REPORTZS medical affairs
outlook report 2024
Achieving go-to-market success with next-gen medical affairs
By Sunil John and Sarah Jarvis

REPORT

Executive summary
As the healthcare industry adapts to a new landscape, medical affairs organizations
must stay attuned to the evolving needs and expectations of an increasingly diverse andexpanding set of stakeholders.
The 2024 ZS medical affairs outlook report sheds light on key insights and emerging trends,
including advancements in the medical affairs domain, evolving go-to-market strategies,
a growing emphasis on technology and clinical practice changes. To gain a comprehensive
understanding of the medical affairs ecosystem, the report analyzes the perspectives of bothinternal medical affairs professionals as well as external key opinion leaders (KOLs).
By closely examining these varied viewpoints, the report aims to equip medical affairs
leaders with the knowledge and foresight required to navigate the dynamic healthcare
landscape and effectively engage with their expanding stakeholder base. As the industry
continues to evolve, this holistic analysis provides critical guidance to help teams adapt andthrive.

On average, a KOL takes three to four actions after an MSL
interaction ... Additionally, almost half of KOLs said thatthey shared information with colleagues or switched theirtreatment or line of therapy following an MSL interaction.

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Key findings
An analysis of this year’s survey data identified the following key trends:

Evolution of medical affairs organizations
While most medical affairs organizations remain in a state of evolving organizational
maturity, the percentage classifying themselves as best in class increased from 13% to 19%
over the past year. Companies are focused on refining their strategic planning processes andenhancing cross-functional collaboration to further improve their organizational maturity.

Priority investment areas
Field medical continues to be the top area of investment in medical affairs, apart fromresearch and medical education. While the majority of internal respondents indicated thatinvestment in people is the most important area, external vendor and consulting support
is increasingly important in areas like medical communications and health economics andoutcomes research (HEOR).

Technological advancements
While there have been slight capability changes from last year, most medical affairs
organizations are increasingly data-driven and digital. They are starting to use generative AI
for insight generation and analytics, content development and publication, literature reviews
and other tasks. Some are also exploring the potential of incorporating capabilities likechatbots and social media.

External perceptions of pharma companies
On a “likelihood to recommend” (LTR) scale of -100 to +100, the likelihood of KOLs
recommending medical science liaisons (MSLs) as a source of information varies widely
across a list of 25 pharmaceutical companies, with over 95% of the companies scoring
between -100 and 30. This variation is driven by factors such as MSL attributes, KOL
relationships, medical share of voice and company portfolio. Similarly, KOLs have differing
perceptions about the coordination across touch points within a pharmaceutical company.
These findings underscore the need for pharmaceutical companies to enhance their
engagement strategies with KOLs.

Expanding customer universe and new medical roles
External respondents, or KOLs, said they participate in professional societies, pharmacy andtherapeutics (P&T) committees, clinical steering committees and more. In addition to KOLs,
medical affairs organizations engage with community physicians, hospital networks, payers,
nurse practitioners, clinical research teams, pharmacists and many others. To address thisdiverse array of stakeholders, nontraditional medical roles are emerging, including fieldmedical excellence, payer-focused MSLs, medical account managers and portfolio MSLs.

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Engagement preferences and KOL accessibility
Both medical affairs professionals and KOLs expect nearly 60% of total planned interactions
to be face-to-face in 2025 and beyond, but internal respondents indicated that KOL
inaccessibility is their most difficult challenge in trying to reach KOLs. Not surprisingly, offtarget stakeholder engagement is also on the rise. Moving forward, 78% of KOLs want a
hybrid engagement model—meaning both face-to-face and virtual meetings with MSLs—
while a subset (19%) only want face-to-face meetings.

Scientific engagement
MSL interactions encourage KOLs to take specific actions that help drive changes in theirclinical practices. On average, a KOL takes three to four actions after an MSL interaction, andthe most common action is sharing information with colleagues, as reported by over 55% of
respondents. Additionally, nearly half of KOLs said they switched their treatment or line oftherapy following an MSL interaction.

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Methodology
In the first half of 2024, ZS fielded two industrywide surveys that yielded insights on current
and future trends across the medical affairs landscape. More than 160 medical affairs
professionals from more than 35 global companies participated, as did 160 KOLs from the
U.S., Canada and Europe. Over 75% of the surveyed internal respondents work at the director
or executive level. External respondents were spread across therapy areas including, but notlimited to, oncology, ophthalmology, neurology and cardiology.

