A medical science liaison (MSL) is a

healthcare Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

consulting professional who is employed by

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

, medical device, and managed care companies. Other job titles for medical science liaisons may include medical liaisons, clinical science liaisons, medical science managers, regional medical scientists, and regional medical directors. The term "MSL" was originally trademarked by

Upjohn The Upjohn Company was a pharmaceutical manufacturing firm founded in 1886 in Hastings, Michigan, by Dr. William E. Upjohn who was an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make ''friabl ...

as "Education services – namely, initiation of drug studies in laboratory and clinical settings and development of workshops, symposia, and seminars for physicians, medical societies, specialty organizations, academicians, in concert, concerned with drug related medical topics" in 1967 and with first use in commerce in 1967. As the number of MSL programs in healthcare increased, subsequent peer-reviewed journal publications and books became available to examine the emerging role of medical affairs and the use of MSLs in an increasingly vertically integrated biotechnology industry.

Role

MSLs build relationships with key opinion leaders or

thought leader A thought leader has been described as an individual or firm recognized as an authority in a specific field and also as business jargon. Meanings Go-to expert From the perspective of a thought leader as the 'go-to expert', being a thought leader ...

s and

health care provider A health care provider is an individual health professional or a health facility organization licensed to provide health care diagnosis and treatment services including medication, surgery and medical devices. Health care providers often receive ...

s, providing critical windows of insight into the market and competition. Through such monitoring, MSLs can gain access to key influencers by interacting with national and regional societies and organizations. Moreover, as MSLs specialize in a particular therapeutic area and have scientific knowledge related to it. The educational background of MSLs consists primarily of MDs, DMSc, PharmD, and PhD professionals. Other professions who work as MSLs include Physician Assistants and Nurses. According to the program's advocates, the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) program is the recognized MSL board certification for MSL professionals. They are now highly involved in activities related to

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

Responsibilities

The medical science liaison role is varied and day-to-day activities include (but are not limited to);www.mslconsultant.com
/ref> *Managing investigator initiated studies *Performing KOL stakeholder mapping *Developing collaborative relationships with KOLs *Organising advisory boards *Maintaining a high level of therapeutic area knowledge *Training sales representatives *Providing medical review to ensure all company materials are compliant and accurately reflect the body of scientific evidence *Delivering insights from KOLs to inform the medical affairs strategy

References

{{Reflist Pharmaceutical industry Promotion and marketing communications

Role

Responsibilities

See also

References