As More Doctors Refuse to See Sales Reps, Pharma Companies Are Turning More Frequently to MSLs, According to Cutting Edge Information

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--(Marketwire - October 30, 2008) - Physicians are less likely to meet with sales reps than they have been in the past, according to recent analysis by Oliver Wyman. According to research, only 56% of physicians will meet with doctors at all, and less than one quarter will sacrifice more than two minutes of their time. The analysis also found that the vast majority of doctors remain highly distrustful of the information they do receive from reps.

This trend has forced major pharmaceutical companies to change their tactics in the hopes of gaining trust, or at least access, from physicians. According to "Pharmaceutical Sales Management" (http://www.PharmaSalesManagement.com), a report from Cutting Edge Information, several companies have restructured their sales force to combat closing doors. Pfizer has reduced its reps-to-doctor ratio to two while Eli Lilly has reduced territory size so fewer reps are calling on each doctor. One large company has gone so far as to eliminate mirroring entirely. In addition to building better relationships with doctors, reps in non-mirrored territories are also held more accountable, as they can no longer rely on other reps to detail difficult-to-access physicians.

As sales reps are becoming trusted less and less, companies are increasingly relying on MSLs to provide a positive perspective on their products.

"Because MSLs typically hold high-level scientific, pharmacy or medical degrees, doctors feel they can talk to them on a peer-to-peer level," says Elio Evangelista, Research Manager and lead author of Cutting Edge Information's "The Changing MSL Role" (http://www.MSLPerformance.com/). Because an MSL's focus is typically to sell the science rather than the brand, doctors are less skeptical of the information provided. However, they are being forced to balance their commercial assistance role with other tasks. Regardless, MSL groups have become a strategic asset in clinical advancement due to their relationships with doctors who run trials of pipeline products.

Both "The Changing MSL Role" and "Pharmaceutical Sales Force Management" provide structure, headcount, and staffing numbers, as well as top field force strategies to gain access to physicians and increase their trust of in-field staff. The results were compiled based on survey data and interviews with executives in top pharmaceutical companies.

Contact Information: CONTACT INFORMATON: For more information or to learn about other Cutting Edge Information research, contact: David Richardson 919-433-0216