Reevaluating the go-to-market framework in
medical affairs
The role of medical affairs is increasingly critical in today’s evolving healthcare landscape.
Medical affairs plays a pivotal role in advancing scientific understanding, which enables it
to support product launches and facilitates the appropriate adoption of new therapies. As
the frontline interface between the medical community and the organization, it’s uniquely
positioned to drive appropriate practice change among KOLs who enable clinical decisionmaking. Successfully engaging with them requires tailored, timely and relevant medical
content delivered through their preferred channels. By understanding the evolving needs
and challenges faced by KOLs, medical affairs can reconfigure their strategic go-to-market(GTM) framework, which will empower their KOLs to make better decisions and drive practicechange. This leads to improved patient outcomes.
In this dynamic healthcare landscape, KOLs place varying levels of emphasis on receiving
valuable information at specific stages of the product life cycle. Medical affairs organizations
have the unique opportunity to advance scientific understanding throughout the product life
cycle until launch. But failing to provide information when it’s needed can result in missed
opportunities for meaningful KOL engagement and understanding.
According to our survey, more than 55% of KOLs in the U.S. and EU believe MSLs should
begin scientific engagements before or during phase 3 clinical trials. Most KOLs said theyneed the latest pipeline developments and product information during phase 3 clinical trials
and require trial design information during phases 1 and 2. Our analysis revealed that if therequired information is shared with KOLs one stage later than they prefer, the opportunity toeffectively advance and disseminate scientific knowledge declines significantly.
When this happens, KOLs are less likely to have confidence in the therapy or find theinformation relevant, and they’ll have less time to integrate and adopt the therapy into theirclinical practice. This loss is highest at phase 3 and peri-launch because of the high adverse
impact of receiving late information on 56% of KOLs in the universe who want MSLs to begin
engagements at these stages.
Moving forward, medical affairs organizations should carefully consider the diverse
stakeholders they need to engage, the frequency and settings of these engagements, theright time to begin interactions and the relevant content to deliver. Standardized engagement© 2024 ZS | 4

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approaches may be less effective than in previous years. To maximize the potential for
impactful engagements, it’s important to understand KOL preferences for receiving relevant
information. To solidify their role as a critical enabler of practice change, medical affairs
organizations must reevaluate their GTM strategies to ensure they are agile, responsive andaligned with the dynamic needs of KOLs and the broader healthcare ecosystem.

Paving the way for next-gen medical affairs
After the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are assessing the medical affairs landscape,industry expectations and their core capabilities that drive success. To help organizations
evaluate their capabilities, ZS has developed a proprietary medical maturity model called
M-cubed (M3) that benchmarks medical affairs organizations’ capability maturity acrossthe industry. This model has helped medical affairs leaders understand organizational
expectations and devise strategies for areas of improvement.
M3 is based on three key dimensions: Strategic planning processes, data-driven decisionmaking and coordination among roles. The M3 analysis assesses maturity and identifies
essential growth drivers and opportunities for medical affairs organizations. Results from theM3 analysis have helped us classify medical affairs organizations as nascent, evolving or bestin class.
FIGURE 1:

How internal respondents rated their medical affairs
organization using M3

Figure 1

Mean − standard deviation
Mean + standard deviation

11% (2024)
15% (2023)
Nascent
01

2

70% (2024)
72% (2023)

Evolving
3

4

5
M3 Score

19% (2024)
13% (2023)
Best in class
6

7

8

9

10

Similar to our findings last year, a significant majority of respondents view theirpharmaceutical companies to be in the evolving stage. However, 19% of respondents said
their medical affairs organizations are best in class, up from 13% in 2023.

