It’s clear how academic research training equips scientists for careers in commercial research and development (R&D) labs. However, did you know that your qualifications as a research scientist are also highly sought after by other activities in the pharmaceutical industry? In particular, your qualities as a researcher are highly valued by the medical affairs (med affairs) and the medical communications (med comms) arenas. In this second part of a 2-part series I discuss careers in the med comms industry…
If you’re interested in learning about med affairs or hearing more about careers in med affairs, click here for further information.
1. What is med comms?
Alongside the pharmaceutical clinical development process, publication and communication programmes run to support the entire lifecycle of products, from development through to end of patent duration.
Executing these communication streams effectively, is essential for maximising the clinical impact of a product during its lifecycle. Med comms is a sector of the pharma industry that provides this effective communication.
This type of work is often delivered by specialist med comms agencies contracted by pharma, medical device and biotech companies, but can also be delivered in-house in some capacity. Agencies sometimes provided specialist expertise, such as:
- Publications
- Medical education
- Health economics
- Regulatory documentation
- Public relations
- Med affairs support
- Advertising and branding
…but many offer a mix of the above services.
The ultimate role of med comms is to allow the pharma industry to raise awareness of their healthcare products.
2. What types of jobs are there in med comms and how to get into these careers without prior experience?
Senior roles in med comms include scientific director, account director and senior/principle medical writer, whilst entry level roles include:
- Associate medical writer: Medical writing can incorporate publication writing (primary articles, reviews, abstracts, book chapters and posters), but increasingly medical writing work covers other med affairs and promotional activities too.
Medical writers are expected to be able to handle a mix of classic publication writing and other types of content production (symposia, advisory boards, training decks, response letters etc.). Some medical writers also specialise in particular therapeutic areas or types of writing expertise, such as creative work (branding, animations etc.), educational materials, lay summaries for patients, and health economics and outcomes research for example.
Increasing writers in med comms teams (and their associated project managers; see role below) work as important extensions to pharma clients, providing much of the written material required for med affairs activities in a compliant and clearly communicated manner.
There is a large variety of work available and these positions offer increased flexibility, due to the ability to write remotely if desired. I’ve previously written about how to get into medical writing and case studies by those who have made the transition from academia.
The interview process for med comms agencies will, more often than not, require a writing test. Tests are assessed by senior management, where a threshold pass mark needs to be reached in order to be offered a position. Depending on the employer, tests can be handed out before, after, or even at the interview (or a mixture of these scenarios).
A useful resource, summarising medical writing as a career for academic researchers is provided by medcommsnetworking.com . Furthermore, this well worth checking out if you are considering this career path: ‘From Academic to Medical Writer.’
- Associate account manager (in med comms agencies): Med comms also offers a number of alternative jobs to medical writing, including medical editing and account management roles. Both of these can represent career start points and can be easier to get into sometimes than medical writing.
Once in the industry, it’s not uncommon for people to change roles for more experience, where medical writing is always an option for those editors/account managers with a scientific research training background. Unlike medical writing roles, these jobs often don’t require a subject-specific higher degree to qualify, so can offer an alternative path into the med comms industry for those with bachelor-level qualifications. Possessing a background understanding of medical research and the pharma industry can help a lot in all med comms positions though.
Account managers liaise with clients and writing teams to deliver projects on-time and within budget.
If you’ve got good commercial acumen, are well organised and have an entrepreneurial bent, an account management role might appeal to you.
- Medical editor: Editorial teams work to proof-check medical writers’ work.
If you’ve got a keen eye for detail and enjoy the more pedantic parts of thesis writing (acronym checking, spelling, formatting, grammar and punctuation etc.), you might enjoy an editorial role.
Like medical writing positions, medical editors will often have to complete an editing test when applying to jobs, which will have to be completed to a sufficiently high standard in order to be offered a role.
3. What is a typical day like in med comms?
In a department that carries out a range of activities such as publications, med affairs support and medical education for example, then your day will be varied in terms of the copy you’ll be producing as a medical writer, or the project support you’ll be providing as an account manager.
If you like diversity in your working day then you need to find yourself a position that enables you to get involved in multiple projects. Med comms agencies that offer a diverse range of services are often a good place to find a broad range of projects. Pharma company-based roles often tend to be focused on regulatory documentation.
A typical day will depend on your role:
- A medical writer: Will spend most of their day producing documents, editing and directing other members of their team to support in document production (e.g. graphic designers and professional editors)
- An account manager: Will spend most of their day organising meetings (in an agency these will predominantly be with clients to keep them up-to-date with project progress), project budgeting, developing timelines and ensuring projects remain profitable
- An editor: Will spend most of their day reading and editing copy produced by writers and routing documents back to writers/authors for correction
All roles include a lot of computer time – writing, editing or on spreadsheets, so if this is really not your thing, I doubt you’d enjoy a med comms career.
It’s also important point out that some positions can also involve travel, such as to conferences and meetings.
4. What is the future of med comms as a career choice?
Over the last couple of decades, changes in the healthcare industry have shaped the way med comms operates today. Demands on clear communication materials and the growing complexity of healthcare products to the market, have led to a huge growth in med comms. As a result, there are a lot of jobs in this sector and huge opportunities for those with experience.
Furthermore, the growth of med affairs within pharma has provided additional opportunities within med coms and continues to do so.
Moving forward, on-going changes in healthcare will continue to accelerate these demands on med comms. Agencies understand this and are currently investing in staff training, so it is a good time to break into this sector.
More med comms work is now focusing on digital products as printed documents start to lose their standing for presenting scientific data; for example, apps and social media are offering new platforms to allow pharma to reach-out to stakeholders, including patients and healthcare professionals.
Overall, med comms is a growing area in which to work, providing lots of future opportunities for people moving into these careers.
Summary
- Medical communications (med comms) support healthcare products through their life cycle by providing scientifically accurate information to maximise the clinical impact of healthcare products
- There are several routes into med comms as a career, including medical writing, medical editing and account management
- Med comms is a growing area to work in, with the potential for lots of opportunities once working in the sector
Comments, questions? – Get involved in the discussion at https://www.biomedbadass.com/forum/