This webinar features 5 medical heads providing a scorecard on how Medical Affairs throughout the APAC region have performed, given the challenging environment of the global pandemic.
AUTHORS
Ka Weng Mah1, MSc; Ka-Wing Chong2, PhD; Kelly Lo3, BPharm; Victoria Elegant4, MBBS, DRCOG, FFPM
AUTHOR AFFILIATIONS
1Medical Capabilities Director, Japan and Asia Pacific Medical Affairs, Amgen
2Digital & Medical Education Lead, Japan and Asia Pacific Medical Affairs, Amgen
3Field Medical & Insights Lead, Japan and Asia Pacific Medical Affairs, Amgen
4Vice President & Head, Japan and Asia Pacific Medical Affairs, Amgen
This publication represents the consensus opinions of the authors and various members of MAPS, but does not represent formal endorsement of conclusions by their organizations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the world, affecting every country with ongoing and recurring waves of infection. Countries in the Asia Pacific region were the first in the world to introduce lockdowns, masking and social distancing measures. There was massive reallocation of healthcare resources across all countries, forming a concerted effort to combat the pandemic. These responses reshaped the healthcare ecosystem and pharmaceutical industry, particularly in the engagements with healthcare professionals.
In light of the ongoing disruptions, it is essential that Medical Affairs teams examine and better understand the healthcare and Medical Affairs landscape during and eventually after COVID-19 in order to set a clear path forward. Project Phoenix, the brainchild of the Amgen Japan and Asia Pacific (JAPAC) Medical Affairs team, was initiated to address this need. This project comprises of four stages (Figure 1) that serves as a model for reimagining scientific engagement during and post-COVID-19.
This paper shares key findings with industry peers in order to i) advance the footprint of Medical Affairs in Asia in the peri-/post-COVID era, and ii) encourage and explore innovative new ways of working.
Figure 1. The four stages of Project Phoenix developed by the Amgen JAPAC Medical Affairs team.
The evaluation the external and internal landscape comprised of a literature review of ten key articles (listed under Bibliography), an external survey of healthcare professionals (HCPs, n=210, conducted between 11 May and 12 June 2020) and an internal survey of medical science liaisons (MSLs, n=53, conducted from 2 to 8 June 2020) in Asia Pacific. This section summarizes the key findings from the literature review and surveys.
The pre-COVID-19 patient care pathway has been significantly disrupted, especially for chronic diseases. Consultations, elective surgeries and procedures and laboratory testing have been postponed or cancelled whilst diagnosis and treatment have also been delayed.1-3 Concurrently, remote patient treatment and telemedicine have increased in use including funding from government to accelerate uptake.1-3 Pharma has the opportunity to support patients through building and implementing digital and remote tools to engage and educate patients as well as ensuring consistent drug supplies, accelerating access to treatments and increasing the affordability of treatment during the crisis and recovery period.2
HCP surveys indicate that approximately 70% of HCPs reported a decrease in face-to-face patient visits, causing a severe backlog and financial strain on practices. Concurrently, there has been a >1500% increase in the use of telehealth and digital tools to support patients, though there are payment and reimbursement challenges.1-3 Physicians were of the opinion that Pharma could provide additional support on disease education and telemedicine for patients during COVID-19.2 Moving forward, there is a need to identify new ways to support healthcare systems, improve and increase Pharma-patient support models and use innovative collaborations to drive care delivery and conduct telemedicine/telemonitoring education.2
More than 50 pharmaceutical companies have halted new or ongoing non-COVID-19 trials,1 while 9 out of 15 of the top pharmaceutical companies have seen the majority of their sites reduce clinical trial activities.2 The main reasons for this are restricted site access and reduced availability of investigators and resources, whereby CROs are unable to send staff to monitor trials, and patients unable to access hospitals. As a result, Pharma needed to re-evaluate clinical trials operation and designs of protocols. For current trial operations, digital methods for site selection were initiated and remote monitoring was implemented. For upcoming trial designs, there is a need to identify and optimize opportunities for site and country selection based on geography, technology readiness, and plan for virtual / hybrid trials. Increased agility in evidence generation is required, utilizing innovative collaborations to decentralize trials, as well as to scale and accelerate virtual and digital clinical trials.1,2,4 In Australia, there is an initiative underway supported by government and other organisations to move towards teletrials. ,5
Plans for the launch of an estimated 390 products in 2020 through to 2028 have been disrupted.1 Furthermore, gaining stakeholder traction and patient acquisition are rising concerns for recently launched products. Driven by recent and current launch underperformance, the industry could rack up an estimated cumulative loss of USD$10 billion by 2028.1 Digital solutions to accelerate launches are required, for example, through virtual thought leader and omnichannel engagement. Portfolio investments need to be re-prioritized based on revised market expectations and product differentiability. To our knowledge, there were two major product launches being carried out fully remotely during the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Key learnings from these case studies will provide valuable information as companies seek to apply and improve for similar scientific campaigns in the future.
