Medical affairs: past and future At the heart of the pharma model has always been the clinical and commercial functions. Patients, meanwhile, are presently better informed about their conditions.The level of patient awareness of treatment options and the associated risks of treatment is higher than ever before, thanks not just to “Dr. We have also accelerated the use of virtual Advisory Boards with the onset of COVID-19. The Future of Medical Affairs Introduction What are the future opportunities and challenges for medical affairs As the interface between companies and KOLs, HCPs, payers and patients, medical affairs has grown rapidly in importance. The global shift towards evidence-based care is creating new opportunities for the function to play a more strategic role within pharmaceutical companies, reflecting its growing importance in value generation. As with other companies in this space, the size of the medical affairs team is relatively small compared to the typical size in large pharmaceutical companies, possibly by a factor of ten. We need to have the right capabilities and be lifelong learners – training, itself, is a valued skill. The Future of Medical Affairs: Real-Time Data and Digital-First Networking Take Center Stage by David Bitner, Vice President, Solutions Strategy, Komodo Health August 26, 2020 The irony is not lost on medical affairs teams that the moment in time when the world is most fixated on clinical development is also the time when all the rules of the game have suddenly changed overnight. Medical affairs has evolved over recent years from a support, to a partner, to a strategic leadership function. While the extent and level of personalization that will be needed are new to medical affairs teams, the task itself isn’t. the medical-affairs function. Reuters Events is part of Reuters News & Media Ltd, 5 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AQ. Regulators and Health Technology Assessment bodies are increasingly interested in optimizing the use of real-world data for regulatory decisions, while recognizing the strengths and limitations of real-world evidence. Distilling Insights from More and Disparate Data to Benefit Patients. This information will have to be even more targeted and customized to the individual patient, but the primary task remains essentially the same. For more information, please visit: The Apotheker Group website: http://www.apothekergroup.com and the ACMA website: http://www.medicalaffairsspecialist.org by David Bitner, Vice President, Solutions Strategy, Komodo Health August 26, 2020. Research Article Health Affairs Vol.9 No.4 Young Physicians and the Future of the Medical Profession Getting the “right”-i.e. Medical affairs will be largely influenced by these developments in terms of … Information traditionally flows overwhelmingly from the company to outside stakeholders, mainly HCPs. Jul 24 The Future of Medical Affairs. The impacts of 2020 on trials are causing pharma to consider a new direction for trial sites,... ... and value our content, you should sign-up to our newsletter. A lot of these data are likely to be produced through collaborations with specialists or academia but understanding the technical scope and value of these methods is critical. Registered in England and Wales: 2505735. We have all had to adapt to a new way of working, one driven by virtual collaboration platforms and digital technologies. The Medical Affairs function in the pharmaceutical industry has grown in importance in recent years, having a greater voice internally and becoming significant budget holders. Demonstrating a thorough understanding of the disease area, treatment paradigms and translating the implications of new data is essential to ensuring the safe and appropriate use of our medicines. As physicians need more just-in-time, personalized information, this trend will increase, and medical affairs are well positioned to take on the challenge. The Medical Affairs Company Specialty Recruiters: You Know Our Names and We Know Yours Whether you are actively seeking a position or just keeping an ear to the ground for opportunities, TMAC has a 20-year history of matching the perfect people to the right positions, every time. The skills you develop within a Medical Affairs role will also be transferable into other divisions of the pharma sector, such as Regulatory Affairs, PV or Sales. - Scott McConnell, senior director of medical affairs at Alkermes . The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting Medical Affairs professionals around the world, and each team is responding in different ways. To be ready as a hub for unlocking the potential of the many data sources available to pharmaceutical companies, we must continue to build our knowledge, experience and capabilities in Medical Affairs to realize the possibilities enabled by insights and advanced analytics to ‘go beyond the product’. Medical Affairs – Bright Future Driven by Data. It is not the first time we say this: healthcare is rapidly changing and is driven by several different factors, chief among them our ability to create ever-increasing amounts of data ever faster – and also our increasing ability to make sense of them. The speed and nature of highly specialized drug development also means that our stakeholders are often hungry for additional real-world data that establish relevance for local health systems or economies. The Regulatory Compliance Environment 2. Medical affairs has established itself as a key department in pharmaceutical companies, largely for the department’s role as the communicators of scientific knowledge. The medical profession appears to be undergoing profound changes that promise to shape its future. Informing our external stakeholders about the newest data and insights, clinical development strategies and fill critical evidence gaps, increasing efficiency in how we bring new, value-based treatments to patients. As our industry evolves, so should our knowledge base. Accelerating access to treatments: … Using artificial intelligence algorithms, which allow mining and interpretation of all that data generated and more are yet to come. The Future of Medical Affairs In this strategic report, The Future of Medical Affairs, senior medical affairs experts from leading pharma companies peer into the crystal ball to identify the future challenges innovative