Has The Medical Affairs Department Left Marketing?
11 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // March 24th, 2008 // 8:16 am
A recent survey indicates that pharma’s medical affairs departments aren’t reporting to marketing as much as in the past, most likely due to compliance concerns. Back in 2002, 43 percent of the department were under the marketing roof, but this dropped to 7 percent this year, according to the Cutting Edge research firm, which queried 14 drugmakers, including Amgen, Glaxo, Bayer, Biogen Idec and Novartis.
Medical affairs, by the way, was defined as including these functions: thought leader development, MSL programs, medical publications, medical education, medical information, investigator-initiated, medical grants, advisory boards and advocacy, pharmacovigilance, patient assistance, Phase IV research, or clinical trials. Of course, some will argue these functions continue to serve marketing purposes only, such as medical science liaisons and patient assistance programs, and that organizational charts are merely window dressing.
The graph does leave one question unanswered - 43 percent of drugmakers shifted medical affairs to some undefined ‘other’ category, up from 22 percent. Unfortunately, Amanda Zuniga, Cutting Edge’s research analyst, tells us the firm didn’t learn the definition for the survey question that pertains to the graphic. “When we interviewed some of the participants they disclosed this ‘other’ as being a single medical platform,” she writes. “Some organizations have separate R&D branches and medical branches. Now, I can not say that this is true for the entire 43 percentof companies, but that is the case for some of the respondents.”
Dan
Medical Affairs is marketing. Look at clinical trials. Physicians are recruited and pooled into what is called a site management organization, who reports to a contract research organization, who manages the entire trial and reports to pharma’s scientific team that sponsored the trial and all of the aspects of the trial are ultimately managed by the sponsor. Marketing has always been involved in the functions of medical affairs, as trials are intended for marketing, which is why academia is largely out of the picture to decrease objectivity, perhaps.
BPMD
I’ve been in Big Pharma for over 10 years and Medical Affairs reports into Marketing in every company I’m aware of in the industry. They may have an MD at the top of the department, but that MD is then reporting into the commercial group. How else would the big shots control everything that Medical Affairs does? Make no mistake about it, Marketing now controls everything in the industry. The physicians are run by the Marketeers!
Anonymous
As I observed at one company, Marketing was in the habit of referring to Medical Affairs as “The Division of Sales Prevention.” The cynicism was palpable.
Jack2
Most CEO’s come from sales and/or marketing so by that logic everyone reports to someone from sales/marketing if you go high enough. That’s the way it’s always been, and probably always will be.
Does that mean medical affairs reports to sales and marketing? I guess, but so does everyone by that logic.
rxdoc
I’ve worked for big Pharma and small pharma as director of medical affairs or medical director level. At none of these have I reported into marketing. Do we work collaboratively to develop clinical messaging, KOL development/advocacy and develop investigator trials that will add to the body of evidence that will help marketing refine their messages or new indications/claims? yes; but work for marketing? no!
Lily
I work in a medical affairs department of a pharmaceutical company. We are part of R&D, not sales/marketing, and report to the VP of R&D. In contrast, marketing is part of sales and reports to a VP in sales.
ol cranky
aware of the scrutiny, many companies have officially re-structured to ensure that med affairs doesn’t have a line report into marketing. This doesn’t mean they don’t report to marketing indirectly or that they don’t exist to serve marketing needs.
Chris
If one accepts a commonly held definition that marketing exists to identify and then make sure its company’s products meet the needs of its audience, and then reach that audience efficiently and porofitably, then ultimately any company should follow that ethos. A pharmaceutical company should exist to provide drugs and services to satisfy the needs of specific groups. Ultimately, the head of the company is responsible for that implemetation of ‘marketing’. It’s not a dirty word: It describes reality because if a company gets it wrong it sits on products it shouldn’t have developed and cartons it can’t shift. For the market to work needs must be recognized and companies must satisfy them. A pharmaceutical company cannot ‘push’ unneeded drugs to prescribers and patients without consequence, and they are usually too efficient for that.
SP 2
In my experience as a Medical Affairs, the employee is told to make sure that Marketing and Sales don’t overstep their bounds. If they do and you say something, they just ignore you and do what they want anyway. In their opinion, you’ve failed the test because you wouldn’t take one for the company. It is an absolutely no-win situation for physicians and scientists unless you’re willing to check your conscience at the door. Then, you can enter the dark side, where anything goes as long as you don’t get caught.
Doc
The big pharma company I work for has finally removed medical from marketing, but there remains a strong influence - after all it is all about dollars. I know many medical field people that have left my company over the years because of the ‘message’ they have been told to promote as medical. At the most recent POA meeting I attended, a medical person sitting next to me said they were in disagreement with the ‘medical’ message one of their colleauges was giving to a group of sales reps on a drug.
Adam
I think the difference between ‘Marketing Department’ and ‘commercial interest’ needs to be highlighted. Used to be that the two were largely the same. Now I think a Medical Affairs department can be truly independent of the Marketing department while still embracing the company’s commercial interest. Of course marketing is going to more blatantly push that commercial interest.
But if the Medical Affairs department is not driven by that same interest then there’s a good chance the whole company is going down the toilet. And the science has to be solid and truthful.