Supporting a company’s investigational products is one of the most important functions of a medical science liaison (MSL). According to a recent survey by primary intelligence firm Cutting Edge Information, MSLs typically perform about 16 activities in support of pre-market activities, which are centered around engagement with the medical community.
More than half of the surveyed MSL teams identified the following activities as core objectives for supporting investigational products:
- Meeting face-to-face with key opinion leaders (KOLs)
- Identifying new KOLs
- Delivering scientific presentations and speeches
- Attending medical meetings and congresses
“MSLs are becoming the scientific face of the company,” said Natalie DeMasi, research analyst at Cutting Edge Information. “Teams that properly leverage their MSLs will find that their in-person interactions with the medical and scientific community provide excellent opportunities to not only share, but also extract, valuable pieces of information.”
The survey report, Capture and Communicate the Full Value of Medical Science Liaisons, available at http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/medical-affairs/medical-science-liaisons/ provides MSL teams with KPIs they can benchmark against, as well as best practices that top pharmaceutical companies use to demonstrate liaison value to company stakeholders. Other key questions answered by this benchmarking study include:
- What best practices are there to prove the value of MSL teams?
- How do MSL teams justify their existence?
- How do MSL teams make a case for maintaining or increasing annual budgets?
- What are some interteam communication strategies between MSLs and sales reps at top companies?
- What activities should MSLs focus on prior to/post product launch?
To learn more about Cutting Edge Information’s medical affairs research, please visit http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/library/medical-affairs/