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1108 Layout FINAL_MW2tg 11/18/08 10:06 PM Page 16 their way out of the desert by acquiring companies with earlier-stage There will be more attempts to find uses for failed compounds. One thing the industry has no shortage of is compounds that have failed clin- and their doctors, ultimately resulting in posi- ical trials.There will continue to be greater efforts to unlock these invest- tive patient outcomes. We have several pro- ments and find new uses for, and ways to commercialize, these com- grams that are effective at accomplishing this.
pounds, some attempts legitimate, others pure fantasy.
For example, our Crestor 360 program is an Breakthrough products will be in increasingly short supply, at any stage of development. With viable late-stage products all but dried up, cross-channel integrated campaign;it promotes and impacts the dialogue and with few companies willing to invest in early-stage discovery, there between these audiences,enhancing the campaign’s overall effectiveness.
will be increasingly fewer products with major market opportunities.
Both physicians and consumers are efficiently pulled through awareness,to interest, to preference, via the enhanced dialogue that the campaign PolyMedix Inc., Radnor, Pa., focuses on developing novel high-value therapeutic drug products for serious, life-threatening acute disorders.
AstraZeneca also offers patient materials to assist healthcare providers For more information,visit polymedix.com.
in their ability to provide resources to patients. For example, The Asthma- Editor’s Note:To read more about early-stage research,please turn to page 58.
KidCare (AKC) program was developed to help grow Pulmicort Respulesvolume and give moms the support they need to better care for theiryoung children who have asthma.The program teaches them the impor- tance of recognizing and treating uncontrolled asthma.AKC also serves as an invaluable platform to help meet and overcome the challenges sur- rounding nebulizing by providing better understanding about asthma and the medicines used to treat the disease.The program was publicizedin DTC print and through physician offices.
The MSL role is evolving from a generalist to aspecialist role based on a host of factors: life- AstraZeneca,Wilmington,Del.,discovers new medicines that are designed cycle management, product complexity, mar- to improve the health and quality of life of patients around the world.For ket dynamics, and stakeholder needs. Clinical trial liaisons engage in sci- more information,visit astrazeneca.com.
entific exchanges with sites and physicians to differentiate clinical trials Editor’s Note:To read more about patient education,please turn to page 98.
and aid enrollment.Clinical specialists have emerged to provide key localphysicians with targeted, clinical presentations. Field-based outcomesresearch managers target healthcare policy, government, MCOs, and payer organizations with value-based economic modeling weighing the clinical advantages of using more costly therapies.
The advent of a new hybrid MSL function, the clinical specialist, is a response to salesforce reductions.Traditional MSL teams engage in scien- tific exchanges with national and regional KOLs.In response to increasingdemand by key local physicians for disease state and clinical data, com- The MSL position is more universally accepted panies are deploying healthcare-degreed liaisons at the local level to pro- as a role and as a vital part of the industry.
vide educational support directly to these physicians, an area once There are more hybrid teams — mixed backgrounds — the majority of reserved as the purview of sales teams.
whom have doctoral-level scientific degrees. This is especially true for Contrary to industry downsizing trends, the expansion of the classic emerging companies whose resources are limited and need to have their MSL role to now include more specialized functions will result in an influx MSLs wear different hats — ranging from research support to commer- of field-based medical opportunities. MSLs will have opportunities to become therapeutic specialists as well as functional experts who possess Although the role and responsibilities are different from other field- in-depth knowledge targeted to specific stakeholder groups,for example based teams such as sales representatives,increased industry regulation and decreasing access make the role of the MSL and his or her unique ability toengage in a peer-to-peer scientific exchange with healthcare providers even The Medical Affairs Company (TMAC), Kennesaw, Ga.,provides more important. Serving as a field-based medical resource is critical as new pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical-device industries with a therapeutic agents become more complex and personalized medicine con- complete array of strategic and tactical medical affairs solutions, including: tinues to evolve. Healthcare providers need access to a timely, data-driven, contract and consultative MSL programs, MSL knowledge management fair-balanced scientific information exchange,and MSLs are a conduit of sci- solutions, and medical communications services.For more information, entific information between providers and their companies.
visit themedicalaffairscompany.com.
Editor’s Note:To read more about the changing salesforce model,please turn to page 82.
Science Oriented Solutions, Kennesaw, Ga.,and Scientific Advantage,Bernardsville, N.J.,in strategic partnership, provide global medical affairsand MSL resources.For more information,visit scienceorientedsolutions.com and scientificadvantage.com.
Editor’s Note:To read more about personalized medicine,please turn to page 72.✦ Senior Director Consumer MarketingAstraZeneca PharmaVOICE welcomes comments about this article.
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N o v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 8 PDF created for: PharmaVOICE Editorial (edit@pharmavoice.com) 12/5/2008

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