Online HCPs are already shaping every stage of your drug launch

A few weeks ago, after reviewing clinical data and input from regulators, Pfizer announced its decision to discontinue its development of danuglipron, which was being investigated as an oral drug for chronic weight management. But for almost two years prior to the announcement, online healthcare professionals (HCPs) had been providing commentary on the drug’s development and launch plans, sharing cautious hope, then doubt, and eventually acknowledging the challenges of developing new drugs in this space.

Dive deeper: LinkedIn: Did online HCP conversations predict Pfizer’s discontinuation of once-daily #danuglipron?

It can be difficult for pharmaceutical companies to play any part in the online discourse about the medicines they are developing, especially when marketing authorisation has not yet been given. It might even be said that online HCPs are shaping the messaging around drug launch long before the manufacturer of the drug is even allowed to do so.

But if it seems there is little that pharmaceutical professionals can do about the conversations HCPs have on social media about a product, in fact, the collective knowledge sharing that takes place between physicians and other HCPs can provide a wealth of intelligence, often revealing insights that would otherwise be unseen. Indeed, each stage of a medicine’s launch may be associated with particular behaviours and conversations among online HCPs, and therefore each stage brings its own insight and engagement opportunities, for those who listen.

Dive deeper: Understand the new influence of online HCP voices in shaping product conversations – webinar

Engaging HCPs to address unmet needs in severe asthma

Analysis of online HCP conversations about medicines for severe asthma, conducted in October 2024, shows that posts by HCPs reveal clues about their needs and hopes. Late in 2022, physicians talked about a “major unmet need in severe asthma patients ‘hidden’ in primary care”, reflecting a concern that some patients might be going undiagnosed.

The HCP conversation also shows how companies at different stages of launch preparation have been engaging HCPs around some of these unmet needs. A respiratory nurse tagged AstraZeneca in her post about ‘creating short educational videos’ about the identification and management of severe asthma in primary care. 

Over the following two years, HCPs on social media expressed a growing interest in AstraZeneca’s severe asthma treatment, benralizumab, which was gaining momentum and awareness among online HCPs. Meanwhile, HCPs showed limited awareness of GSK’s depemokimab during the Summer of 2024, despite some sharing of the news that the product “shows promise in reducing severe asthma attacks” in May 2024.

It was not until depemokimab data was published in September 2024 that HCPs reacted with highly supportive posts, amplifying the news and disseminating the new data through social media.

Dive deeper: How social media intelligence can support blockbuster launches: GSK’s depemokimab

HCPs track the launch of a myelofibrosis treatment

Meanwhile, hem-onc specialists were tracking the launch of GSK’s momelotinib, posting about trials, approvals and payer recommendations, and expressing their enthusiasm for the product. Sharing news of the MOMENTUM trial results, one leukemia professor posted about the product’s “significant improvements” over danazol.

HCP online posts about momelitinib spiked further as physicians showed significant positivity in response to news that the FDA had approved the product for the treatment of myelofibrosis. 

Dive deeper: How HCP social media intelligence can help maximise blockbuster success: GSK’s momelotinib launch

Within the HCP conversation that marks milestones in a medicine’s launch, certain individuals can play a significant part in amplifying science. By analysing the online posts of these Digital Opinion Leaders, who we classify according to the impact they have on their online peers, it is possible to learn what matters to them in a given field, and find clues about how to serve them most effectively during a product’s launch and beyond.

In the example below, it can be seen that Dr Naveen Pemmaraju, a hematologist based in Houston, TX, has a vast global network of HCP followers on social media. Analysis of his conversations about myelofibrosis, and, considering the momelotinib timeline above, his posts about treatments, indicates that he is playing a significant role in sharing new science with his HCP peers around the world.

Dive deeper: DOLs are not your paid media channel

Tracking the launch journey

Tracking the online voice of HCPs is also a helpful way to develop intelligence about the launch journey of a particular class of drug. In the example below, HCP posts about antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) spiked when drugs in the class were discussed at medical congress events, as physicians reflected on the data and how they might see the treatments being used. They actively talked about which medicines they would use over others, and shared concerns about topics such as toxicity.

For those medicines that passed the online scrutiny of the peer-to-peer online discussion, HCPs reflected their hopes for future market access, and celebrated when the FDA approved AstraZeneca’s Dato-DXd.

Dive deeper: How HCPs are reacting to novel antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs)

Regulator approval of new medicines is a key milestone that often triggers HCP enthusiasm. A wider analysis of HCP mentions of regulator decisions shows how the HCP online voice often spikes after the approval of a drug that HCPs consider to be significant. When Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide was approved for a label expansion to treat chronic kidney disease, HCPs reacted with excitement, calling it a “huge win for patients”.

Dive deeper: Product Launch Tracker: HCPs excited about the new wave of oncology therapies for patients

Taking action on the voice of the customer

When planning a drug launch, the online voice of HCPs provides a powerful source of intelligence that provides clues about the drug’s future uptake, as physicians react to data, develop a view and share their expectations. By distilling the HCP voice from all the other noise on social media, pharmaceutical leaders can start listening to their customers early on.

Companies we have worked with have used intelligence from online HCPs to train MSL teams to address HCP concerns with data, improve their congress engagement and even inform the direction of new clinical trials.

If you would like to learn more about how the online voice of HCPs can support your launch, get in touch.