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The medical affairs organizations that are considered nascent or evolving can grow by
improving the maturity of their capabilities. To enhance strategic planning, organizations
can adopt new ways of working and develop long-term strategic plans that align to brandstrategy. They also improve coordination across roles by defining clear responsibilities andestablishing forums for transparent cross-functional data sharing. Additionally, an insightdriven omnichannel strategy and a centralized customer relationship management systembetter enable data-driven decision-making.
Once an organization has assessed its current capabilities, there are six key enablers—which
we will call next-gen medical affairs—that can help organizations determine where they candirect their efforts to enhance outreach and achieve objectives. The support drivers for areconfigured GTM framework for medical affairs (see Figure 2) are technology, generative AI
and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
FIGURE 2:

Reconfigured go-to-market (GTM) framework

Figure 2

Enablers for next-gen medical aﬀairs
Prioritize areasof investment

Redesign thecustomer universe

Redeﬁne ﬁeld
medical leadership
structures

Plan customer
engagements

Scale operations
by replicating
success in newgeographies

Enable practicechange andmeasure impact

Enablers

Support drivers

Reconﬁgured
GTM framework

Technology, generative Al and DEl

Enablers for next-gen medical affairs
It’s crucial to understand the wide variation in KOLs’ propensity to recommend MSLs as asource of information before you can transform the GTM framework. These ratings provide
valuable insights into the effectiveness of MSL engagements and the quality of relationships
with KOLs. High “likelihood to recommend” (LTR) ratings signify successful and meaningfulinteractions that result in strong, trust-based relationships. Lower ratings identify areas
requiring improvement.
On an LTR score range of -100 to +100, based on KOL interactions with MSLs from 25
pharmaceutical companies, we observed that as many as 12 companies need improvement.
These 12 companies received an LTR score of less than 0. This score is calculated bysubtracting the percentage of KOLs who rated their interactions 1 to 6 from the percentage of
KOLs who rated them 9 or 10.

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For companies that were rated higher, 12 received an LTR score between 0 and 30, and only
one company had a score greater than 30. KOLs who provided an LTR rating of 9 or 10 did so
because the MSLs demonstrated strong scientific expertise and effectively addressed their
specific needs and preferences.
FIGURE 3:

Likelihood to recommend (LTR) score range based on KOL ratings from alist of top 25 pharmaceutical companies
Figure 3
LTR Score
Needs improvement

Excellent

-100

0

70

30

Needs improvement
12

Good
12

Great
1

100
Excellent0
LTR score

1

2

3

4

Least likely
to recommend

5

6

7

8

Moderately likely
to recommend

9

10

%

%

Extremely likely
to recommend

KOLs prefer MSLs of one pharmaceutical company over others because of their existingproduct portfolio, pipeline products and available engagement opportunities, such as
research collaborations. Another factor driving KOL perceptions is the level of coordination
across the various touch points of pharmaceutical companies. KOLs appreciate companies
that co-create tailored solutions for them and ensure efficient scheduling, with as many as 19
companies receiving a mean rating of 5 and above, based on KOLs’ experience of observing
coordination across the touch points at these companies. High scores demonstrate a deep
understanding of KOL preferences and a commitment to addressing their evolving needs.
There are multiple ways to create impact for stakeholders. Companies can focus on these six
enablers to define their next-gen medical affairs and achieve GTM success.

Enabler 1: Prioritize areas of investment
Based on their unique circumstances and needs, organizations should thoughtfully consider
investment areas when reevaluating the go-to-market (GTM) framework.
Apart from research and medical education, senior medical affairs leadership indicated fieldmedical is their top area for investment, with the function garnering 29% of their investment
budget. It’s followed by medical communication (15%) and medical information (14%). When
probed on the specific areas of these investments, 87% of the internal respondents who
provided the split for field medical investments indicated that the biggest area of investment
is expected to be in people.

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For publications, medical communications and HEOR, organizations emphasized theirprimary investments will be in external vendor or consulting support. Along similar lines,
most of the internal respondents from emerging pharmaceutical companies consider
field medical teams, scientific communication and publications to be key areas of initialinvestment for medical affairs.
The need for investment in field medical can be attributed to an increasingly complex
stakeholder universe and its specialized data requirements, with this dynamic resulting
in the emergence of nontraditional roles in medical affairs. Nearly 60% of internal
respondents indicated field medical excellence is the top nontraditional role that medical
affairs organizations are prioritizing, followed by payer-focused MSLs and medical accountmanagers. The majority of respondents said that most of the nontraditional field medicalroles under consideration already exist in their organization, while a small group is planning
to introduce them in the future. These roles are crucial for developing effective strategies andfostering collaborations within medical affairs, as they help ensure the delivery ofvalue-driven solutions that meet the needs and requirements of KOLs. Of the external
respondents who interacted with teams beyond MSLs, nearly 80% have engaged withmedical education teams, and more than half have interacted with medical communicationand publications teams.
Given the growing complexity and unique needs of stakeholders, organizations should plan
the frequency of engagements and take a pragmatic, thoughtful approach to prioritizing
investments. As leadership invests more in medical affairs, a stronger backing is needed
for its allocation across different functions—especially field medical teams, people andtechnology.