Pharma-physician engagement has seen a rapid transformation from face-to-face to digital interactions. However, there is a gap in virtual tools, and Pharma is working to build capability and infrastructure and prepare for long-term utilization of virtual channels. Based on our survey findings, regular scientific engagement is highly valued by our HCPs – 52% would like to interact monthly or more frequently, while 26% would like to interact every 3 months or less. The most preferred platforms to access Medical Education and Scientific Information among HCPs include live speaking webcasts, peer to peer discussions and on-demand web content. Results from the internal MSL survey showed that MSLs spend approximately 40% of their time on HCP engagement. The largest virtual competency gaps identified were the ability to conduct highly interactive virtual engagement sessions and to collect insights during virtual interactions.
Based on these findings, these are the potential impacts of COVID-19 on Medical Affairs operations.
COVID-19 has hastened changes in patient engagements and the hospital environment. The health care environment has quickly evolved, particularly in terms of interactions with patients and their caregivers. There is a marked increase in contactless care and virtual disease management (eg. telehealth).
To deal with the widespread disruption to physical activity, pharmaceutical companies are being forced to step up data analytics capabilities to improve engagement. Big data and business analytics should be prioritized to inform omnichannel planning and engagement strategies, R&D and reimbursement. AI technology can also be used to augment HCP capacity. This could be done through establishing partnerships with external digital health start-ups, gaining a deeper understanding of digital health needs for each TA, incorporating digital into evidence generation and bridging digital health collaborations with HCPs through MSL engagements.
While it is inevitable that in-person engagement activities will resume, it is acknowledged that there will be an increase in the use and acceptance of digital interactions moving forward. There is an expectation amongst HCPs that Pharma would embark on holistic individualized scientific engagements using advanced digital platforms and content transformation . With these expected changes, there lies an opportunity to evolve and redefine the MSL role to further enrich scientific engagements with OLs. There also needs to be an expanded focus on patient education, HCP education initiatives, advisory boards and publications.
Due to the widespread restrictions on movement and face to face interactions, it is apparent that there will be a noticeable shift in how clinical trials are conducted. Therefore, it is imperative that companies move into adaptive and collaborative trial designs and develop virtual trial capabilities, such as teletrials. There are plans to pilot these changes by incorporating virtual elements (e.g. e-consent, telemedicine) into future studies.
With the shift to digital and new capabilities, change management on culture and infrastructure is central to support the evolution of the organization. A new medical affairs phenotype and enhanced skill set is needed to deal with compliance, new ways of interaction, and new compliance regulations.
There may be a need to review current processes to increase effectiveness and efficiencies, redefine new capabilities, examine cross-functional roles and outsource tasks which are necessary but not a strategic part of the core Medical Affairs functions. There is also a need to update regulation and compliance. Medical Affairs should also work on building systems and platforms to automate activities which can be automated (eg. content development and chatbots), to free up staff for more innovative initiatives, as well as upskill internal staff capabilities for clinical trials, evidence generation and digital.
In view of the rapidly evolving patient/caregiver and HCP dynamics, these are the likely future realities in Medical Affairs:
It is anticipated that these realities will guide the development of future strategies by medical teams. There should be an emphasis on virtual engagements with HCPs, educational offerings (particularly digitized content) and evidence generation. Other areas of focus include clinical trials, change management, talent management and upskilling, digital and outsourcing in order to improve productivity. A robust change management strategy is required, with prudent resource allocation to ensure building of new capabilities.
In line with these future realities, strategies and solutions were identified and distilled to the following core recommended actions (Figure 2) to ensure that Medical Affairs are in the best possible position to adapt and thrive within the evolving healthcare landscape.
Figure 2. Core recommended actions for Medical Affairs teams.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is evident throughout all industries including the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. Medical Affairs activities were not spared, with disruptions to face-to-face activities and local/regional restrictions affecting every level of scientific engagement.
Amgen JAPAC Medical Affairs team’s Project Phoenix documents the “investigate, evaluate and formulate” steps that bridges the pre- to the peri-/post-COVID era for Medical Affairs teams, marking an essential milestone in the ongoing journey to improve patient outcomes and standards of care across the Asia Pacific region.
The authors would like to acknowledge the Amgen JAPAC Project Phoenix working team (Simone Kaenzig, Riaz Abbas, Jaey Koo, Viola Wan, Motoki Sato, Sheetal Mistry, Rebecca Kannourakis) and Anish Sule (IQVIA) for their support and assistance in analysing the read outs & providing advice. We thank Dr Ee Lyn TAN for editorial support.
Our industry partners (IQVIA, Mckinsey & Company, Indigene) provided reports and insights which helped give us an understanding of the medical affairs environment in this region.
