The role of medical affairs in Pharma
Dr. Len Walt discusses the changing dynamics of this position during Covid-19 (590 words, 4 min)
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is presented to you in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions
While Covid-19 has changed many interactions in Pharma with in-person, face-to-face engagements being moved to digital platforms, Dr. Len Walt is hopeful the pre-pandemic way of life will return to the medical affairs role.
Dr. Walt is the Vice President of Medical at SSI Strategy—a consulting firm that supports the needs of medical affairs and other functions in Life Science companies.
“I’m hoping that we return to normalcy and that people are back, engaging face-to-face. I think it’s really important, and I’m hopeful that that will happen,” said Dr. Walt.
Dr. Walt (photo below) discussed the role of the medical science liaison, the relationship between medical affairs and physicians, and the united front of medical and commercial during a recent episode of the NPC Podcast. That’s a program for Pharma executives hosted by Peter Brenders (listen to the episode here.)
While Covid-19 has changed interactions and engagement practices in Pharma, Dr. Walt believes the industry is also seeing a technical revolution in both the pharma and biotech sectors.
“I think we’re seeing very sophisticated technologies coming in, we’re seeing it in some of the bigger diseases, and we’ve seen a lot of it in the rare diseases,” he said. “We’re seeing exciting things like gene therapies coming and digital therapeutics. These are all really exciting areas, but they’re technologically quite sophisticated.”
According to Dr. Walt, the need for sales reps won’t change going forward, but the medical affairs role will become even more important with more sophisticated products.
“It will require companies [to employ] medical personnel that really understand the science to [also] understand the technology [so] they can translate that into value for customers that need to understand this information,” Dr. Walt explained.
For medical affairs to break down the sophistication around new products to make them understandable to their customers, Dr. Walt said dividing the information into safety and efficacy can be a proactive way of sharing it.
If safety signals are seen in a product, the medical affairs team has an obligation to inform physicians about them, he said.
On the efficacy side, Dr. Walt said the medical team has an opportunity to present new and emerging data that can be of relevance to the doctors and their patients.
He added these are areas unique to the medical affairs team that would not involve a sales or commercial rep.
“It's about bringing information that is needed and appropriate for those that are prescribing drugs to patients,” Dr. Walt said.
The takeaway: As a senior executive in Pharma for nearly 30 years, Dr. Walt has seen several instances of tension between the commercial and the medical affairs groups within a company.
While the goal is to communicate crucial information to customers effectively, he said a productive relationship between the commercial and the medical affairs groups in a company is beneficial internally and externally.
“This is very achievable,” he said. “It has been one of the things that I focused on as a leader in medical affairs and in pharma to make that happen. The benefits are tremendous for the company and KOLs. I think this is achieved really with making sure that the two functions are collaborating on what they’re doing and they’re in alignment with each other’s plans.”
Further reading: A study published in the journal Perspectives in Clinical Research looked at medical affairs post-Covid-19 and determined the future of the role is set for a major change. (Link here)
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YOUR HEALTHBIZ WEEK 06/22/21
Sanofi Canada announced that a new 300 mg single-dose (single-use) pre-filled pen for dupilumab (Dupixent) injection is now available in Canada. The pre-filled pen is approved for all dupilumab injection indications in patients aged 12 years and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, severe asthma and severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis for at-home administration.
Biogen’s attempt to develop additional treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has failed. The drugmaker’s anti-tau antibody gosuranemab failed to meet endpoints in a Phase II study and was discontinued. Biogen recently had aducanumab approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in a controversial move by the U.S. FDA.
Health Canada has authorized the Accu-Chek Guide Link blood glucose meter from Roche Diabetes Care Canada. The Accu-Chek Guide Link blood glucose meter will help Canadians living with type-1 diabetes manage their health and worry less about daily therapy routines. The blood glucose meter pairs exclusively with the Medtronic MiniMedTM 770G—the only insulin pump system in Canada that offers adaptive basal insulin delivery every five minutes for patients as young as two years of age, with the added benefits of smartphone connectivity. The Accu-Chek Guide Link received authorization based on clinical trials demonstrating quick and accurate blood glucose readings.