Enabler 2: Redesign the customer universe
Changes to any GTM framework requires internal alignment, planning and preparing forexternal stakeholder needs, as organizations must cater to more stakeholders than ever.
Adapting their capabilities and processes to effectively address external stakeholders isincreasingly important, and delivering them customized information requires meticulous
planning and careful execution. Internal coordination is critical for delivering a cohesive andtailored experience for each external stakeholder group.
According to internal respondents, medical affairs organizations plan to reach approximately
60% of their total KOL universe. Both medical affairs professionals and KOLs expect 58%
of total planned interactions to be face-to-face in 2025 and beyond. While both groups say
three to four annual interactions with MSLs are optimal, there is a significant differencein preferred face-to-face meeting duration. Internal respondents say interactions with
KOLs take an average of 34 minutes, while KOLs expect these meetings to last 24 minutes.
Nevertheless, there is consensus on the duration of virtual interactions, with both groups
indicating that about 21-26 minutes is right for virtual meetings over platforms like Zoom.

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Fifty-two percent of internal respondents identified KOL inaccessibility—stemming froma lack of dedicated time, geographic dispersion and other factors—as their most difficult
challenge in trying to reach KOLs. This is validated by external respondents, who cited theirlimited availability for engagements as the primary reason for their low accessibility to MSLs.
Nearly 80% of internal respondents stated that MSLs go beyond their existing stakeholder
lists to expand their reach. The reasons for this are to provide reactive support and to
explore emerging or new KOLs for engagement.
But there are a lot of positives for organizations to focus on—29% of KOLs mentioned thatthey were extremely accessible, followed by 54% of KOLs stating that they were moderately
accessible. In fact, more than 60% of KOLs don’t anticipate any change in their accessibility to
MSLs in the future; most that do anticipate an increase in their accessibility.
As we look toward the future, the breadth of stakeholders medical affairs will need to engage
with will also increase. It’s interesting to note that over two-thirds of internal respondents
indicated that medical affairs organizations are increasingly contacting community physicians
and planning an average of five interactions per year with them. Additionally, medical
affairs organizations are also engaging institutions, hospital networks, payers and patientadvocacy groups. About 60% of external respondents suggested MSLs should expand
their interactions to include nurse practitioners, physician assistants and clinical researchteams. We see MSLs engaging with pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) or health technology
assessment (HTA) committee members to share scientific information about unmet medical
needs and how gaps can be addressed. These stakeholders are pivotal in their ability
to drive important practice change to improve patient outcomes through appropriate
guideline recommendations or medical coverage discussions. It’s important to note that not
all stakeholder engagements will be one on one, and some may want to engage in groupsettings.
Beyond one-on-one interactions, 76% of external respondents identified symposiums andconferences as the most important group settings for engaging with MSLs, with a typicalinteraction frequency of two times annually. They also highlighted key national and regional
congresses that are essential for their therapy areas, such as those hosted by the American
Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Nearly 40% of
external respondents indicated that increasing their overall scientific knowledge about recent
trends is the most important factor in defining a successful congress interaction.
To effectively manage this diverse range of engagements, comprehensive customer
engagement planning is essential. This involves detailed scheduling, prioritizing key events,
rebalancing workloads and carefully assessing available capacity to meet outreach objectives.