practices and technologies that will shape future operations in this critical sector. A ‘fit for future’ Medical Affairs organisation, that addresses emerging. COVID-19 – A MAPS APAC Region Town Hall: Best Practices & the Future of Medical Affairs. … Google” but also the increased accessibility for patients to connect with patient advocacy groups on various social media platforms. With new sophisticated molecules, medical devices, and even gene therapies, there is a higher demand for clinical and drug information, creating new career opportunities for pharmacists in the growing area of medical affairs. In A vision for Medical Affairs in 2025, a new report released by McKinsey & Company, Medical Affairs is cited as the “third strategic pillar” [1], right along with R&D, and commercial & market access 1 in the pharmaceutical industry. OVERVIEW Medical Affairs is both a rewarding and challenging area in the evolving environment of drug development and launch readiness planning. Medical Affairs is both a rewarding and challenging area in the evolving environment of drug development and launch readiness planning. This rise is increasingly targeting indications in smaller patient populations, through a deeper understanding of the biology of disease and pathology, with 58% of the drugs approved in 2018 receiving Orphan Drug Designation, almost doubling from 2017. 1) A ‘fit for future’ Medical Affairs organisation, that addresses emerging needs to drive: - Patient centred insight generation and communication throughout the product life cycle. Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs Appoints Accera CEO, Dr. Charles Stacey to its Board of Governors Posted: Sept 06, 2018 The ACMA has appointed Dr. Charles Stacey, President and CEO of Accera Pharmaceuticals to its Board of Governors. New technologies are already being applied to generate and analyze unprecedented amounts of data. With the increasing importance of real-world evidence, more and more information is bound to flow from the outside back to the company and needs to be directed to the appropriate recipients. Medical Affairs sits within commercial organisations and is concerned with post-approval activities. A solid foundational Medical Affairs organisation that gets the basics right, Medical affairs has evolved over recent years from a support, to a partner, to a strategic leadership function. White ae Medical Science Liaisons: A key to driving patient access to new therapies Peter Rutherford, M.D., Ph.D., Vice President, Integrated Market Access, QuintilesIMS Nicola J. Smith, Senior Director, Regional Head of Operations, Field Medical Affairs Projects, QuintilesIMS That means the value of simple activities like journal clubs become hugely important. Currently, the medical affairs group is responsible for safety, publications, medical education grants, health economics, and key opinion leader (KOL) development. Yet, to date, many of these initiatives have been ad hoc, even experimental in nature. As the Medical Affairs function expands to include new roles, organizations and individuals are innovating to keep pace. In this strategic report, The Future of Medical Affairs, senior medical affairs experts from leading pharma companies peer into the crystal ball to identify the future challenges innovative practices and technologies that will shape future operations in this critical sector. The Future of Medical Affairs: Medical Science Liaison Outlook Medical science liaisons are on track to become digitally savvy scientific experts who partner with an array of stakeholders–from healthcare providers to patients–to drive better outcomes. For instance, just in the United States, we are seeing a record number of new drug approvals – the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 59 new drugs in 2018, 80% of which took advantage of an expedited pathway, such as Priority Review or Fast Track. The MSL Report brings together perspectives from Alkermes, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, and leading life sciences companies comprising 4000+ MSLs worldwide to address the question: what is the future of field medical affairs? From a technical perspective, proficient use of stakeholder engagement platforms is key – aggregating and analyzing data to generate insights that inform strategies. May 9, 2020. To be the proactive, strategic leader, we need all Medical Affairs colleagues to understand the right behaviors and skillsets to ensure all Medical Affairs regions and functions are enthusiastically involved at every level. The impact of COVID-19 has had a profound effect on us all, both personally and professionally. Instant Insights offers you a digest of vital knowledge and practical steps you can consider now. Medical Affairs is to deliver on its future aspirations. Check out the report to learn: But as digital solutions are set to take over the industry, what can MA do to ensure they continue to thrive in the future? 2. According to Bernard Marr writing for Forbes, estimates suggest that we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day, tendency: increasing. We therefore need to keep up to date with the emerging methods of generating epidemiological, clinical, or health-economic data. Healthcare providers are the classical stakeholders for pharmaceutical companies. The Medical Affairs Integrated Organizational Model 3. We need to prioritize which activities have the biggest impact. needs to drive: • Patient centred insight generation and communication throughout. Download our white paper to explore the future of Medical Affairs, and learn how we see the Medical Affairs role evolving by 2025. It’s that final group, KOL development, that will primarily undergo the BCMAS program. Sign up with your email address to receive news and updates. In the future, there will be significant changes in healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, and many of these will be due to technological advances and digitalisation. Find out more about a career in Medical Affairs below, take a look at our jobs or speak with our specialist consultant James Jamieson for an informal chat: +44 (0)1625 541 046 / james@carrotpharma.co.uk . John Bisbal. In turn, this broader understanding means that Medical Affairs teams need to foster the skills to rapidly inform new therapeutic strategies and keep treatment guidelines updated.