Targeted Pre-Launch Scientific Outreach: Q&A with Dan Rizzo

Dan Rizzo
Global head of business consulting
Veeva

Dan Rizzo, global head of business consulting at Veeva, spoke with Pharmaceutical Executive about his company’s latest findings about how life sciences companies are utilizing targeted pre-launch scientific outreach to improve uptake of novel treatments.

Pharmaceutical Executive: How can medical affairs address the core challenges with new product launches more effectively?
Dan Rizzo: There ismore complexity for doctors to understand in the science behind today’s specialized medicines. Companies can’t rely on traditional ways of communicating scientific evidence, especially when healthcare professionals (HCPs) are looking to the industry to help them distill the increasing amounts of information on new medicines.

Medical affairs teams play a pivotal role in delivering concise insights to HCPs when it matters most. By shifting investment to targeted pre-launch scientific activities like developing clinical guidelines, securing coverage in publications, and meeting with experts at congresses, organizations can speed treatment adoption by 40%.

PE: If we look at how different pre-launch channels help to speed treatment adoption, which one is the most important?
Rizzo: Not all channels for scientific activity, like publications and clinical guidelines, are created equal. They are important as the foundation for scientific evidence, yet higher investment in pre-launch congress activities has the most influence on treatment after approval. Congresses, and the digital discussions that follow those events, foster the most significant increase in scientific awareness and spur impactful medical conversations.

PE: Which HCPs are proving most effective in helping drive awareness around newer treatments?
Rizzo: We see that engaging with digitally savvy, early-career HCPs increases new treatment adoption. In fact, these emerging experts are four times more likely to start patients on a new treatment. They are also five times more likely to speak at congresses, 11 times more likely to engage digitally, and seven times more likely to get published. By understanding this demographic’s digital and scientific behaviors, biopharmas can adapt and invest in the right scientific channels to maximize treatment adoption.

PE: With this data on the pre-launch importance of medical teams, how do you see their role evolving?
Rizzo: Medical teams are playing a bigger role in the outcomes of launch success. Yet, organizations aren’t measuring their impact, causing most investments to remain flat. Now is an opportunity for them to become even more data-driven to optimize ongoing engagements and how they measure success.

A structured approach to clean, organize, synthesize, and report data is essential to a solid analytics foundation. This data-driven way of working may require the addition of business acumen across the medical organization, including headcount in data, analytics, process governance, and change management, as well as training for current roles. The result will be improved data quality, AI-fueled insights, and greater impact—moving beyond traditional metrics and tapping into new impact measures closer to the patient.