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Enabler 3: Redefine field medical leadership
structures
Field medical leadership structures are crucial for determining the team’s strategic objectives,
resource allocation and adaptability to a dynamic market. Of course, it’s important toconsider whether these organizational structures are well defined and positioned for the
future. At ZS, we have identified three broad potential models for field medical leadership
structures, each with its own implications for how the organization engages with the market
and its stakeholders:• Therapy area-based teams, in which leadership manages and is responsible for a single
therapy area across regions• Teams organized by geographies where responsibility spans multiple therapy areas in asingle region• A hybrid field medical structure that includes managing multiple therapy areas in multiple
regions
Nearly 60% of internal respondents indicated their medical affairs organizations currently
have a therapy-area-based field medical leadership structure, while 25% said their teams
are organized by geographies. Of these respondents, 80% noted that they don’t foresee anychanges to their existing structure. For the small portion of internal respondents expectingchanges, they are considering a different hybrid model that combines therapy area andterritory, or one that better aligns with commercial organizations. At ZS, we have also
observed some recent trends that include an increasing focus on medical communications
and setting up centers of excellence for medical strategy and operations to enable teams
to focus on higher-value work. These functions are becoming an integral part of the overall
structure.
Owing to the increasing breadth and depth of MSL interactions, optimal team sizing andcollaboration across roles becomes essential. This includes identifying stakeholder types,
engagement settings and frequency; defining MSL roles and responsibilities; and building up
the workload and capacity for MSLs that help determine their team sizes. MSL headcounts
generally vary based on medical objectives, therapy areas, product portfolio and upcoming
launches, as well as tiering within different account archetypes and other factors. Medical
affairs professionals from various pharmaceutical companies reported an eight-to-one
median sales force to MSL team size ratio across therapy areas. This ratio may be higher intherapy areas like cardiovascular and respiratory, meaning there are more sales reps versus
MSLs, where the crowded landscape and primary-care-physician-driven markets demand
more extensive coverage. This proactive approach ensures that teams are positioned to leadand succeed in the ever-changing healthcare environment.

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Enabler 4: Plan customer engagement
The customer engagement planning framework used by medical affairs must adapt toaccommodate evolving business processes, technological innovations, shifting strategic
priorities, expanding organizational roles and the incorporation of diverse stakeholder
perspectives. After identifying target stakeholders and determining methods of engagement,
medical affairs professionals must decide the timing and appropriate content forengagement. There are two distinct periods when MSLs can engage with KOLs: pre-launchand post-launch. The pre-launch period is segmented to align with the various stages of the
product life cycle, while the post-launch phase aligns with the patient’s disease journey. The
emphasis should be on delivering relevant information, tailored to meet the specific needs ofthe KOLs, at the appropriate stages.
Regarding the phases of the product life cycle, 31% of the external respondents want MSLs
to begin engagement during phase 3. In fact, 39% of the P&T committee members surveyed
want MSLs to start engagement during phase 3 trials. On the other hand, 25% of the external
respondents want these engagements to begin six months prior to launch. During this perilaunch phase, KOLs indicate the information they find most valuable—this includes updates
about the latest pipeline developments and product information, trial design information andsummaries about congress presentations and publications.
Post-launch, the role of field medical teams should be to provide relevant information at
various stages of the patient journey, including diagnosis, treatment decision-making, disease
management, treatment adherence, disease progression or recurrence, monitoring andfollow-up, and palliative care. More than 65% of external respondents identified treatment
decision-making and disease management as the most important stages of the patient
journey for receiving more information and education from MSLs about a marketed product.
This underscores the importance of this information in patient care.
Encouragingly, the current state of engagement shows positive results. Over 80% of external
respondents indicated that they are engaged well by pharma companies to address theirscientific needs. This positive engagement is further highlighted by the fact that nearly half ofthe external respondents communicate their medical unmet needs with medical

Over 80% of external respondents indicated that they are
engaged well by pharma companies to address their scientificneeds. (And) only 6% of KOLs expect a decrease in theiraccessibility to MSLs in the coming years. Most of thosedecreases are driven either by a declining number of MSLs ororganizational restrictions or guardrails.

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REPORTaffairs organizations, and the majority of them find it easy to do so. For the few who find it
challenging, they suggest proactively addressing their practice needs, providing the rightpoint of contact and enhancing after-hours accessibility. Finally, only 6% of KOLs expect
a decrease in their accessibility to MSLs in the coming years. Most of those decreases are
driven either by a declining number of MSLs or organizational restrictions or guardrails. In
fact, 32% of KOLs expect to increase their engagement with MSLs in the coming year.
An important aspect of customer engagement includes evidence strategy and planning.
More than half of internal respondents moderately agree that their company maintains aneasy-to-use, single source of truth for all evidence generation activities. And 35% completely
agree that the scope of their integrated evidence plans governs medical affairs, HEOR andreal-world evidence analyses. Meanwhile, 56% of external respondents said pharmaceuticalcompanies have never consulted or involved them in drug evidence planning.
This, along with the LTR score, highlights the need to tailor messaging to the rightstakeholder, while delivering the right content at the right time. A future-ready GTM
framework should respond with agility to shifts in perceptions, preferences and customer
behavior. This approach not only fosters stronger customer relationships but also enhances
overall perceptions and impact.

