In collaboration with
The following authors contributed to this publication:
- Deb Braccia, SVP, Head of Global Medical Affairs Excellence, Kyowa Kirin
- Maria Chernikova, Global Insights and Analytics Manager, Ipsen
- Palle Dahl, Medical Innovation Director, Nordics, AstraZeneca
- Gorana Dasic, VP, Global Medical Affairs Head, Kedrion Biopharma
- Marie Eckerd, Senior Director, Clinical Delivery, AstraZeneca
- Francisco Jose Gonzalez Hernandez, International Medical Director – Haematology & Genitourinary Cancers, AstraZeneca
- Sarah Guadagno, Former VP, Global Medical Communications Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease and 8X Life Science Communications Founder & Principal
- Andrew Hewitson, Head of Training & Capability Building, Kyowa Kirin
- Lance Hill, CEO, Within3
- Kumaran Krishnan, Director, MedEx & MedInfo, AstraZeneca
- Bagrat Lalayan, Executive Director, Global Medical Strategy Head, Oncology, Eisai
- Keri Leone, Senior Director, Global Medical Science and Communications, Dexcom
- Melissa Levy, Sr. Director, Strategy and Operations, USMA, Specialty, GSK
- Deborah Long, SVP, Medical Affairs, Vertex
- Alexandra Malinowski, Director Field Medical Affairs, Strategy & Operations, Cogent Biosciences
- Chris Marrone, Real World Outcomes Liaison Advisor-National Accounts, Lilly
- Nishan Mathias, Regional Europe Medical TA Head, Sandoz
- Blake Morrison, Head Vice President, Global Medical and Scientific Affairs, Sumitomo Pharma
- Dragiša Obradović, Network Sales Lead, Roche
- Alain Romero, SVP, Head of Medical Affairs, Global Blood Therapeutics/Pfizer
- Marc Rubinstein, Sr Director, Medical Safety, Philips
- Robert Sands, VP, Head of Medical Affairs, Eisai Europe Limited
- Sonja Schmitt, Global Pillar Lead Medical Insights, Boehringer Ingelheim
- Kate Simmons, Medical Director, Metabolic Genetics, Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
- Beat Sumegi, Global Head Medical Excellence and Operations, Galderma
- Judith Thompson, Rare Disease Strategy Lead, UCB
- Joris Van Vugt, Senior Medical Director, Viatris
- Becky Whiteman, Associate Director, Medical Information & Operations ROW, Baxter Healthcare
The view expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not represent their organizations.
INTRODUCTION
Medical Affairs insights have the potential to drive the adaptation of company strategy to better match internal opportunities with external needs. However, Within3 and MAPS polling shows that only a minority of Medical Affairs departments that have implemented an insights management framework feel as if they are maximizing its benefits. Only 21% have a centralized insights database and only 9% report their insights management process is automated to the point that it is not overly cumbersome. Meanwhile 65% express concerns that a lack of insights could negatively impact product launches.1
In other words, challenges exist.
This white paper builds on a prior MAPS/Within3 paper, “The Value and Strategic Implementation of Insights Management”2 to address these challenges. To do so, MAPS and Within3 hosted a series of three roundtables with industry experts, both in-person and virtually, to explore aspects of insights management that remain “pain points” even in a mature insights management framework. These are grouped according to the three main components of insights management, namely Strategy, Data Generation and Analysis/Reporting. The authors hope that by highlighting some of the specific challenges of the insights process, less mature Medical Affairs teams will be armed with the tools and opportunity to build strategies that preempt these challenges, while providing more mature teams insights to optimize their existing structures.
STRATEGY
As with so many aspects of Medical Affairs, a successful insights management process requires a strategyfirst approach; one example is defining listening priorities based on company and Medical strategic imperatives prior to initiation of insights gathering. The idea that insights management requires strategy before implementation may seem obvious (and, indeed, is a central point of the previous MAPS/Within3 white paper on this subject), but the specifics of how to clearly articulate and effectively implement the insights strategy remain a major challenge area for Medical Affairs teams, including the following:
Listening Priorities
Insights management may seem reactive in that it monitors the external scientific, clinical, healthcare, governmental, societal and patient landscapes for new knowledge/opinions/trends that allow an organization to react/respond accordingly. However, choosing what to listen for and designing the mechanics of data generation and analysis must be proactive to ensure it is strategically anchored. In fact, best-in-class insights management teams have a dual approach, first defining strategic listening priorities and secondly putting systems in place to answer the question, “Is there anything 2 Identifying & Addressing “Pain Points” in the Insights Management Process October 2023we’re missing?” This can be seen as listening both narrowly (for priorities) and broadly (for emergent learnings). Different people/processes/technologies may be more useful for these two different types of listening, for example using targeted strategies of Medical Science Liaison (MSL) engagements and advisory boards to monitor listening priorities, alongside a broader social listening strategy to identify unexpected landscape trends.
