Posts tagged ‘Cancer Market Research’
Pharma and biotech companies routinely seek the opinion of leading academics and researchers, but interviewing thought leaders (more commonly known as Key Opinion Leaders or KOLs) is an art, rather than a science.
Qualitative pharma market research typically consists of a structured interview arranged around a discussion guide that has scripted questions and probes. In our experience, such an overly structured approach is often not optimal with top tier KOLs.
Remember, these are extremely busy people and if you are fortunate enough to gain a short period of time from them (we normally do this over the phone), you need to use it wisely or they will soon be bored, distracted, cut you short and move on – unless you pique their curiosity and engage them in something that holds their interest.
Our approach is to:
- Focus on a few strategic questions or key issues
- Have a moderator who is knowledgeable about the topic so that the interview comes across as a scientific conversation
- Be prepared to listen and adjust follow-on questions accordingly
On Pharma Strategy Blog, you can read some of the KOL interviews that Sally Church, PhD has undertaken with leading business executives, academic researchers and clinicians.
Some of the thought leaders she has interviewed as part of her excellent “Making a Difference in the Lives of Cancer Patients” series include Alain Moussy (CEO of AB Science) Susan Desmond-Hellmann (Chancellor of UCSF) and Charles Sawyers (MSKCC – winner of the 2009 Lasker Award, and likely future Nobel Laureate).
If you would like to learn more about our Pharma KOL market research services, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Do you know who your thought leaders are and what they think about your product?
March 10th, 2012
Daedalus
One of the emerging trends we saw at the recent European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Paris was an increase in the number of plenary and session presentations by physicians from Eastern European countries.
This trend is set to continue, and we expect to see more physicians from the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India & China) group of countries and other emerging markets presenting at global science and medical meetings in the future.
Poland is a good example of a country that should be on the radar of any global pharmaceutical company. It is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe, and was the only European country to avoid a recession in 2008-2009.
It was interesting to note that Tomasz Borkowski (Department of Urology at the Medical University of Warsaw) who gave a major session presentation at EAU on “Cancer induced bone disease – prevention and treatment’ listed only one company on his disclosures.
Clearly, some companies are ahead of others in identifying and building relationships with thought or key opinion leaders (KOLs) as they are commonly known.
One of the services we offer clients is market research with thought leaders at the global, national and regional level. Like all market research, this is anonymous – you don’t know the name or the institution and the physician doesn’t know who the sponsor is. This allows the doctor to speak more freely. This type of market research can provide valuable insights into what they think about a product or market opportunity with less bias.
Do you know who your thought leaders are and what think about your product? If not, please contact us and we would be delighted to help you meet your brand business goals.
The fast moving prostate cancer market took another leap forward last week with the announcement of positive phase III data for Medivation’s MDV3100.
As reported by Sally Church on Pharma Strategy Blog, Medivation announced that the interim analysis of the AFFIRM trial showed a 4.8 month increase in overall survival (OS) compared to placebo.
Although this is only interim and not final data, Sally observed:
“the 4.8 month improvement in OS in post-chemo setting is superior to that previously seen reported for abiraterone (Zytiga), which had a 3.9 month advantage over placebo.”
Pieter Droppert on Biotech Strategy Blog noted, MDV3100 and Zytiga have completely different mechanisms of action in advanced prostate cancer.
MDV3100 is an androgen receptor blocker, while Zytiga is an androgen biosynthesis inhibitor. This distinction is key. Zytiga inhibits the CYP17 enzyzme complex required for androgen biosynthesis. However, a consequence of CYP17 inhibition is an increase in mineralocorticoid levels, which can lead to hypokalemia, hypertension, fluid retention.
The result is that Zytiga requires coadministration of a corticosteroid (prednisone) to reduce the incidence and severity of potential mineralocorticoid adverse reactions.
MDV3100 does not require the administration of a steroid, which is a big advantage to patients. Instead it blocks the androgen receptor (AR) that is highly expressed on prostate cancer cells.
Cora Sternberg presents Prostate Cancer Educational Symposia at EMCC 2011 in Stockholm
There are a lot of new products in the pipeline for prostate cancer including TAK-700, Cabozantinib (XL184), radium-223 chloride (Alpharadin), BPX-101, Prostvac-VF, ipilumumab, Custirsen (OGX-011), dasatinib (Sprycel), lenalidomide (Revlimid) and ARN-509 to name a few.
The prostate cancer market is forecast to grow from $1B to $5B by 2015 as new products are approved and new treatment options become available. This is good news for advanced prostate cancer patients.