The voluntary participation of MSLs and HCPs in the surveys are greatly appreciated.
OVERVIEW:
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting Medical Affairs professionals around the world, and each team is responding in different ways. During this live Global Town Hall, we will discuss how Medical Affairs can continue to function during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as share industry best practices and consider how Medical Affairs could change post-COVID-19. Through patient-focus and peer-to-peer relationships with HCPs, Medical Affairs professionals have a unique role in ensuring the safe and effective use of medicines, vaccines and medical devices, and are also positioned to bring invaluable insights from the field into ongoing R&D. By strengthening our understanding within the pharmaceutical industry of how Medical Affairs can support HCPs and patients in these times, this Town Hall will explore how the role of Medical Affairs can be expanded to maintain quality in a rapidly evolving clinical environment, helping to achieve industry-wide alignment on the issue and potentially saving lives.
Join this webinar for insights from industry-leading experts. This series including follow-on webinars will equip MAPS members and MA professionals worldwide with the tools to fulfill the opportunity for Medical Affairs strategic leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
MAPS Members have access to view and download the slides from this presentation.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD SLIDES IN THE COMMUNITY PORTAL
SPEAKERS:
Rachele Berria
Vice President and Medical Head, US BioPharmaceuticals
AstraZeneca
Eric Mortensen
Head Gastrointestinal Clinical Development, R&D
Janssen Immunology
Tamas Koncz
Chief Medical Officer, Inflammation and Immunology
Pfizer
Isma Benattia
VP, Europe Medical Affairs
Amgen
Terry Griesing
VP, Head of North America Medical Affairs, Internal Medicine
Pfizer
Ann Hartry
VP, HEOR
Lundbeck
Audrey Krolicki
Senior Director, Head of Scientific Publications
Astellas
Danie du Plessis
Executive VP Medical Affairs
Kyowa Kirin International
AGENDA
| Time | Title | speaker |
| 9:00–9:10 EDT | The Opportunity for Medical Affairs Strategic Leadership | Chair: Tamas Koncz |
| 9:10–9:20 EDT | Evidence Generation: Ensuring Speed and Quality During Rapid Decision-Making |
Ann Hartry |
| 9:20–9:30 EDT | Evidence Dissemination: The New World of Publications and Virtual Congresses | Audrey Krolicki |
| 9:30–10:05 EDT | Audience Q&A and Panel Discussion
What has changed for Field Medical? What hasn’t changed? What are the needs now, and in the future? How can the return-to-field be balanced with continued virtual interactions? What are the key adaptive strategies, innovations and practices? |
Full Expert Panel |
| 10:05–10:15 EDT | Closing: The Opportunity for MA is Here and Now | Tamas Koncz |
As a result of the global COVID-19 outbreak, field teams are no longer able to visit HCPs face-to-face. During this Webinar, we will explore the skills and challenges around effective remote engagement and share hints and tips to help you access, engage and follow-up with HCPs remotely.
Topics Discussed in the Town Hall Include:
-Managing Individual Performance Remotely
-Virtual Leadership Mindset & Skills
-Effective Team Engagement in the Virtual Space
-Engagement of KOLs Virtually
SPEAKERS:
Cezary Statuch
VP, Medical, Intercontinental Region
Biogen
Greta James-Chatgilaou
Field Medical Strategy and Execution Director
Biogen
Alan McDougall
VP, Head of Medical Affairs, International Markets and Greater China
Astellas
Qasim Ahmad
Corporate Officer/VP, Head of Japan Medical Affairs, OBU
Novartis
WATCH IT HERE:
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Join expert panelists on this Webinar to better understand compliance implications of the changing business models during and post-COVID, and identify Medical Affairs compliance risks and mitigation strategies.
COVID-19 has wildly accelerated our transition to remote interviews, onboarding, and virtual work. Your organization will quickly fall behind the 8 ball if you don’t adapt. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies can’t afford that risk. For the Medical Affairs industry, what’s the alternative to virtual hiring right now? Hazmat suit interviews? If employees can produce great work in an office, they can produce great work anywhere. There’s just one catch – how can you determine if a potential employee is capable of great work when you haven’t met them in person? How can our industry interview and hire reliable team members virtually rather than face-to-face?
As someone who has helped lead the recruitment charge since the outbreak of coronavirus, I have actionable advice for any Medical Affairs team attempting to hire through the pandemic.
In short – if you don’t trust someone enough to hire them remotely, you shouldn’t trust them to work for your organization in any capacity. Epidemiologists from every corner of the world are hiring right now (in dozens of different languages) to make new discoveries via remote technologies like Zoom. Your team can do the same. They just need to know how.
