ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series

Building a medical affairs team from scratch? Start here.

"First, set up your culture... then you can bring people." That's the hard-won advice of Anabel de la Garza, MD, PhD, a BCMAS-certified medical director who has gone from working inside and leading established medical affairs teams to building ones from the ground up. She joins ACMA’s Will Soliman, CEO, on the ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series for a candid, practical look at how to design, staff, and scale a medical affairs function that earns a real seat at the table.

On the agenda:

• The core roles every new medical affairs team needs, from MSLs and HEOR to scientific communications and digital health

• Where medical affairs should report, and why it matters

• How to build trust with R&D, commercial and regulatory affairs

• Staying objective and compliant inside a for-profit company

• The KPIs that actually show medical affairs is working

You'll find out:

• The startling stat about chief medical officers and MSLs from ACMA's early days

• The most overlooked role in medical affairs, according to a live audience poll

• Who your very first medical affairs hire should be, and what to look for in the interview

• Why the people skills MSLs are hired for still get overlooked

• How to make the case to leadership when no one understands what medical affairs does

• Whether MSLs should be doing double duty as medical information, and where AI fits in

• The MSL story Will uses to show why consistency matters as you scale

If you're a medical affairs leader at a startup or growing biotech, an MSL ready to help build something new, or a pharmacist, PhD, or MD breaking into the pharmaceutical industry, this episode is your blueprint for building medical affairs the right way.

Hit Follow on the ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series, and send this episode to anyone building a medical team.

Exclusive listener offer: Get 30% OFF ACMA's premier Medical Science Liaison board certification programs, the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) and the Medical Science Liaison Board Certified Biologics and Biosimilars Specialist (BCBBS), rated #1 by Industry Insiders. Use code PODCAST30 at medicalaffairsspecialist.org 

Follow Will Soliman on:

• LinkedIn

• willsoliman.com

Follow the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA)

• LinkedIn

• Medical Affairs Specialist

Medical Affairs, building a medical affairs team, medical affairs strategy, medical affairs leadership, medical director, chief medical officer, Medical Science Liaison, MSL, medical information, scientific communications, HEOR, KOL engagement, cross-functional collaboration, medical affairs KPIs, biotech startup, regenerative medicine, pharma careers, how to become an MSL, BCMAS, BCBBS, board certification, Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs

Clinical trials prove a drug works. HEOR and real-world evidence prove it's worth it.

From formulation chemist to clinical trials, in vitro diagnostics and global medical affairs, Rohan Parekh, PhD, MS, PharmD, has seen data from every side of the lab bench. As Senior Manager, Global Medical Affairs at Merz Aesthetics, he joins Will Soliman on the ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series to break down Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR), one of the fastest-growing and most in-demand areas of medical affairs, and how data turns into value for patients, payers, and pharma.

Together they unpack:

• What real-world evidence (RWE) is, and how it differs from clinical trial data

• How HEOR supports drug pricing, cost-effectiveness and market access

• How real-world data can open the door to new indications

• How companies are restructuring HEOR teams on tighter budgets

• Where HEOR is headed in medical affairs, commercial and marketing

You'll find out:

• How a simple blood test for brain injury reveals the true value of HEOR

• What GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound mean for the future of real-world evidence

• The real difference between an HEOR liaison and an MSL, and who each one calls on

• Why HEOR professionals sometimes have to think like a salesperson

• Where patient frustration with insurance denials and prior authorizations fits in

• How Rohan made the jump from the lab into medical affairs

Whether you're an MSL, a medical affairs professional exploring HEOR, or a pharmacist, PhD, MD, or scientist breaking into the pharmaceutical industry, this episode shows you why HEOR is becoming indispensable across life sciences.

Follow the ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series so you never miss an episode, and share this one with a colleague curious about HEOR.

Exclusive listener offer: Get 30% OFF ACMA's premier Medical Science Liaison board certification programs, the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) and the Medical Science Liaison Board Certified Biologics and Biosimilars Specialist (BCBBS), rated #1 by Industry Insiders. Use code PODCAST30.

Follow Will Soliman on:

• LinkedIn

• willsoliman.com

Follow Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA)

• LinkedIn

• Medical Affairs Specialist

HEOR, health economics and outcomes research, real-world evidence, RWE, real-world data, HEOR liaison, outcomes research, market access, payers, cost-effectiveness, drug pricing, value demonstration, GLP-1, Ozempic, Zepbound, prior authorization, Medical Affairs, Medical Science Liaison, MSL, global medical affairs, pharma careers, PhD to industry, BCMAS, BCBBS, board certification, Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs

Are you being measured on the right things? Most MSL teams aren't.

