A KOL By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sour

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of medical experts (physicians who could be deemed genuine experts) believe the pharmaceutical industry should replace the term Key Opinion Leader (KOL) – according to the results of a new international online survey to be presented today at the Medical Affairs Leaders Forum in Berlin, Germany. The survey was conducted by System Analytic, a company that helps pharmaceutical teams to "identify, map, and engage with their medical experts and key stakeholders."

According to the Pharma Marketing Glossary, Key Opinion Leaders are physicians who influence their peers' medical practice, including but not limited to prescribing behavior.

"Pharmaceutical companies hire KOL's to consult for them, to give lectures, to conduct clinical trials, and occasionally to make presentations on their behalf at regulatory meetings or hearings." (see "The Secret Lives of Big Pharma's 'Thought Leaders'").

It's a well-known fact that KOLs often are chosen more for their high prescribing habits than for their knowledge or other attributes that would enable them to influence their peers. The recommendation to change the name follows concerns by the senior medical community (who participated in the research) that the term ‘KOL’ is too ‘closely associated with the world of marketing’ and is often ‘used inappropriately’ for people who do not necessarily warrant the title.

But how do pharmaceutical executives feel about changing the name? What name should be used instead? And, most importantly, will changing the name really change the game?

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Some “Walter White” Pharma Sales Reps Make an “Ungodly” Amount of Money

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is back on HBO and the pharmaceutical industry was the centerpiece of last night's show in which Oliver spent more than 17 minutes educating the audience on the industry's marketing practices.

Oliver began by citing some statistics such as annual sales of Rx drugs in America amount to over $1,000 per person. "Walter White could have made more money cooking up arthritis medications," quipped Oliver.

I'm not sure arthritis is where the real pharma money is these days -- maybe orphan drugs (see here and here) or cancer drugs (see here), certainly Hep C drugs (see here) are where the real money is.

Oliver focuses mostly on physician marketing and pharma sales reps. He begins by showing segments from direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads, all of which end with the phrase "ask your doctor," which of course is often the butt of jokes (see, for example, here).

"Oliver says Big Pharma wants you to talk to your doctor," says Time, "because they have spent billions of dollars marketing their drugs to physicians. Oliver’s research revealed that pharmaceutical companies spent $24 billion marketing directly to doctors last year. According to one study quoted by Oliver, 9 out of 10 top drugmakers spent more on marketing drugs than researching the drugs. In Oliver’s words, 'Drug companies are like high school boyfriends: they are more interested in getting inside you than in being effective once they are there.'"

I've written about many of the issues that Oliver speaks about in his segment and I will provide the back stories below. There was one thing in this segment, however, that stood out for me. It was a claim made by a GSK executive in a 2001 Advair launch video that the Department of Justice uploaded to its website as part of a whistleblower suit.

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