Is a Lack of Defined Identity inhibiting the Progress of Medical Affairs?

From speaking with Medical Affairs professionals all day every day and reading Medical Affairs publications from the likes of McKinsey, MAPS and elsewhere, there’s a recurring theme that strikes me: Medical Affairs appears to be stuck in limbo, unsure of where or perhaps what it is supposed to be even if continually told through various publications it is strategically exactly where it should be. And yet, the irony of the image McKinsey chose in their recent publication “A Vision for Medical Affairs 2030” to portray Medical Affairs as the “third pillar” is not lost on me:

It’s not that this is incorrect of course – Medical Affairs is currently seen as sitting between R&D and Commercial.

It’s more the imagery of the three as separate entities rather than Medical Affairs being intertwined within each acting as the connection and the crucial conduit between….to the extent we see in this image the same “wall” between each organization that so many Medical Affairs professionals will have experienced.

Have you ever thought or felt this?

• “We’re not accepted as part of the Commercial organization”
• “We’re not accepted as part of the R&D organization”

We’re told the value of Medical Affairs is universally appreciated within Pharma and Biotech and yet it feels as though neither the Commercial nor R&D businesses really welcome the service with open arms and absorb its full value much less allow it to impact and influence strategy without which, it’s really just lip service being paid to its aforementioned value…

As a result, I have the impression Medical Affairs professionals feel “stuck in the middle” as depicted quite literally in the image above and this is the cause of the lack of defined identity.

Consistently being told this is where you belong but feeling like “how do we achieve our full value and potential within this?”

And whilst a Medical Affairs department can and will bring even greater impact and value with more innovation and improvements in areas such as RWE, AI and external insights gathering, until it understands exactly what it is and is able to communicate that effectively across the industry, companies will simply pick and choose aspects of the offering rather than benefitting from the full spectrum and allowing it to influence strategy throughout the lifecycle to realize its total value.

How many companies have Medical Affairs immersed and integrated into both Clinical and Commercial functions depending on the stage of the process the drug is at? I wager very few if any at all….

And yet, wouldn’t such a fluid structure allow for Medical Affairs to have a genuine opportunity to demonstrate its full capability and value across the lifecycle of a product with a defined cohesive vision along with fully integrated and aligned communication from beginning to end?

A Medical Affairs department’s true value will only be recognized when it is accepted as a critical component throughout the entire lifecycle. The impact of bad decision making early on – particularly in areas such as data generation and education – are irreversible later on.

Perhaps then Medical Affairs shouldn’t attempt to identify itself as “The Third Pillar” sitting between, but rather as the fusion that binds R&D and Commercial together with cohesion and harmony to create a much more powerful energy.

Maybe Medical Affairs should try to identify and present itself as “The Lifecycle Pillar”, immersing itself fully within both R&D in Early Development and Commercial as the product evolves through to later phase….and at each stage accordingly bring the different value adds we know Medical Affairs has to offer.

I of course don’t have the answers as to how Medical Affairs achieves this…..but perhaps the first step is in identifying itself as a lifecycle offering – the fusion - and not one that sits either in R&D or Commercial or “in between” as “the third pillar”.

Thank you for reading. Thoughts, comments and ideas greatly appreciated and welcomed…