In the latest ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series, ACMA founder Will Soliman sits down with Alicia O'Connor, Head of Field Medical, Rare Neurology at Lundbeck, to tackle one of medical affairs' hottest debates: MSL metrics. Alicia has built and led high-performing field medical teams across big pharma and biotech, from oncology, diagnostics, and cell therapy to rare disease, and she brings a refreshingly honest, fit-for-purpose take on what really measures MSL success.

Together they unpack:

• The KPIs that matter most for MSLs, and how they've evolved

• Quantitative vs. qualitative metrics in large pharma vs. small rare disease teams

• What a truly high-quality scientific exchange with a KOL looks like

• How to turn field insights into value the whole organization sees

• How to link MSL performance metrics to medical affairs and corporate goals

You'll find out:

• Why counting KOL visits can be a misleading "surrogate marker" for MSL success

• The low-tech insights tool Alicia defends that sparked debate on LinkedIn

• Why Manhattan and rural territories should never be judged the same way

• The one metric Alicia says you can't put a monthly quota on

• How to get noticed when you want to move up to MSL manager

• How to break into an MSL role with no industry experience

• How a solo MSL at a startup, with no manager, can prove their value

Whether you're a new MSL, a field medical leader building a team, or a pharmacist, PhD, MD, or clinician breaking into the pharmaceutical industry, this episode shows you how success is really measured in medical affairs.

Follow the ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series so you never miss an episode, and share this one with an MSL colleague or field medical leader.

Exclusive listener offer: Get 30% OFF ACMA's premier Medical Science Liaison board certification programs, the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) and the Medical Science Liaison Board Certified Biologics and Biosimilars Specialist (BCBBS), rated #1 by Industry Insiders. Use code at checkout: PODCAST30

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You Can Follow Will Soliman on:

Follow Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA)

• LinkedIn

Keywords: Medical Affairs, Medical Science Liaison, MSL, MSL metrics, MSL KPIs, field medical, field medical leadership, MSL performance, scientific exchange, KOL engagement, medical insights, rare disease, rare neurology, neurology, cell therapy, oncology, MSL manager, how to become an MSL, MSL career, pharma careers, biotech careers, BCMAS, BCBBS, board certification, ACMA

Stuck with a difficult MSL manager?

In this episode of the ACMA Medical Affairs x MSL Power Play Series, ACMA founder Will Soliman tackles a topic most MSLs think about, but few discuss openly: dealing with a difficult manager. Will has seen it from every side. He's been a Medical Science Liaison, an MSL Manager, and has led Medical Affairs and MSL organizations across big pharma and biotech; today, he advises medical affairs leaders on building healthy MSL team cultures.

He breaks down the 6 types of difficult field MSL managers and exactly how to handle each one:

1. The Micromanager: daily reports, approval for every KOL interaction, and no trust to work independently

2. The Hands-Off or Ghost Manager: no one-on-ones, no goals, no career development, and no updates on medical strategy

3. The Credit Stealer: presents your slides, initiatives, and results as their own

4. The Bully or Intimidator: belittling, sabotage and unrealistic engagement metrics

5. The Over-Promiser: promises raises, promotions and resources, then never delivers

6. The Non-Scientific Manager: a leader without a medical or scientific background who can't support you with data

You'll find out:

- The one question to ask in your next one-on-one that instantly changes how your manager sees you

- Why going over your manager's head usually backfires, and what to do instead

- What's really driving a micromanager (it's probably not what you think)

- How to reclaim credit for your work without looking arrogant

- The red flags that make even good managers start watching you closely

- When it's time to bring in HR, and how to protect yourself first

- Why jumping ship for a $15K raise could set your career back

Will also answers the questions you want to know, but can't ask, including whether your physician is ranking you as an MSL and what to do when a C-suite executive micromanages the entire company.

Whether you're a new MSL, an experienced field medical professional, or a pharmacist, PhD, MD, or clinician breaking into the pharmaceutical industry, this episode gives you a practical playbook for managing up, advancing your career, and thriving in medical affairs.

Listeners to the Power Play Series

Exclusive listener offer: Get 30% OFF ACMA's premier Medical Science Liaison board certification programs, the Board Certified Medical Affairs Specialist (BCMAS) and the Medical Science Liaison Board Certified Biologics and Biosimilars Specialist (BCBBS), rated #1 by Industry Insiders. Use code PODCAST30 at medicalaffairsspecialist.org 

Follow Will Soliman on:

• LinkedIn

• willsoliman.com

Follow Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA)

• LinkedIn

Medical Affairs, Medical Science Liaison, MSL, MSL manager, difficult manager, field medical, field medical leadership, MSL career, how to become an MSL, MSL jobs, pharma careers, biotech careers, life sciences careers, pharmacist to MSL, PhD to industry, KOL engagement, managing up, workplace bully, micromanager, career development, BCMAS, BCBBS, biosimilars, board certification, ACMA