DECEMBER - JANUARYLIFE SCIENCES REVIEW8IN MY OPINIONABy Dr. Sarah Tregenza, Ph.D., BSc (Hons), APAC Oncology Medical Affairs Director, Pierre Fabre Groupll views and opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of Pierre FabreSince joining the Pharmaceutical Industry (a.k.a. "Pharma") in 2014, I have held several medical affairs roles across 3 global companies, GSK, Novartis, and currently Pierre Fabre. During this period, I have seen firsthand the shift that is, and has been occurring for many years now, toward medical affairs moving more and more to the centre stage within the pharmaceutical Industry."What exactly is medical affairs?" you ask. "How much time do you have?" I ask. To me, there is not one function within Pharma which doesn't interact with, and which cannot benefit from the collaboration with medical affairs. Let's start with one of the most well-known roles in medical affairs the Medical Science Liaison (MSL).The MSL role was first created in 1967 by Upjohn Pharmaceuticals. The role addressed a gap in the industry due to its unique ability to meet healthcare practitioner (HCP)'s needs by being able to interact with them at the level of a peer, as well as being able to reactively discuss both the company's registered products and indications ("on-label") and the company's pipeline (future planned products and indications ­ "off-label") in a reactive manner. MEDICAL AFFAIRS TAKES CENTRE STAGESarah Tregenza
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