Enabler 5: Scale operations by replicating successin new geographies
How do organizations scale a successful GTM strategy? We have observed that ensuring
appropriate integrated evidence generation strategy and operations are taking place,prioritizing investments, refining customer outreach, restructuring field medical leadershipand strategizing customer engagements are critical components of next-gen medical affairs.
These actions are not only essential for navigating the healthcare landscape but also for
ensuring alignment with customer needs and regulatory frameworks. By drawing insightsfrom established markets, medical affairs can replicate successful frameworks in newgeographies. This approach enables adaptation to local nuances while leveraging provenmethodologies, fostering sustainable growth and maximizing healthcare impact acrossdiverse regions.
Replicating a GTM strategy in the medical affairs landscape across newer geographies
presents both opportunities and challenges. One major obstacle is budgetary approval,
with 65% of senior medical affairs professionals whose organizations have multicountry
operations saying they foresee challenges in receiving budgetary approvals for scaling
operations. And 61% struggle with identifying addressable markets in new geographies.
These hurdles can hinder the effective expansion of operations and require strategic
solutions.
Rather than applying standardized methodologies everywhere, companies with multicountry
operations should consider categorizing countries and grouping them together to ensure
homogeneity in deployment strategies across different geographies. To streamline© 2024 ZS | 12

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operations and successfully replicate the GTM framework, medical affairs organizations often
archetype countries or affiliates. This involves categorizing countries based on their specificcharacteristics and needs, an approach that helps customize the structure, strategy and GTM
approach to align with the unique dynamic of various healthcare markets. Almost 77% ofinternal respondents whose organizations have multicountry operations said they prioritize
addressing unmet patient needs in the local healthcare landscape, and 71% recognize
variations in standards of care and alternative healthcare practices as the most importantfactors for archetyping countries or affiliates.
When scaling to newer geographies, it’s vital to strike the right balance between replicating
the core elements of the successful GTM and adapting it to local market dynamics andcustomer needs. This may involve tailoring product information, engagement channels
and structures to fit the unique characteristics of each new market. This approach helps
organizations remain agile and responsive to the evolving needs of diverse markets.

Enabler 6: Enable practice change andmeasure impact
It’s of course important to assess the impact of the GTM framework, and one key indicatoris practice change. KOLs often see themselves as facilitators of practice change within thehealthcare landscape. More than 60% of external respondents consider themselves practicechange enablers because they adopt and share new and innovative treatments, actively
participate in knowledge sharing events and contribute to the development of treatment
guidelines. Notably, 26% of these respondents are members of a P&T committee, and 67%
are involved in professional societies.
These practice change enablers also acknowledge the important role the medical affairs
team plays in facilitating this change, as they share relevant new data and information whileproviding research and networking opportunities to support the change process. Field
medical teams, including MSLs, engage to drive this change in clinical practice and enhancepatient care. MSLs provide value-based care evidence, simplify scientific information, sharepeer-reviewed data, offer patient-centric educational materials and relay patient stories.
These activities educate KOLs who can then adopt new practices, improve patient outcomesand enhance healthcare delivery.
The impact of medical affairs efforts is evident in KOL actions. On average, a KOL takes
three to four actions after an MSL interaction, with 56% of KOLs indicating they have shared
information with their colleagues after an MSL interaction. Nearly 50% reported switching atreatment or line of therapy for their patients.
To encourage these KOL actions, MSLs should strategically plan their engagements based on
the specific needs of their KOLs. It’s vital to foster customer centricity and effectively address
the unmet needs of KOLs. KOLs indicate they’re more likely to take action if MSLs provide
easy-to-consume scientific information and share peer-reviewed data and publications.

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The third most common post-engagement action taken by KOLs is changing how they treat
patients in their clinical practice. The proportion of KOLs who took this action was higher
among those who had more than seven interactions (51%) compared to those with three
to four interactions in the previous year (29%). In the EU, 42% of the KOLs enrolled in or
screened a patient for a sponsored clinical study following an MSL interaction, though only
8% did the same in Canada.
FIGURE 4:

Top 5 actions taken by KOLs after interactions with MSLs
Shared information with colleagues
56%

Switched treatment or line of therapy
49%

Changed how I treat patients in my clinical practice44%

Shared information with patient or caregiver
34%

Incorporated information into my recommendation on clinical treatment guidelines
31%

0%

100%

By reinventing the GTM strategy and aligning the team’s focus on the right activities, MSLs
empower KOLs to take actions that drive meaningful patient outcomes, which helps ensure
resources are used efficiently to achieve strategic objectives. As companies continue to
evolve and adapt, prioritizing practice change and impact measurement will be key
to success.

