Anonymous Client C — Top-10 pharma company launching novel immunology therapy in 12 markets
The immunology therapy was a first-in-class mechanism targeting a novel pathway. Launch success depended heavily on building scientific credibility with KOLs who could educate the broader physician community. The company's previous KOL identification approach relied on advisory board recommendations and conference attendance lists — a method that was slow, biased toward well-known names, and missed rising stars. The medical affairs VP wanted a systematic, AI-powered approach that could identify both traditional and digital KOLs with quantified influence scores.
A top-10 pharma company preparing for a major immunology launch had an outdated KOL list compiled 3 years ago through manual recommendations. The list contained 75 names with limited influence mapping, no tiering rationale, and no coverage of digital opinion leaders (DOLs). The medical affairs team needed to identify, profile, and engage 200+ KOLs across 12 markets with a data-driven, defensible approach. The existing list had known gaps in emerging markets and underrepresented the growing community of digital-first opinion leaders.
We leveraged our proprietary KOL identification methodology powered by OpenAlex data covering 90M+ expert profiles. Our AI-driven approach analyzed publication impact, trial leadership, guideline involvement, conference presence, and digital influence. We delivered tiered KOL lists with engagement strategies tailored to each market and KOL segment.
Publication impact analysis: Mined 250M+ research papers via OpenAlex API to identify authors with high citation impact in immunology, weighted by recency and journal quality
Trial leadership mapping: Cross-referenced ClinicalTrials.gov to identify principal investigators and steering committee members across immunology trials
Guideline authorship analysis: Identified authors of major treatment guidelines (EULAR, ACR, AAAAI) and consensus statements in immunology
Conference presence scoring: Analyzed keynote/plenary presentations at major immunology congresses (EULAR, ACR, FOCIS, WAO) over 3 years
Digital influence assessment: Evaluated social media presence, blog authorship, podcast appearances, and online engagement metrics for digital opinion leader identification
Influence scoring: Combined all dimensions into a 100-point influence score with sub-scores for academic, clinical, regulatory, and digital influence
Tiering and segmentation: Categorized KOLs into Tier 1 (global thought leaders), Tier 2 (national leaders), Tier 3 (regional/emerging leaders), and Digital Opinion Leaders (DOLs)
Engagement strategy design: Developed tailored engagement playbooks for each KOL tier and market, including advisory board candidacy, speaker bureau eligibility, and scientific exchange topics
We delivered a comprehensive KOL engagement transformation: 200+ KOLs identified and tiered across 12 markets, with 35 newly discovered rising stars not on any previous list. The final database included influence scores, network maps showing collaboration patterns, engagement history, and tailored outreach strategies. We also identified 25 digital opinion leaders who were absent from the traditional KOL landscape but had significant online influence in immunology.
Phase 1 (Weeks 1-4): AI-powered publication and trial analysis across 90M+ expert profiles, generating initial candidate pool of 2,500+ names
Phase 2 (Weeks 3-7): Guideline authorship analysis, conference presence scoring, and digital influence assessment
Phase 3 (Weeks 6-10): Influence scoring, tiering, and segmentation with network mapping for each KOL
Phase 4 (Weeks 9-13): Market-level engagement strategy development with tailored playbooks per tier
Phase 5 (Weeks 12-16): MSL training on the new KOL database, engagement tracking system setup, and launch integration
| Metric | Before | After | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| KOL Database Size | 75 (manual list) | 200+ (AI-powered) | 2.7x expansion with quantified influence scores |
| New KOLs Discovered | 0 | 35 rising stars | Identified emerging leaders missed by traditional methods |
| Digital Opinion Leaders | 0 | 25 DOLs | Captured growing digital influence channel |
| Market Coverage | 5 markets | 12 markets | Full launch market coverage including emerging markets |
| KOL Engagement Rate | 32% | 45% | +40% improvement in engagement acceptance rate |
| Advisory Board Diversity | Homogeneous | Diverse (gender, geography, career stage) | Broader perspectives and reduced groupthink risk |
“The AI-powered KOL identification was a game-changer. We discovered 35 rising stars we had never heard of, several of whom are now on our global advisory board. The digital opinion leader identification was particularly eye-opening — we were completely missing that channel before.”
VP, Medical Affairs
Anonymous Client C
Forecast
Data-driven KOL engagement projected to improve launch uptake by 18% in first 2 years, based on benchmark performance across comparable immunology launches.
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