NATIONAL PHARMA CONGRESS SUMMER WEBINAR
“Post-Covid Countdown” is the theme of the National Pharma Congress Summer Webinar, scheduled for TODAY at 11 a.m EDT. The event follows the recent NPC Spring Webinar, attended by 400 registrants. Faculty for the Summer 2021 event are Ronnie Miller (Roche Canada), Patrick Forsythe (Eisai Canada), and Brian Canestraro (Intercept Pharma). Your hosts are: Ben Parry (Pangaea Consultants) and Mitch Shannon (Chronicle Companies.) Click here to register.
CANADIAN HEALTHCARE MARKETING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame awards were established in 2002 to honour healthcare marketers who have contributed to our avocation and inspire others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 18 years. In the selection committee's view, they stand for a representative cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. Each week, NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge one past Hall of Fame Honourees.
2011 Inductee
Regina Kulikowski
Regina K
Toronto
Editor’s note: Regina joined The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada as its Vice President in 2017—a role she currently holds.
Looking for a professional challenge different from the consumer landscape, Regina Kulikowski, an accomplished marketing professional, was fascinated by the array of actors involved in the pharmaceutical world and the marketing complexities of that environment. Kulikowski had worked with various brands such as American Express, Labatt, and Volkswagen in various professional capacities, including Manager and Group Buying Director while in the consumer market.
“In the consumer sphere, you are focussed on the end-user,” says Kulikowski, a graduate of the University of Toronto’s psychology specialist program. “In the pharmaceutical world, there are multiple stakeholders who are revolving around the end-user (patient). You have to balance and leverage stakeholders, such as physicians, pharmacists, and regulators, who all exert influence and often pressure on the process.”
Kulikowski moved to healthcare marketing agency Jeffrey Simbow Associates/InVentiv Communications Canada in Toronto in the mid-1990s. There, she held positions such as Media Director and Vice-President—Strategic Planning engaged in communications planning, business planning, and insight mining.
“I was fortunate to have exposure and gain experience across a range of pharmaceutical challenges,” says Kulikowski.
In what she describes as a rich and complex milieu, there is an opportunity and need for “real integration” from a communications standpoint.
“You need to understand the layers and how all the functions need to come together to ensure the ultimate impact on the patient is maximized,” she says.
One of her memorable assignments at Jeffrey Simbow Associates was working on the launch of Botox (Botulinum Toxin Type A).
“Botox is a complex molecule with multiple therapeutic and cosmetic indications. We were challenged with not just launching a brand, but launching a category.” It was really a case study in the successful deployment of an integrated marketing communications model.
Kulikowski left her agency executive position in early 2010 to set up her own consultancy focusing on strategic planning, qualitative research, and communications planning. She is currently working on advancing physician adoption of electronic medical records.
One of the areas she is exploring is the convergence of digital technologies and the impact of female physicians on the healthcare system. “Women practice medicine differently: they are more collaborative, prevention-oriented, and more likely to job share.” There are untapped opportunities to capitalize on the strengths and differences of female practitioners from a communications perspective.”
A NEW PODCAST
“NPC Podcast Presents: Next in Pharma” is available now. The first episode, “AI-Powered Analytics,” is hosted by Michael Cloutier. Mike’s guests are Martin Booth, Director of Analytics and Data Excellence at AstraZeneca; Omer Ariburnu, Affiliate Head of Customer Excellence and Operations at Biogen; and Shawna Boynton, Omnichannel Marketing Manager at Novo Nordisk. “NPC Podcast Presents: Next in Pharma” is presented in co-operation with our friends at ODAIA.ai
NEXT WEEK
The 06/29 edition of NPC Healthbiz Weekly will feature Ronnie Miller, President and CEO of Roche Canada, about structural change and innovation in organizations, celebrating and learning from failure, the post-Covid field rep and office environment. It’s easy to get your no-charge subscription and have the issue sent to your phone or inbox each Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. sharp.
Stay safe, stay sure, and stay on your game. We’ll see you again next Tuesday.