Medical Affairs Launch Excellence Medical Affairs Role at Launch in Medical Device Companies

Best Practices, LLC Strategic Benchmarking Research

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Table Of Contents

Executive Summary pgs. 3-9

Research Overview pg. 4

Participating Companies pg. 5

Key Recommendations pg. 6

Abbreviations pg. 7

Key Findings & Insights pgs. 8-9

Benchmark Class Profile pgs. 10-13

Medical Affairs’ Role in Launch Activities pgs. 14-17

Thought Leader Tiering pgs. 18-21

Thought Leader Targeting and MSL Coverage pgs. 22-27

Launch Investment pgs. 28-31

Medical Affairs Investment Allocation pgs. 32-36

Participant Demographics pgs. 37-40

About Best Practices LLC pgs. 41-42

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Research Objectives & Methodology

Field Research & Insight Development:

Fourteen survey responses from Medical Affairs leaders at

13 medical device companies across the globe.

Additional deep-dive interviews with selected Medical

Affairs executives.

Provide Leading Insights on:

• Identify critical success

factors for a strong launch

supported by Medical Affairs

• Define strategies for Thought

Leader targeting and

communication

Research Objectives:

Illustrate Medical Affairs’ involvement in the launch process at leading Medical Device

companies.

Highlight strategies for effective thought-leader (TL) segmentation and relationship

management

Understand challenges in managing successful Medical Affairs launch support

Identify industry drivers regarding new product commercialization

Explore critical strategies for effectively allocating Medical Affairs launch budget

Business Objective:

This research delivers current data, insights and best practices from Medical Affairs leaders at top

medical device companies. The benchmark data in this study will help companies better develop

successful launch strategies.

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Benchmark Class:

Benchmark participants included global strategic marketing leaders supporting medical education at 13

companies. More than 70 percent of participation are seen at the level of VP /CEO/ Director and around a

quarter of participants are managers.

Universe of Learning: 13 Companies Participated In Study

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INTERACT WITH

TLs AT EARLY

STAGE

IDENTIFY TL

SEGMENTS

CLEARLY

Medical Affairs groups must build strong communication between key

decision-makers and the commercial group for a successful launch.

Three steps are important to guide product launch strategy:

Understand key decision-makers’ needs

Align commercial training to the demands of key decision-makers

Generate evidence-based and value-added data

GUIDE

COMMERCIAL

STRATEGIES

ACQUIRE

RESOURCES &

ALLOCATE

EFFECTIVELY

A successful launch requires deep involvement of Medical Affairs. Early stage Thought-Leader interaction, successful Thought-Leader targeting, clear Medical Affairs guidance for commercial and launch resource management are the four areas that Medical Affairs organizations must focus on during launch.

Interactions with Thought Leaders must start at the early stage of product

development for a successful launch.

Medical Affairs must play a leading role in developing an effective

information exchange between the company and key external decision-

makers.

Medical Affairs must identify Thought Leader segments clearly to better

address the needs of key decision-makers.

Thought-Leader segmentation should be flexible and adjusted to

changing demands of the healthcare market.

Strong Medical Affairs organizations acquire enough resources for their

activities.

Successful launch requires Medical Affairs organizations to be flexible in

their budget allocation and to be able to adjust their budgeting according

to changing needs.

Key Findings For Medical Affairs and Its Launch Role

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To help distill the most precise and relevant insights, several data segments were used in this study.

Definitions of these data segments, as well as other research terms and acronyms used throughout

this research, are provided below.

Acronyms Used In This Study

MedEd: Medical Education

MSL: Medical Science Liaison

TL: Thought Leader

TLM: Thought Leader Management

MA: Medical Affairs

TA: Therapeutic Areas

Abbreviations Used:

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Key Findings & Insights: Medical Affairs Launch Support

Excellence

Medical Affairs’ Role in Launch Activities: Medical Affairs is heavily involved in five launch activities

within participating organizations: Scientific Publications, MSL Activities, Advisory Boards, Thought-

Leader identification and development and Speaker Training. More than 60 percent of medical device

companies are involved in these top 5 activities.

Thought-Leader Tiering: More than 75 percent of the benchmark class use five criteria while

segmenting their TLs in the pre-launch stage: Regional Diversity, Therapeutic Area, Product Types, TLs’

Experience, & TLs’ Expertise.

Few of the key findings and insights that emerged from this study:

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86%

79%

67%

64%

62%

50%

46%

46%

43%

23%

14%

14%

14%

33%

29%

38%

36%

31%

23%

36%

54%

72%

7%

7%

14%

23%

31%

21%

23%

14%

Scientific publications

MSL activites

Advisory board support

Thought-leader identification and development

Speaker training

Investigator and site identification

Real world data generation and analysis

Protocol design

Study/Site support and trouble shooting

Clinical research conduct

Continuing medical educaion

Lead Support None Plan to Participate in the Next 12 Months

Q. Medical Affairs' Role: Please identify Medical Affairs' role in each of the following activities that take place during launch and pre-launch

phases.

% Respondents

Medical Affairs’ Role

The Medical Affairs function plays a lead role in several activities, but most often in Scientific Publications

and MSL activities. Other leadership roles occur with Advisory Boards, Thought-Leader identification and

Speaker Training.

N=12-14

Medical Affairs Leads 6 of 11 Medical-Focused Launch Activities

at Medical Device Companies

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Q. Thought-leader Tiering: What criteria do you use to segment your thought leaders before and post-launch? (Please check all that apply for

each time period.)

% Respondents

Thought-Leader Tiering

Thought-Leader Tiering Often Takes Place During Pre-launch

Periods At Medical Device Companies More than 75 percent of participants use five criteria for Thought-Leader tiering during pre-launch

periods. These top five activities used are: Regional diversity, Therapeutic Area, Product type, TLs’

Experience, and TLs’ Expertise. Around a quarter of companies also use these activities during pre- and

post-launch periods.

N=10-12

80%

80%

75%

75%

75%

67%

64%

58%

55%

46%

8%

9%

25%

18%

36%

20%

20%

25%

25%

25%

25%

27%

17%

27%

18%

Regional diversity

Therapeutic area

Product type

Thought leaders' expertise

Thought leaders' experience

Depth of company's relationship with thought leader

Thought leader's patient demographic

Behavioral segmentation

Thought leaders' influence network

Thought leaders' scientific publications

Only Pre-Launch Only Post-Launch Both

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Managed

Market /

Formulary

Support Thought

Leader

Mgmt.

Clinical

Trial

Support Scientific

Interaction

With

Payers

and

Providers

Product

Lifecycle

Planning

Support

Sales and

Marketing

Support

Core

Responsibilities

Skill: Partner

with

commercial

and R&D

colleagues

Skill: Familiarity with

commercialization process

and market dynamics

Skill: Strong knowledge and

experience about health outcomes Skill: Strong

communication

capabilities

Skill: Strong scientific

and technical skills

Skill: Operate

effectively

under strict

regulations

*Source: Building Best-In-Class Capabilities In Medical Affairs – 2012 .

Choosing capable talent and building the right field-based medical team competencies are critical to create a successful Medical Affairs function.

Acquiring The Right Talent Is Crucial For A Strong MSL Team

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Q. Contact Information: Please provide the following information.

% Respondents

Universe Of Learning: Insights Drawn from Medical Device

Experts This research features insights from a wide range of leaders from the medical industry. Seventy-one

percent of the participants at the level of director or CEO and 28 percent of participants are managers.

N=14

Participant’s Job Title

Director/ Sr. Director/ Deputy

Director 36%

Vice President/ SVP/CEO/CMO

36%

Manager/ Head 28%

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