Product development never rests. 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. To quote George Bernard Shaw, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” Medical Affairs teams are the medical face of the company and their value lies their ability to disseminate information as accurately and precisely as possible – they make sure that when communication takes place, it makes sense.
The medical affairs sector as a whole is growing in popularity,according to Kyle Kennedy, vice president of customer strategy with the Medical Affairs Company (TMAC), “I have always said a position in medical affairs is the best job in the pharmaceutical sector. You learn so many skills that prepare you to be successful in other positions in the industry.
In medical affairs, you have opportunities to work in or with clinical trial activities, medical information, competitive intelligence, pharmacovigilance, medical writing, health outcomes, scientific platform communications, and key opinion leader development, and you may even be able to move over to the commercial side of industry, such as marketing.”
The future in terms of job growth looks positive for the sector,William Soliman,PhD, chair of the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs says, “Medical affairs has grown over 300% in the last decade and it will continue to do so, there are many more career opportunities than ever before.”
As the sector continues to grow, programs such as "Elevate" run by theMedical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS)explores how the industry can embrace new operating models that elevate Medical Affairs from a supportive role to a more strategic business critical role within life sciences organizations.
