A medical science liaison (MSL) is a

healthcare Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

consulting professional who is employed by

pharmaceutical Medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal product, 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 ...

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

, 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 an American pharmaceutical manufacturing firm (est. 1886) in Hastings, Michigan, by Dr. William E. Upjohn, an 1875 graduate of the University of Michigan medical school. The company was originally formed to make ''friable ...

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. A thought leader is a person who specializes in a given area and whom others in that industry turn to for guidance. As the term implies, ...

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 rece ...

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 subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

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