Effectively communicating clinical trial results is a vital part of any healthcare company’s communications strategy. As the industry develops the life-saving therapies of tomorrow, communicating clinical data serves two critical company goals: sharing knowledge with the scientific community while positioning your company and team as leaders in the field.
Whether via a journal publication, a congress poster presentation or investor conference presentation, the communications strategy around effectively presenting the data can positively or negatively affect a company’s reputation and market position amongst its peers.
Assisting our clients in announcing trial data is something ICR Healthcare is no stranger to; we’ve compiled this guide to help outline our broad view on navigating the complexities of announcing clinical trial data through mediums such as press releases and conference presentations.
Timing is everything
- Coordinate with key stakeholders to determine the optimal timing for your announcement. Did you work with any partners in the trial whom you can work with to announce the data?
- Align your announcement with relevant industry events or company milestones for maximum impact. Can you announce your data at a major global scientific conference specific to your field or an investor conference?
- Consider embargo policies if presenting at a conference. Every conference will have its own unique embargo policy – check these to avoid breaching any rules.
Utilize Key Opinion Leader (KOL) Expertise
- Consider engaging KOLs as spokespeople. KOLs can play a vital role in contextualizing your findings and encouraging the adoption of promising new therapies. Their third party endorsement can give extra validation of the findings from the trial to key audiences including investors who may call upon any KOLs from time to time.
- KOLs can be investigators involved in the trial or advisors that helped shape the clinical trial design and can be influential in front of regulators.
Engage Patient Advocacy Groups (PAGs)
- PAGs are independent entities that can play a key role in educating patients about your new clinical trial data, its potential impact on them and ultimately could assist in patient enrolment in future trials.
- Engaging with PAGs can enhance your trial data announcement by leveraging them as a source of third-party validation in front of investors and regulators, while also facilitating knowledge-exchange relationships between PAGs, academia, and industry. This engagement can strengthen your company’s reputation within the healthcare community and potentially lead to more collaborations in the future.
Know your audience
- Identify primary audiences. Who do you intend to see your trial data? This can include investors, healthcare professionals, patients, and media. Consider the relative prioritization of these audience groups and how this impacts sequencing.
- Tailor your messages to address the interests and concerns of each group and prepare for potential questions from these different perspectives. A list of key message points can be an invaluable tool to help all spokespeople stay on message.
Craft a clear and compelling narrative
- Most importantly: be transparent about both positive and negative results. Credibility and trust in your company’s science and strategy is your most valuable commodity: destroying this will have profoundly negative consequences, so while accentuating the positive is important, don’t be tempted to downplay data which doesn’t align with your goals: your audiences will watch this closely.
- Scientific data can be complex and difficult to comprehend for wider audiences. Be sure to use simple language to explain scientific concepts, ensuring the key takeaways come across clearly and highlighting the potential impact on patients or treatment paradigms. Never assume knowledge and explain jargon where possible: even highly technically literate audiences benefit from clarity of message.
Leverage multiple channels
- A comprehensive press release should be the cornerstone of your communications approach, enabling wide communication to the broadest group of stakeholders while serving as an important statement of record. Your press release should not only clearly represent the data but also signal its strategic importance.
- When presenting at a conference or hosting a webinar or conference call for investors and analysts, design your slide deck to be easilyreadable from a distance, avoiding too much text.
- Develop dynamic social media content to amplify your message across digital platforms that is shareable with your audiences.
No two situations are identical; however, these tips should provide a brief guideline on how to approach communicating your clinical trial data, maximizing its impact and positioning your company as a leader in your field.
Successful communication of scientific results require a delicate balance of accuracy, clarity, and strategic messaging. Interested in working with ICR Healthcare to plan and execute your next clinical trial announcement and beyond? Get in touch here.