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GTM support drivers
To effectively address challenges and replicate the GTM framework’s success in newgeographies, companies should focus on three support drivers: technology, generative AI
and DEI. While technological integration can streamline operations and enhance data-driven
decision-making, implementing omnichannel strategies ensures seamless and consistentcustomer engagement across multiple platforms.
Generative AI can help automate complex tasks in medical affairs, improving efficiency,
innovation and most importantly, productivity. And prioritizing DEI internally and externally
fosters a more inclusive work environment and enhances the ability to connect with diverse
markets. These pillars collectively create a robust framework for sustainable growth andeffective global expansion.

Technology
As healthcare becomes more complex and the demand for personalized, data-driven
solutions grows, medical affairs organizations are leveraging technology to enhance
efficiency, engagement and outcomes. We’ve observed a shift toward centralized data
management, modular content creation and newer segmentation techniques, all aimed at
improving the effectiveness of field medical teams and fostering stronger relationships withkey stakeholders.
Half of internal respondents indicated their organizations have already started implementing
KOL segmentation and archetyping activities, allowing for more targeted and effective
engagement strategies. The percentage of respondents reporting their organization is either
in the process of conceptualizing or actively implementing KOL segmentation initiatives
increased from 70% in 2023 to 78% in 2024.
To provide a more personalized experience, 35% of respondents said their medical affairs
organizations are implementing content modularization by creating blocks of content so that
their engagements are both flexible and tailored to individual needs. As virtual interactions
become more prevalent, capturing and analyzing data from these channels is essential
for better understanding stakeholder behaviors and preferences. Similar to last year, 32%
of internal respondents said their organizations are implementing systems for virtualchannel data capture and analysis. Further, 46% said their organizations have implemented
a centralized data, analytics and insights hub for field medical. This centralized approachenables better data management, streamlined workflows and more actionable insights.
Nearly half of the external respondents indicated that they use social media for either
consuming or sharing any scientific content. However, nearly 70% of internal respondents are
yet to use data science and AI at scale to support evidence strategy and planning.
While there have been slight changes in the state of capabilities from last year, most facilities
are increasingly becoming data-driven and digital.

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FIGURE 5:

State of facilities in the medical affairs organizations
KOL segmentation and archetyping activities (KOL segmentationrefers to attribute-based segmentation and not KOL tiering—tier 1,tier 2, national, regional, etc.)
50%

Descending order based on respondents selecting ideation completed,
setup and implementation going on

n=64

28%

16% 5%

2%

11%

2%

Centralized data, analytics, insights hub for medical aﬀairs
or ﬁeld medical aﬀairs in your organization
46%

n=63

29%

13%

Customer engagement planning process and tools
44%

n=63

24%

17%

6%

8%

Content modularization, such as the standardization of processes and platforms forcreating tailored content that can be shared quickly across channels
35%

n=62

21%

26%

10%

8%

Systems for virtual channel data capture and analyzing data from virtual channels(such as emails, website analytics, virtual congresses, social media, etc.) in your
medical aﬀairs or ﬁeld medical aﬀairs organization
32%

n=63

27%

22%

14% 5%

Generative AI
n=59

22%

24%

31%

0%

12%

12%

100%

Ideation completed, setup and implementation going on

No such plans now or in the future

Ideation going on currently

Do not know

Planned for in the future

Omnichannel strategy is also an important lever in the GTM framework of the future. Its
success will require a clear vision for digital, an understanding of stakeholder needs anda focus on short-term wins and long-term objectives. Designing information buckets anddeploying resources to meet the needs of stakeholders will be especially important. Similar
to last year, the majority of internal respondents indicated their organization is in the ideation© 2024 ZS | 16

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phase of their omnichannel engagement model. Encouragingly, 22% of internal respondents
believe their organization has already achieved advanced capabilities in omnichannel
engagement strategy, compared to 14% last year.
As the industry continues to embrace these technological changes, medical affairs
organizations will be better equipped to address market complexities, drive meaningfulpractice changes and improve patient outcomes.

