Medical writing (MW) is an umbrella term to describe a number of writing roles that support the pharmaceutical industry. Read more on the 6 types of MW here.
At its core, MW is simply the creation of documents around a pharmaceutical product or medical procedure.
The document could be anything from a patient information leaflet, or a step-by-step submission protocol to apply for a drug licence, to a publication explaining how a new medical device works.
But it can also include writing content that’s important for marketing a particular drug or medical device, and explain how the product improves patients’ lives.
This type of MW is referred to as commercial MW and can include both marketing and advertising pieces that promote diagnostic or therapeutic products in a compliant manner.
Marketing materials include brochures, websites, advertisements, infomercials, print or digital ads, research papers/articles, and any other promotional content, such as social media posts.
@Chinmaya Sadangi PhD a commercial medical writer talks through his experience of writing content for social media. Chinmaya explains what his role involves and how he broke into this career path from academia.