The MM+M Podcast

MM+M stands for “Medical, Marketing and Media,” representing the primary pillars of our coverage. But maybe there’s room for a fourth pillar, or at least a tweak to the first one: “Medical Affairs.”

Today’s episode is going to delve into medical affairs, which have risen in prominence over the past decade to become a key function for drugmakers and their agency partners. As today’s guests will discuss in greater detail, medical affairs is at the center of the venn diagram between R&D and commercial teams

I’m pleased to be joined by Renu Juneja, ADPAL president and former medical affairs lead at Johnson & Johnson, as well as my fellow Haymarket Media colleague Tammy Chernin, SVP of strategic and scientific services at PRI Healthcare Solutions.

These two walk us through where medical affairs stands in 2026, why pharma companies are increasingly prioritizing it for their business and where there is room for improvement as its profile continues to ascend.

As for Trends, I’ll be joined by editor-at-large Steve Madden and reporter Bella Czajkowski to talk about Breast Cancer Awareness Month, including newly launched initiatives, reupped ad campaigns as well as the evolving narrative around cancer care.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The biggest night in medical marketing returns on Thursday.

The 2026 MM+M Awards will take place at Cipriani Wall Street on October 1, and honestly, it will probably be the biggest night in the 60-year history of MM+M when it’s all said and done.

We’re set to bestow honors for the top ad campaigns and educational initiatives, for the lead agencies by category as well as for a pair of leaders who have spent decades of their respective careers pushing medical marketing forward.

The centerpiece of the night will also be remarks delivered by Platinum Award honoree Gabrielle Union, a partner of Bayer, Knix and Clearblue alongside her out-loud advocacy about living with adenomyosis, menopausal, perimenopausal and mental health challenges. 

There’s so much exciting stuff in the works and executive editor Jack O’Brien is joined by this week’s guest, 2026 MM+M Awards jury chair Jen Clifford of AstraZeneca. 

Jen is here not only to preview our big night of glitz and glam, but also to discuss overseeing the judging process for the awards and offer best practices for how to most effectively nominate work for the 2027 MM+M Awards. 

Following that conversation, I’m joined by pharma editor Lecia Bushak and reporter Bella Czajkowski to talk about the throughline from a few pharma ads of the post-Untitled Letter era, featuring appearances by Ardelyx, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly. 

Check us out at: mmm-online.com

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Authenticity has become one of the most overused words in marketing, and audiences are increasingly tuning out brands that rely on generic claims to earn trust. In this episode, we explore how healthcare organizations can work with patient, consumer and HCP creators to build influence through credible, compliant storytelling while avoiding common missteps that can undermine engagement and trust.

Speakers:

• Marcie Doser, head of influencer marketing, Syneos Health
• Kathy Moriarty, VP, behavioral strategy, Syneos Health Communications
• Moderator: Jameson Fleming, editorial director, MM+M 

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Consumers can name the active ingredients in their skincare routines, explain which ones shouldn’t be mixed and define hyaluronic acid. But how well do they understand the healthcare products they use?

In this episode of the MM+M Podcast, reporter Bella Czajkowski talks with Marissa Saretsky, chief sustainability officer at Opella, about health literacy, self-care and sustainability for both the planet and everyday health.

Later, Bella speaks with Justin Kovarsy, the lead creative behind the latest installment of The Disposables, a project addressing healthcare providers’ mental health. The new work tells the story of a physician who says the project helped her through a suicidal crisis.

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brand awareness has long served as a measure of marketing success. But as AI increasingly shapes how people discover, understand and evaluate healthcare brands, awareness no longer tells the full story. In this episode, industry leaders from Syneos Health, Joe Daley and Matthew Snodgrass, introduce a new definition of success centered on the “framing gap” — the distance between how a brand defines itself and how AI describes it. They examine why visibility does not always translate into recommendation, how AI determines which sources and narratives to trust, and why strong brand foundations matter more than ever. The conversation offers a practical approach to building clear, consistent brand meaning that AI can accurately retrieve, reinforce and share at scale.

Check us out at: mmm-online.com

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pharma marketers have spent years using data to optimize individual campaign performance. But what happens when that data starts making your entire marketing system smarter? In this conversation with OptimizeRx chief AI officer and podcast host Mike Rousselle, we explore how behavioral and clinical signals can power a continuous learning loop — predicting opportunities, informing activation, measuring what happens next and feeding those outcomes back into the system. The result is marketing that doesn’t start from scratch with every campaign, but gets more intelligent with every turn of the flywheel.

