KOL Identification and Mapping
Objective: Snowfish was asked by a major pharmaceutical company to identify and map KOLs in a particular field of heart disease. They were not satisfied with the traditional approach that relied on traditional literature search and physician surveys.
Methodology: We started with a list (including demographics) of 27,000 cardiologists and 1,400 electrophysiologists and augmented the database with data from a wide range of sources relevant to the disease state:
- Investigators of clinical trials
- Authors of journal articles
- Editorial board members of journals
- Association officers
- Administrative positions at hospitals and universities
- Guideline authors
- Speakers at conventions and symposia
- Program planners
- Physicians at top-rated hospitals
- Hospitals conducting high numbers of related procedures
Snowfish leveraged our proprietary software to filter, sort, and integrate millions of data elements.
Results: We derived a manually verified list of the top 500 KOLs in the field. Our link mapping software derived 33,000 relevant links between the KOLs and between the KOLs and other physicians. Using our sophisticated weighting system, we then derived lists of those most suitable for a number of programs for the client’s new drug:
- National speakers
- Regional speakers
- Advisory board members
We also listed the “rising stars” among the KOLs and those KOLs that were considered regional as opposed to national. All results were presented in easy-to-use Excel spreadsheets, with “pull-down” filters to quickly sort or select KOLs based on particular factors (including client sales region). A report of the findings was also presented in PowerPoint format, highlighting all major results.
At the final presentation, our team was personally commended by the client’s VP of marketing, and client staff later remarked on both the comprehensiveness of the results and the ease and power of using the deliverables.