Most hiring managers believe that face-to-face interviews help manifest a certain personal connection. They’re absolutely correct. However, it’s downright reckless to base hiring decisions off of this alone. Such a connection is nothing more than a measure of likability rather than a consideration of legitimate factors like work history, education, and subject matter expertise. If anything, virtual interviews bring these important qualities front and center.
If your virtual hiring process is to succeed, your company must have specific processes in place. Most remote interview setups motivated by a global pandemic aren’t going to be wildly productive unless these are followed.
Video chats should be the preferred medium for your hiring process. Webex, Skype, Zoom, and Google Meet all do the same thing. Choose whatever tool you believe is easiest to navigate and understand. Whatever you select – consistency matters for new recruits and employers alike. Don’t alternate between platforms.
Most individuals have a natural (albeit, slightly narcissistic) tendency to spend half their Zoom call looking at themselves to make sure everything appears alright on their end. Stop doing that! Resist the urge! Start making digital eye contact, instead.
Lighting is important during video interviews. Whether it’s a home office with blinding amounts of natural light or a poorly lit room that looks like a cave, you need to find a happy medium for your interviews. Simple light fixtures behind the camera can easily solve any darkness problem. If your image is too bright, just ensure the screen isn’t facing a window.
In a typical face-to-face interview, informal ‘get to know you’ questions only occur in the first 3-5 minutes of a conversation. We suggest you ask three times as many of these informal questions when speaking with potential remote candidates. This can help build a certain foundation of understanding and trust that would otherwise be forfeited due to a lack of physical presence.
The personal qualities that companies seek in remote employees differ slightly from the qualities of a standard medical affairs hire. If you think they may need to start their first day from a home office, look for stories where they were calm under pressure or quick on their feet. Seek out personality traits such as dedication, resourcefulness, and adaptability.
Cornell University recently conducted workplace research on the topic of virtual hiring. They partnered with Fortune 500 companies like IBM, Citigroup, and Cisco – all organizations with significant remote work experience. These three enterprises listed self-motivation, self-discipline, effective communication, and tech-competency as the professional traits most correlated to remote success.
Good interview questions might involve asking how they intend to structure their first day of work. How do they intend to meet co-workers? How will they seek to better understand their work and the company culture? It’s equally important that your team has the answer to these questions, as well.
Burnout, isolation, work-related anxiety, lackluster cultures – they’re all very real risks for remote onboarding, but they’re avoidable. Companies new to these remote processes will prop up workflows that barely scrape by because they don’t yet know a better way.
Here is the better way:
Hiring teams should over-communicate every step of the way. Explain your anticipated schedule to potential hires so they know what to expect. Share all pertinent information with them.
Managers should make a list of roadblock issues. Adopt a ‘continuous improvement’ mindset to resolve these issues for future onboarding classes. You should always seek to learn more.
Teams can have high expectations for candidates while simultaneously recognizing that this is a stressful time for your entire team. Be professional – but understanding. If a dog barks or a kid screams during the interview, it’s not a negative sign. It’s life.
Remote hiring may seem intimidating if your company isn’t yet accustomed to such a practice, but thousands of teams make it work. Some just do it better than others. Now is the time for Medical Affairs professionals to get [remote]ivated!
Whitney Morris
Recruiting Specialist
Medical Affairs Recruiting [email protected]
+1 910-742-7620
As experts with a deep knowledge of our medicines, medical technologies, and therapeutic area science, Medical Affairs is uniquely placed to help the industry and healthcare community navigate through these unusual times. While remaining flexible and agile to meet changing needs and requirements today, we can also begin to look forward to see how to flourish in the new normal.
Medical Affairs always puts patients first, and that will not change. But there are opportunities for improvement that can make the most of the current situation.
We are all getting accustomed to working virtually—here are some best practices to help you and your colleagues:
Be Medical Affairs at its best!
How Medical Affairs as a profession emerges from this crisis depends on us and our actions. We can anticipate some longer-term changes that will help us flourish in the new normal, allowing us to do even more good for patients, HCPs, and medicine.
Based on presentations given by Dr. Charlotte Kremer, Dr. Robin Winter-Sperry, Dr. Tamas Koncz, Dr. John Pracyk, Dr. Peter Piliero, and Dr. Joseph Eid during the MAPS Global Town Hall webinar on April 21, 2020.
Overview:
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting Medical Affairs professionals around the world, and each team is responding in different ways. During this live Global Town Hall, we will discuss how Medical Affairs can continue to function during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as share industry best practices and consider how Medical Affairs could change post-COVID-19. By strengthening our understanding within the pharmaceutical industry of how Medical Affairs can support HCPs and patients in these times, this Town Hall will help to achieve industry-wide alignment on the issue and might even save lives.
Objectives:
The objective of the Town Hall is to discuss and communicate best practices that can be applied to Medical Affairs departments across companies, with a specific focus on the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.
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