Medical Science Liaison

Pharma Medical Science Liaison Outreach Shifting Away from Traditional Company ...

To help biopharma organizations navigate this new KOL landscape, Best Practices, LLC has published an updated MSL-focused report that highlights the optimal size, mix and service frequencies of these elite medical specialists.

The 78-page report, " Medical Science Liaisons: Gaining Access and Forging Relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (Updated for 2011) ," presents 2011 data compared to data gathered in 2009 on an array of critical questions that provide insights into how MSLs can build strong, productive relationships with KOLs and physicians.

One of the emerging trends in 2011 involves a change in how MSLs are deployed in the field.  According to the study:

With interviews and key insights drawn from 27 leaders at 24 leading bio-pharmaceutical companies, this Best Practices, LLC benchmarking study identifies a wealth of strategies and proven tactics that helps Medical Affairs and other executives to effectively determine the optimal number of liaisons, mix of responsibilities, number of interactions and span of control that are critical to build strong and productive relationships over the life of a brand.

The full 78-page report contains more than 600 benchmark metrics and scores of executive narratives that companies can use to benchmark key management factors reflecting size, service levels and roles of Medical Science Liaisons in serving KOLs and hard-to-see physicians.

MD Salaries: Medical Science Liaison Salary

But let's get this straight, they are not the pharm sales reps that go to your office and try to sell you drugs through pamphlets and speeches.  That's different.  Medical Science Liaisons develops relationships with key opinion leaders and physicians to provide scientific exchange and gather insight into therapeutic ideas.  Meaning, you're an expert and you work with experts. The salary structure for an MSL consists of a base salary plus a bonus.  If you do not have any pharmaceutical experience, you typically start out between $100,000 and $150,000.  A bonus can range from 0% - 17% with the majority between 11-17% for these new employees.  In total, that could give you a salary range of $100,000 to $175,500.  That's about the same as a primary care physician which makes jumping from clinical to non-clinical a financially easier task.  After several years in the industry, the salary increases to a potential of $125,000 to $197,000. Another factor that can increase or decrease your salary is the therapeutic area in which you go into.  I talked with Dr. Dyer, CEO of  MSL World , a free resource for learning about getting into the MSL business.  In his experience of helping others enter the field, he has seen a starting salary of $86,046 for primary care fields.  If you target MSL jobs with a specialist focus, you usually start out higher around  $102,055. Medical Science Liaisons are an important part in the pharmaceutical industry.  It is the field that communicates with experts and key opinion leaders on their same level which is vital to the delivery and further development of therapeutic drugs.  Physicians have an upper hand in this field because of our blood, sweat, and tears through medical school that allows us to connect to other physicians.  It can be a rewarding job with excellent salary potentials.

Medical Terminology for Health Professions

National Science Education Standards, observe, interact, change, learn

The Science of Mind

Science

Science