Securing early clinical champions in Germany

Ahead of its German market launch, Aspivix needed credible clinical relationships to support adoption of its gynecological device technology. Peak Spirit ran the outreach and relationship-building work required to secure them.

The engagement delivered three KOL contracts directly tied to the German launch. “A significant success on the way to approach the German market,” said Mathieu Horras, CEO of Aspivix.

The technology

Aspivix is a MedTech venture based in Switzerland. The company has developed an alternative to the traditional cervical tenaculum, a type of forceps used to grasp the cervix, for instance when inserting intrauterine devices (IUD). As the current standard of care, roughly grasping the cervix with the metal tenaculum can lead to excruciating pain and frequent bleeding. Aspivix has developed a vacuum-based device that grasps the cervix with soft suction instead of the traditional clamping and pinching mechanism.

The idea: get KOLs on board before the market launch

Although the company had clinical evidence that the technology significantly reduced pain and bleeding, a number of crucial questions were open. Can the clinical evidence be translated into the gynaecologist’s real-world practice? Is the device as easy to use in practice as the preliminary trials found? Will key opinion leaders (KOLs) endorse the device and promote it as the new standard of care?

To answer these questions for Germany, Aspivix partnered with Peak Spirit to recruit two KOLs as early users and ambassadors for their product. But how can a startup get there without a large existing network?

The challenge

Contacting prospects and convincing them is already a challenge in itself, and with doctors it becomes even more difficult. Many are overworked, and it is normal for a healthcare professional to receive between 150 and 300 emails a day, most of which end up in the trash unread. Even after contact has been made, it is difficult to arrange calls and meetings, and even more difficult to convince them to spend a significant amount of their precious time on one’s cause.

“We knew that the device was highly relevant for gynecologists and their patients. Therefore we had to refine the process of reaching out to and convincing KOLs to work with us in order to be successful, which is why we chose to collaborate with Peak Spirit who have a proven track record on similar projects.”

Mathieu Horras, CEO, Aspivix

Approach

1. Excellent prospecting is key. Peak Spirit and Aspivix searched for KOLs by screening related medical publications for German authors. Keynote speakers at relevant congresses and leaders of relevant associations were reviewed and added to the reach-out list. This desk research accounted for a considerable amount of the work but paid off in the long run.

2. Reaching out with consistency. Most phones are not picked up and most emails go unanswered, and a medical assistant is often a gatekeeper between the person seeking contact and the doctor. Two things are key: a multi-channel approach (email, phone, the website contact form, congresses, even post or fax) and consistency, with response times of no more than 24 hours and always driving and managing the process oneself.

3. A highly professional appearance when meeting the doctors. After the initial expressions of interest, a short call was arranged, followed by personal meetings where the conditions of a collaboration were discussed. At least one person with experience in communicating with doctors (for example a former pharma rep) should attend. Here, good collaboration between Peak Spirit and Aspivix was essential to leverage complementary expertise.

Results

Together with Peak Spirit, Aspivix succeeded in signing contracts with three gynecological KOLs that will help them to successfully launch their product in Germany and gain initial experience in a real-world setting.

“Instead of the agreed two signed contracts, Peak Spirit has excelled in this business development project with three signed contracts. They saved us days of work by implementing their best practices and accelerating the project from the beginning. Thanks to Peak Spirit, this project was a significant success on the way to approach the German market.”

Mathieu Horras, CEO, Aspivix

What’s next

Aspivix will keep innovating women’s health around the globe and is well on its way to becoming the alternative to the pain and bleeding-inducing conventional tenaculum. “Gynecology. Now modern.” is the slogan they are turning into reality, step by step.