Innovators in the MedTech industry who develop successful products that best align with market expectations, identify key opinion leaders who can provide the required insight on needs identification. Many companies work closely with medical device consulting firms to secure the desired input by connecting with key opinion leaders. From ensuring that technology design and performance will meet the clinical expectations to offering clinical insights to support investment fundraising, efficient key opinion leader engagement supports the company in several key areas. Key opinion leaders also play a critical role in building product awareness. Key Opinion Leaders provide valuable insight into:
- Design and performance expectations
- Clinical trial strategy development
- Pricing and distribution preferences
- Features preferences
- Competitive landscape comparisons
- Early adopters training
- Supporting investment fundraising
- Clinical insight
These are critical areas for a medical device company. Identifying key opinion leaders is an important early decision for a medical device company. For this reason, innovators rely on consulting firms for key opinion leader identification. Key opinion leaders are experienced clinician-researchers. They provide insight into product design, workflow, clinical practice and data required for successful adoption. With efficient engagement, they can act as an extension of the innovator’s team.
When it comes to key opinion leader identification, it is critical to engage objective leaders, not just those who have positive things to say about the emerging technology.
Here are some tips for perfect key opinion leaders matching
Passion
A key opinion leader should have the required passion for the clinical expectations that the technology will meet. The most committed key opinion leaders are most likely to be already striving to address the same needs. They have a desire to evaluate emerging technologies. The company can leverage their vision and passion to establish credibility within the medical community. Introducing a competitive perspective also supports value proposition and competition positioning.
Presence
A key opinion leader must have a strong influence to introduce new technology. A good key opinion leader is a respected figure with a strong speaking presence. The leader has experience at medical centers, podium presentations and peer-reviewed publications. Diversity in location, academic and community base, gender and race, and clinical patient base are important to ensure that a technology will meet a broad swath of market expectations.
Procedure Volume
Key opinion leaders are the first clinicians to evaluate the device in real clinical settings. The medical device company must be aware of the key opinion leader’s relevant procedure volume. This ensures that the leader will help in meeting clinical trial timelines and target market expectations.
Patience
It is an important character trait as the key opinion leader has to engage with a young, emerging Medtech company. The innovator working on a new technology has an endless number of questions to ask about design, competitors, clinical trials and potential adopters.
As it is an important early decision, the medical device company should secure experienced consultants to source and develop relationships with key opinion leaders for medical development and commercialization.