ZS Medical Affairs Outlook Report 2024

Medical affairs organizations are increasingly vital to pharmaceutical companies, as they create patient impact and interact with a diverse and expanding set of stakeholders who are navigating a fragmented healthcare landscape. According to the ZS Medical Affairs Outlook Report 2024, while the majority of the internal respondents indicated their medical affairs organizations are in an evolving stage, 19% of medical affairs professionals classified their organizations as best in class, an increase from 13% last year. 

The report sheds light on trends like these and other key findings. It was produced following a survey of more than 160 medical affairs professionals from more than 35 global companies, as well as 160 key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

As the frontline interface between the medical community and the organization, medical affairs is uniquely positioned to drive practice change among influential KOLs who shape clinical decision-making. To effectively drive this practice change, it’s crucial to understand stakeholder preferences and perceptions.

To achieve this, ZS analyzed the likelihood of KOLs recommending medical science liaisons (MSLs) as a source of information. According to KOLs, MSLs at nearly half of the 25 companies surveyed need to improve either their scientific expertise or their ability to cater to KOL-specific needs. These findings, along with other market dynamics, highlight why medical affairs organizations should transform their go-to-market strategies. For organizations to reconfigure their go-to-market framework effectively, we suggest six enablers that define a next-gen medical affairs approach, along with three support drivers: technology, generative AI, and diversity, equity and inclusion.

To dive deeper into our go-to-market framework and gain fresh insights about clinical practice changes following MSL engagement, download the ZS Medical Affairs Outlook Report 2024.