASSOCIATED WITH MSL56 Value of MSL Responsibilities -- Marketing and Sales57 Value of MSL Responsibilities -- KOLs58 Value of Other MSL Responsibilities59 Perceived Value of Quantitative Measurements for MSLs60 Perceived Value of Qualitative Measurements for MSLs61 Time Spent by MSLs on Activities -- Actual vs. Expected62 Table of Contents (Cont’d)
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 3 BUDGET ALLOCATION TO MSL65 Allocation of MSL Budget66 Medical Affairs Funds MSL Function67 Factors That Affect the MSL Budget68 LESSONS LEARNED69 ABOUT BEST PRACTICES, LLC78 Table of Contents (Cont’d)
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 4 Project Methodology and Study Objectives This research seeks to uncover the optimal number of liaisons, mix of responsibilities, number of interactions and span of control. Key study objectives Benchmark Pre and Post-Launch Service Activities Identify Drivers of Group Size & Focus Gain insight into Structuring & Aligning Medical With Sales Organizations Identify Optimal Call Frequencies and Service Levels with Thought Leaders Identify Relationship Management Standards of Excellence Value Associated with MSL Budget Allocation to MSLs Competition for the time and attention of physicians and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) is intensifying. Thus, companies increasingly use Medical Science Liaisons (MSL) to build and strengthen relationships with physicians and KOLs.
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 5 Key Opinion Leaders Segment Definitions KOLs have different spheres of influence. This provides how Best Practices, LLC defines the different roles of national and regional leaders. Field researchers used the following definitions to evaluate service levels for each segment. National Thought Leader: Have a national following, are well-published, affect therapeutic practice, and are often found at major academic centers. Regional Thought Leader: Are less well known but influence policy, practice and local primary care or specialist views within a multi-state or small region.
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 6 Summary of Key Insights Key Findings Focus on the Following: Monitoring Markets and Interactions Tracking Value, Determining Group Size Frequency of Interactions and Span of Control Managing KOL Relationships and Field Deployment Resource Allocation and Value
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 7 List of Participating Companies Abbott Labs Amgen Astellas AstraZeneca Baxter Healthcare Boehringer Ingelheim Celgene Cubist Pharmaceuticals Eisai Genentech GlaxoSmithKline Ipsen Laboratories Esteve Merz Pharma Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma America Merck Sharp & Dohme Novartis Shire Takeda Teva (branded) ViroPharma Inc ViiV Healthcare Abbott Labs AstrazZeneca Axcan Pharma Inc. Boehringer Ingelheim Eli Lilly and Company Focus Technologies Genentech Innovex Janssen cilag Mylan Bertek Pharmaceuticals Novartis Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Organon Netherlands Organon U.S. Sanofi-Aventis Schering Plough TTY Biopharm UCP Vertex Best Practices®, LLC distilled observations and insights from interviews and benchmark performance data from a total of 27 leaders from 24 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 8 Range of Career Levels Lend Insight Research participants’ roles ranged from senior leaders to managers of medical affairs to medical science liaisons. Associate Director, Medical Affairs Associate Director, Medical Science Liaisons Clinical Communication Leader Director, Medical Affairs (Oncology) Director, Regional Medical Liaisons Director, Global Medical Affairs Strategy Executive Director, Medical Affairs Medical Affairs Executive Director, Medical and Scientific Affairs Lead Clinical Development & CRO Liaison Medical Manager, Medical Science Liaison Marketing Manager Medical Manager in Medical Affairs Medical Director Medical Manager Medical Director, Biosurgery Medical Director Medical Science Liaison Regional Director, MSL Medical Affairs Senior Regional Medical Scientist, Managed Care and Therapeutic Lead Specialist III, Medical Affairs Operations Sr. Scientific Liaison Sr. Vice President, Medical Affairs and Drug Development Sr. Director, Medical Science Liaisons Vice President, Medical Affairs & Regulatory Affairs Vice President, Medical Services Medical Affairs Vice President and Head North American Medical Affairs
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 9 48% of Respondents Directors or Above Nearly half of the respondents were director and above. Others respondents include Clinical Communication Manager, Marketing Manager and Clinical Liaison. What is your current role in regards to MSL? N=27
Specialist Roles and Service Scope
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 11 Two-thirds of MSL Groups Led by Director or Higher Level More than 60 percent of the supervisory responsibility to oversee the MSL function is with Directors and Vice Presidents. Other executives overseeing the MSLs include Executive Directors, Strategy and Planning or Clinical Liaison groups. Who has oversight responsibility for your Medical Science Liaison function? N=24
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 12 Lifecycle Does Play Important Role in MSL Deployment Companies continue to consider product lifecycle in MSL deployment as well as the company commitment to a franchise Product lifecycle plan Corporate commitment to an over-arching franchise Assess the effectiveness of the following factors by which you determine how many liaisons to put into the field. N 2011=23 N 2009=19
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 13 Factors for Shifting MSLs - Voices from the Field The shift or relocation of MSLs in the field is in response to the decreasing relevance of traditional sales and marketing activities as they relate to building relationships with KOLs and promoting comparative evidence and efficacy of products. “Note that decreasing does not have to mean eliminating the resources, but transitioning them to other therapeutic areas.” -- Specialist III, Medical Affairs Operations “The reach/frequency pharmaceutical business model is increasingly ineffective as traditional sales and marketing activities lose acceptance. This will inevitably shift the focus to the Medical organizations to: Drive development of (comparative) evidence And leverage aligned communication channels to optimize the safe and effective use of our products.” -- Executive Director, Medical Affairs
Copyright © Best Practices®, LLC 14 Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the simple yet profound principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. Best Practices, LLC 6350 Quadrangle Drive, Suite 200, Chapel Hill, NC About Best Practices, LLC