Generative AI
Generative AI can assist in data analysis, insight generation and developing personalized
engagement strategies, making it possible for companies to adapt their GTM approach to
specific market needs and dynamics. More than 45% of internal respondents said theirorganizations are either in the ideation phase or have already begun setting up capabilities
for generative AI, while 31% of respondents reported their organizations are planning to
implement gen AI in the future.
Thirty-six percent of internal respondents indicated their medical affairs organizations use
gen AI for insight generation and analytics, and 16% use it for content development andpublications. Other gen AI initiatives planned by medical affairs are focused on literature,
medical, legal and regulatory affairs reviews, medical information and chatbots.
More than 90% of external respondents said they have never used a chatbot for contacting
or seeking information from a pharmaceutical company. Those who have reported positive
features such as fast responses, succinct and direct information and a user-friendly interface.
By leveraging AI’s capabilities and chatbots, medical affairs teams can improve efficiency,
enhance stakeholder engagement and make more informed decisions.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
DEI has rightly become a critical support pillar for pharmaceutical companies worldwide
as they strive to cater to the diverse healthcare needs of all population segments. Internal
respondents emphasized the efforts their companies are taking to diversify clinical trials andtesting, engage with various communities, support societies and fellowships, and provide
educational content focused on diverse populations. Of these respondents, one-fifth of
medical affairs professionals consider their 2024 health equity efforts to be extremely
effective. On the other hand, most KOLs expressed a more moderate level of satisfaction
with the industry’s progress to address disparities. Interestingly, KOLs in Canada have notedthat the medical affairs groups in their region are more effective in addressing health equity
compared to the global average.
Of the pharmaceutical companies that KOLs engage with, they expect 45% of them to have
health equity initiatives in 2024, an increase from 39% in 2023. Some of the health equity
initiatives KOLs observed include education and outreach, access programs for underserved
patients, payment support or co-pay assistance initiatives and inclusive scientific research
initiatives or trials. KOLs also identified the need for clinical data in varied patient populations
as the most important DEI information.

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Leveraging next-gen medical affairs for
GTM successGo-to-market success in medical affairs requires a strategic approach to customer
identification and resource allocation, along with establishing a robust framework that
addresses challenges in the evolving healthcare landscape. By focusing on addressing unmet
stakeholder needs, understanding local healthcare practices and using data and technology,
pharmaceutical companies can enhance efficiency, streamline operations, optimize
engagements, build stronger relations and drive practice changes to benefit patients, all as
they expand their presence in new geographies.

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About the authors
Sunil John leads ZS’s global medical affairs space. He has authored
several articles and provided perspectives on various medical affairs
issues, including reinventing the go-to-market strategy for medical affairs,
next-gen medical affairs and future customer engagement models. He
has expertise in defining the value and impact of medical affairs, agile
resource planning and deployments, productivity assessments andomnichannel. Sunil focuses exclusively on global medical affairs acrossfield medical, medical excellence, medical information and medical
education. Across emerging, midsize and large pharma companies, Sunilhelps biotech and medtech clients with business strategy, launch planningand organizational design. Sunil assists with outcome-based KPIs,
frameworks for patient centricity, digital strategy visioning and planning.
He also drives the use of medical insights and data to define customer
centricity and assess field medical teams.

Sarah Jarvis is a principal in ZS’s San Francisco office who leads the
medical and evidence practice. Sarah has worked in healthcare formore than 25 years, and currently helps medical affairs clients bringbusiness, evidence and customer-oriented solutions to teams acrosstheir organizations. Sarah partners with clients across different
stages of development, from emerging pharma where medical affairs
organizations have yet to be established, to large organizations withthousands of people globally. ZS teams supported over 100 medical affairs
organizations in 2023 and 2024.

© 2024 ZS | 19

About ZS
ZS is a management consulting and technology firm
focused on transforming global healthcare andbeyond. We leverage our leading-edge analytics,
plus the power of data, science and products, to help
our clients make more intelligent decisions, deliver
innovative solutions and improve outcomes for all.
Founded in 1983, ZS has more than 13,000 employees
in 35 offices worldwide.

Learn more: https://www.zs.com/solutions/life-sciences-randd-and-medical/medical-affairs

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