Check us out at: mmm-online.com

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Twitter/X: @MMMnews

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Sickle cell disease has long been a frustrating medical condition impacting a historically overlooked patient population, but now there is something of a medical miracle treatment available.

If only it were that simple.

An estimated 100,000 Americans live with sickle cell disease, which disproportionately affects people of African descent. Roughly one in every 365 Black births in the U.S. is affected.

In recognition of National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, Dr. Alana Arnold, a pediatric emergency physician and healthcare executive, and Akinwole Garrett, CEO of BlackDoctor, are on the podcast to discuss the systemic changes needed to improve patient outcomes.

Editor-at-large Steve Madden helms a dual interview exploring the latest advancements in sickle cell disease treatment – namely the breakthrough CRISPR therapy Casgevy – as well as what has kept a medical miracle trapped behind systemic barriers.

Arnold and Garrett hone in on the challenges of healthcare disparities and the systemic changes needed to improve outcomes in this particular patient community.

For Trends, Madden and executive editor Jack O’Brien talk with reporter Bella Czajkowski about Novo Nordisk’s rebrand to “Novo” and how the Danish pharma giant can make the most of this moment for a cultural reset. 

Check us out at: mmm-online.com

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The NFL season has kicked off, renewing focus on America’s most popular sport. 

While millions of people are eagerly tuning into the action on the gridiron, Johnson & Johnson is trying to focus some of that energy on people living with anxiety and depression. 

In May, the pharma giant launched Generation Fine, an initiative to normalize conversations regarding mental health, with a specific emphasis on major depressive disorder.  

If there’s no crying in baseball, there’s even less in football – a sport defined by grit, toughness, never showing weakness and battling through constant, agonizing pain. 

That’s why J&J drafted Kyle Long, former NFL star and CBS Sports analyst, to dispel these longstanding misconceptions and encourage patients to get the behavioral care they need.

Long, who has been public with his lifelong battles with anxiety and depression for more than a decade, joins executive editor Jack O’Brien for a special episode of the podcast to discuss his own patient journey, how he got involved in Generation Fine and what health brands to continue to improve the dialogue around mental health in America. 
 

Check us out at: mmm-online.com

Follow us:

YouTube: @MMM-online

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

September 9, 2025 will go down as one of the most impactful days in the history of medical marketing. 

After months of saber rattling, the Trump administration announced that the FDA would crack down on DTC pharma ads on linear TV and social media.

Yet September 9, 2025 wasn’t the apocalypse for medical marketing.

Sure, there were days that turned into weeks of general unease and worry across the industry, but this is a resilient bunch. 

By the time we started conducting interviews with medical marketing shops for the 2026 Agency 100, most had gotten a handle on the situation and were baking in these challenges to their media plans and broader business strategies. 

Following editor-at-large Steve Madden’s feature interview with industry veteran Ritesh Patel, we’re looking back on the past 365 days. 

To mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the FDA’s pharma ad crackdown, executive editor Jack O’Brien joined by reporter Bella Czajkowski and pharma editor Lecia Bushak to talk about how the heightened regulatory focus has impacted pharma brands and their agency partners. 

Lecia also recently caught up with 4A’s Health Executive Director Jim Potter about what has changed since the crackdown began and where things go from here for the medical marketing community. You’ll get to hear some of his insights during the course of our conversation on then, now and what comes next. 
 

Check us out at: mmm-online.com

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To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With the deadline fast approaching to submit for MM+M’s Best Places to Work program, we wanted to bring on a leader with experience fostering the best workplaces in healthcare.

That leader is Michele Ehler, the head of talent at UCB. This summer, UCB was recognized as one of Axios’ Top Workplaces in Atlanta. 

In this conversation, Ehler offers advice for healthcare companies and medical marketing agencies seeking to create the best workplaces.

Reminder: all Best Places to Work survey responses must be finalized and submitted by September 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET. No extensions will be granted.

MM+M will publish the full results of its Best Places to Work report in the November-December issue of the magazine.
 

Check us out at: mmm-online.com

Follow us:

YouTube: @MMM-online

TikTok: @MMMnews

Instagram: @MMMnewsonline

Twitter/X: @MMMnews

LinkedIn: MM+M

To read more of the most timely, balanced and original reporting in medical marketing, subscribe here.

Music: “Deep Reflection” by DP and Triple Scoop Music.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.