It s an exciting time for pharmaceutical companies in the. Oncology Reps New Mantra: Provide Real Value, Maintain Physician Access

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1 SALES & MARKETING INSIGHTS Oncology Reps New Mantra: Provide Real Value, Maintain Physician Access By Ganesh Vedarajan and Jon Roffman, It s an exciting time for pharmaceutical companies in the oncology market. Not only are launches in the pipeline, but cancers once thought untreatable are now manageable, and biomarkers have the potential to revolutionize treatment. But for all the potential and promise of these product portfolios, it s hard to sell them when you don t have access to detail oncologists. According to the most recent edition of ZS s biannual AccessMonitor report, which examined call reports for more than 200 sales teams and examined interactions with approximately 325,000 physicians and prescribers, oncology is the most difficult specialty for pharmaceutical reps to visit. Oncology has been one of the most difficult practices for pharma reps to detail over the past two years, but the restrictions have become more severe and are getting worse over time.

2 About the Authors Ganesh Vedarajan, Principal, San Francisco Ganesh is the global leader for ZS s Oncology/ Specialty Therapeutics practice. He has helped numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies improve their performance in brand marketing, marketing execution effectiveness, analytics/operations and several other areas. Sobering Numbers The numbers from the report are telling: 65% of oncologists put moderate-to-severe restrictions on sales reps, compared with 58% of cardiologists and 47% of primarycare physicians. The average sales rep gets access to an oncologist only seven or eight times annually; even the best reps get face time only once a month. Fully 14% of oncologists are infeasible to visit, meaning no access whatsoever, even for the best reps. Only allergists have a higher percentage of infeasible physicians (17%). On average, oncology reps are asked to make five calls per day but deliver an average of less than three of them. Jon Roffman, Associate Principal The reasons for the restrictions are many and varied. Reimbursement, Boston shorter amount of time. Many oncologists and oncologist practices are Jon is the leader of ZS s Oncology Field Strategy practice. He has helped numerous companies address sales and marketing issues in oncology, with an emphasis in launch planning, field force strategy and execution, and also has led several initiatives to design innovative customer engagement and deployment models in oncology. pressures are forcing oncologists to see additional patients in a merging or becoming affiliated with large networks that have access restrictions. And PhRMA guidelines leave reps with little leeway in their sales approach: One oncologist we interviewed said that many sales reps have become walking, talking package inserts who simply parrot what s already written for the oncologist. These types of pharmaceutical reps are not likely to be successful. But if industry guidelines restrict messaging, how will reps be able to gain access as institutions and oncologists become even less hospitable to their detailing? A close examination of the numbers from the AccessMonitor report reveals geographic and institutional trends that provide clues to the answer. Physician access is most difficult in the Western and Midwestern United States, and remains difficult in urban centers that have major cancer centers. For example, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic and Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women s Cancer Center are all in the bottom 20% of metro areas based on access restrictions. (This is hardly a new trend, but has accelerated from prior years.) 2

3 What s more, the amount of access often depends on the number of products an oncology sales team carries in its bag, and if those products are new ones. Oncology reps who detail three or more products will see a physician about 10 times per year, while those carrying one or two products will gain access about seven times annually. On average, a rep carrying three or more products is twice as likely to have access to even the most restrictive oncologists (26% versus 13% for reps carrying one or two products). Furthermore, a new product has the ability to unlock doors: Teams carrying a newly launched oncology treatment access physicians 10.4 times a year, compared with just 7.8 times for teams with older products. (It s worth noting that this newness window closes quickly: Six months after launch, the greater access occurs only 5% more frequently, making it imperative to maximize the effectiveness of launch.) Obviously, an oncology sales team cannot detail a new product all the time and some can t carry more than a couple of products, but that doesn t mean they don t offer value to oncologists. In fact, the key to access, we feel, is for reps to offer unique, tailored services to oncologists rather than simply sell a product. Companies need to develop innovative ways to engage the customer the oncologist and do so from the perspective of the oncologist, not the pharma company. This entails embracing the customer experience, or what an oncologist, buying committee or other type of customer will experience when using a particular product. Tailoring the customer experience to what each oncologist or practice actually needs is the key. Each customer has different needs and, as AccessMonitor makes clear, those needs can vary widely, depending upon the practice setting, tumor types and location. For instance, compare an oncologist at a major research institution with one in a smaller practice with fewer restrictions on access. The physician doing research doesn t need to be reminded of a product s attributes he or she may have been involved in the clinical trials of the product, and is intimately familiar with on-label indications. 3

4 However, that particular oncologist may want access to the latest science, so he will value an appraisal of new clinical studies. That kind of assistance represents the type of value a field team cannot deliver through reciting the package insert. Meanwhile, the physician at the smaller practice has different issues: She doesn t have as much time as she d like to spend with patients, who need expert guidance about their treatment. That s because the oncologist has to see more patients with less time for each to maintain the financial viability of her practice. So reps who can allow an oncologist to have better, briefer conversations with her patients such as creating media or online channels that enable the physician to answer common patient inquiries will have made that oncologist s life that much easier. That kind of effort generates a positive customer experience for the physician, and lowers barriers for access. A sales approach tailored to individual oncologists can apply to the bag of products reps carry as well. For example, we ve seen many companies become more tumor focused in the products specific reps carry, so that they can offer a range of solutions and select the one that is most appropriate for specific patients. There are no silver bullets or magic formulas for pharmaceutical companies to help increase or even simply maintain their sales reps access to oncologists. It is hard work to determine each oncologist s needs, as these needs vary by geography, practice type and type of cancer. It is just as difficult to arm a sales force to deliver that value. Sometimes an innovative-seeming approach does not pay major dividends. But with access to oncologists decreasing (and we expect it will get more restrictive still), pharma companies that lack innovative sales and marketing approaches won t have to worry about their sales approaches paying dividends they won t have access to oncologists in the first place. 4

5 About is a global leader in sales and marketing consulting, outsourcing, technology and software. For almost 30 years, ZS has helped companies across a range of industries get the most out of their sales and marketing organizations. From 20 offices around the world, ZS experts use analytics and deep expertise to help companies make smart decisions quickly and cost-effectively. ZS comprises multiple affiliated legal entities. Learn more at , Inc All Rights Reserved All trademarks within this document are either the property of or their licensors.