The changing landscape of pharma: a new route for PhDs?

The pharmaceutical industry is changing – challenging for some, but an open road to opportunity for others. And the latest opportunity in the world of pharma comes from a rapidly growing demand for Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), says the founder of...

All you need to know about the Medical Science Liaison (MSL) role

The Medical Science Liaison (MSL) role has become one of the most important customer focused roles within the pharmaceutical/biotech industry and this has led to a massive increase in the MSL work force globally. As a consequence, the supply of...

Medical Science Liaison: Why pharmacists make great MSL?

The Medical Science Liaison (MSL) role is often associated with PhDs, postdocs and in some counties with an MD degree. But we know from our global MSL salary survey that a lot of MSLs also have a pharmacist background. For instance, in the US...

Last week I spoke to an aspiring MSL, who had recently stared working as a technical sales representative, selling research compounds to researchers and pharma companies.

He asked me if being a technical sales rep is a good job to then move into an MSL role later on?

He had finished his PhD recently. First thing I...

We hear this every day speaking for the first time to aspiring MSLs on the phone who have been trying to break into the MSL role for months!

"I have submitted 40 CVs/resumes and never heard back. It is true, they only want experienced MSLs!"

Sorry, but I have to be blunt and direct with you. Your CV is just not...

Investigator Initiated Studies: The Why, When, How and So What
Many MSLs are working on pipeline molecules and are therefore involved in clinical studies liaising with key opinion leaders (KOLs). Oftentimes these clinical studies are the company sponsored trials. However, MSLs are also the first point of contact to...

Managing expectations with KOLs is really important.

Yes you want to make sure you are of value, and be able to bring the right opportunities to your KOL. But nothing is worse than to commit to something and not being able to deliver on your promises. With whatever I do, I always tell the KOL:

"... It is not going...

Key Opinion Leaders are often high up in the ranks in the hospital and pretty powerful people in the community and (clinical) boards and societies. It can be difficult to say no to them when they ask for company clinical research funding/IIS support.

For instance they might ask grant support from the company to do...

Why hold an advisory board meeting?

Pharma invest heavily in bringing new therapeutic drugs to the doctors and their patients to help them manage, treat and sometimes even cure their diseases. These new agents are undergoing expensive phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials to establish that these drugs (or devices) are...

MSL in-field insights: What are they and why do pharma need them
Many aspiring MSLs – when asked what an MSL does – talk about MSLs being an educator and sharing the latest clinical data with the key opinion leaders (KOLs). Yes, there is a big clinical data sharing component in the MSL role and a large...