{"id":4485,"date":"2022-06-27T16:14:07","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T20:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arxresearch.com\/?page_id=4485"},"modified":"2022-11-02T08:36:20","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T12:36:20","slug":"what-is-an-msl","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.arxresearch.com\/what-is-an-msl\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an MSL"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is an MSL?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is a field-deployed medical affairs representative with a leading role to disseminate scientific information stemming from the employing pharmaceutical organization research to Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Healthcare Professionals (HCPs).<\/p>\n

Where does a Medical Science Liaison work within the industry?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MSLs are usually part of a team that will vary in size. Housed under the Medical Affairs function, teams are much smaller in numbers than a fully deployed commercial team (this ratio varies greatly from 1:3 to 1:200). Its size will vary based on the therapeutic area within which they operate (oncology vs. rare diseases for instance), where the product is in its development (early phase vs. post-launch), and how mature the Medical Affairs function is within the organization. Our research<\/a> shows teams will average between a handful to 15 MSLs within a specific therapeutic area, mostly deployed by dedicated regional areas. Medical Science Liaisons may start getting involved as soon as phase 1 trials and teams begin winding down 5 or 6 years after a product launch. Note that the MSL\u2019s career is not limited to a product lifecycle. When an organization has a pipeline of several products, team members will usually have an opportunity to transfer to other products within the same organization.<\/p>\n

What is their fundamental responsibility?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MSLs hold a key role in biopharmaceutical, clinical research organizations (CROs), and many medical device organizations. Although the role is non-promotional, MSLs support product acceptance by the scientific community by outlining the features and benefits of drugs. Medical Science Liaisons can discuss issues on a more peer-to-peer level.\u00a0 They are key connections to research opportunities and understanding how to navigate the parent company.\u00a0\u00a0 They can speak on off-label topics when asked and have a deeper scientific knowledge of not only the drug but the target disease.\u00a0 They understand the treatment landscape and are very well-versed in the medical literature.\u00a0 They provide useful information on drug development and preclinical background. Their responsibilities, as well as the type of healthcare professionals they interact with, will change throughout product development (read the article \u201cThe life of a MSL in Pre- and Post-launch<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n

Who do they interact with?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Medical Science Liaisons will interact with a variety of Thought Leaders and Healthcare Professionals. These can range from Academic researchers to practicing specialists to Nurses as shown in this graphic here MSL Universe | Arx Research<\/a>. MSLs will maintain a roster of 30 to 40 experts, meeting each one 8-10 times per year, in addition to the more intense exchanges during project collaborations.<\/p>\n

What was a traditional \u201ctravelling\u201d role has been impacted by the pandemic? Forced by restrictions, virtual meetings has now become part of the normality for MSLs and KOLs, replacing a good portion of the more personal face-to-face interactions. Recent research (here) The New Hybrid KOL Engagement Model – Arx Research<\/a> revealed that most MSLs expect this transformation to remain to a certain degree. This might impede somewhat the development of new connections and renewal of eroding KOL bases, but attendance to conferences and symposiums where Medical Science Liaisons and Thought Leaders most often gather and begin professional relationships seem to be revived after an almost 2-year hiatus.<\/p>\n

How is a MSL evaluated on his\/her performance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

These medical field representatives will mostly be evaluated on the quality of their relationships with Health professionals. MSL management used to look at activities such as how many relationships were maintained, how many visits, phone calls, publications, and many other quantitative metrics to assess how a MSL was doing. Although these are important, many managers now look at the role of a relationship builder.\u00a0 In essence, MSLs have to \u201csell\u201d the science to Thought Leaders. When compelling, and when the product has a meaningful impact on patients, influencers (KOLs) will then have an effect on the community which leads to better adoption of products. Learn more about MSL KPIs here \u2013 downloadable eBook.<\/p>\n

Key Metrics for MSLs: 10 Essentials for Medical Science Liaisons (arxresearch.com)<\/a><\/p>\n

What is a typical MSL Salary?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like any other job, many factors come into play in the determination of a Medical Science Liaison’s salary. Experience, education, and therapy areas are factors that will most influence the MSL salary. Most MSLs will have a Ph.D., PharmD, or MD degree, but our research shows that there is about one-third of MSLs with Bachelor, Master, College or Nursing degrees working as MSLs. Overall, our research shows that a mid-experienced MSLs will make between $140,000 and $150,000 yearly base salary. This report outlines information on MSL and Upper Management Medical Affairs roles salaries: Medical Science Liaison Salary + Upper Medical Affairs Roles Comp (arxresearch.com)<\/a><\/p>\n

Other resource: <\/strong>How to Become a Medical Science Liaison (MSL) (arxresearch.com)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is an MSL? A Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is a field-deployed medical affairs representative with a leading role to disseminate scientific information stemming from the employing pharmaceutical organization research to Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) and Healthcare Professionals (HCPs). Where does a Medical Science Liaison work within the industry? MSLs are usually part of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\nWhat is an MSL - Arx Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is a field-deployed medical affairs representative with a leading role to disseminate scientific information\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.arxresearch.com\/what-is-an-msl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is an MSL - Arx Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Medical Science Liaison (MSL) is a field-deployed medical affairs representative with a leading role to disseminate scientific information\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.arxresearch.com\/what-is-an-msl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arx Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-02T12:36:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.arxresearch.com\/what-is-an-msl\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.arxresearch.com\/what-is-an-msl\/\",\"name\":\"What is an MSL - 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