Transforming Medical Communications

Medical Affairs teams often design scientific communications from headquarters, assuming that what works in one market will work everywhere. However, a physician in rural India faces entirely different realities than one in Tokyo or Mexico City.


In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Babak Abbaszadeh, Vice President of Global Medical General Medicine at Amgen, to discuss why global Medical Communications so often miss the mark and what it takes to fix that.


Babak Abbaszadeh is Vice President of Global Medical General Medicine at Amgen, bringing over twenty years of medical and pharmaceutical expertise spanning emergency medicine, global medical affairs, commercial leadership, and international market strategy. A former physician with Doctors Without Borders, Babak has spent his career bridging the critical gap between headquarters-driven scientific communication and the real-world realities of physicians and patients across diverse healthcare systems in Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and beyond.


We’ll talk about:

• Why the biggest blind spot in global Medical Communications is assuming scientific evidence translates uniformly
• How to stress-test the “so what” before production
• The case for modular communication design
• How to measure impact before scaling globally
   

Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

Medical Affairs teams are producing more scientific content than ever, yet clinicians often never see it. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Amit Phull, Chief Clinical Experience Officer at Doximity, to discuss why the “build it and they will come” model no longer works.


Amit Phull is the Chief Clinical Experience Officer at Doximity, a professional network for medical professionals. A board-certified emergency medicine physician and digital health leader, Amit bridges medicine, technology, and healthcare delivery. With vast expertise in clinician behavior and digital engagement, he brings 15+ years of experience helping organizations effectively communicate scientific content to busy healthcare professionals.


We’ll talk about:

• What clinician behavior actually looks like in practice
• How Medical Affairs can rethink content strategy around personalization, video, and third-party platform partnerships. 
• Data-backed insights on what drives real engagement on Doximity
• Why the most valuable science in the world means nothing if it never reaches the people who need it

Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

SCPs are meant to align teams, shape scientific narratives, and guide communication across the product lifecycle. But in reality, they often end up as static documents that few people actually use.


In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Enio Polena and Al Balkiewicz of MedComms Experts to share insights on how to make SCPs truly strategic and how to move from simply presenting data to telling scientific stories that clinicians actually remember.


Enio Polena is an Associate Director of Medical Communications Strategy at MedComms Experts, specializing in strategic support and value maximization for client deliverables. With expertise in scientific narrative development and communications platform strategy, Polena brings a focused approach to distilling complex clinical data into actionable patient-centered messaging.


Al Balkiewicz is the Director of Medical Communications Strategy at MedComms Experts, leading innovation initiatives and developing solutions for complex client challenges in Medical Affairs. With vast experience in structuring communications platforms and identifying operational inefficiencies, Balkiewicz champions practical, user-centered approaches to SCP design and deployment.


We’ll talk about:

• Why SCPs remain chronically underutilized across the industry
• How SCPs relate to scientific narratives and storytelling
• What cross-functional ownership really looks like
• How AI is opening up new possibilities for keeping platforms current and ensuring messaging consistency across channels
  
  

 Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

A lack of data isn’t the problem in oncology today. Physicians have access to an incredible volume of clinical trials, treatment pathways, biomarkers, and therapy management considerations. The real challenge is applying that data in the clinic. 


In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Ali Al-Hashimi, Director of Global Medical Affairs in Thoracic Oncology at Pfizer, to discuss how Medical Affairs can make evidence more accessible for physicians, pharmacists, and care teams in real-world practice.


We’ll talk about:

• How shadowing physicians reshaped Ali’s entire approach to communication
• Why clinic-friendly should be the new gold standard for how we present data
• What MSLs should actually be asking in their conversations

Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

The most critical, yet often overlooked, first step in Medical Communications? Truly understanding your audience. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Guy Atchison, Director of Medical Communications Strategy at MedComms Experts, to dive into the process of audience diagnosis. They discuss a structured workshop-driven approach that draws on the frontline knowledge of MSLs, MedInfo teams, and field managers to build detailed audience personas before any content is created.


Guy Atchison is the Director of Medical Communication Strategy at MedComms Experts, recognized for his work championing innovative content formats and stakeholder alignment. His track record includes successfully navigating complex compliance reviews for facilitated storytelling decks, interactive platforms, and novel digital approaches.


They’ll talk about:

• Why physicians feel pharma communications miss the mark on relevance
• How to assemble the right people and data streams to diagnose audience needs
• The ideal number of personas to aim for
• How audience diagnosis connects to scientific communications platforms
  
  

 Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

Diagnosis is often talked about like a formula, but in reality, it’s far messier, more human, and far more dependent on experience, listening, and judgment than most people realize. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Dr. Lisa Sanders, the Medical Director of Yale's Long COVID Multidisciplinary Care Center, the physician behind the Diagnosis column in The New York Times Magazine, and the inspiration behind the TV series House M.D., to share insights on what really drives accurate diagnosis in modern medicine.


Dr. Lisa Sanders is the Medical Director of Yale's Long COVID Multidisciplinary Care Center. She is the physician behind the Diagnosis column in The New York Times Magazine, the inspiration behind TV series House M.D. With decades of clinical experience in diagnostic medicine, Dr. Sanders brings a rare perspective on how physicians actually think under uncertainty.


We’ll talk about:

• The limits of guidelines and algorithms
• Why communication is central to clinical care
• How pattern recognition and cognitive bias shape medical decisions
• What AI may improve or quietly erode in the diagnostic process
  
   

Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

How AI is reshaping Medical Communications? In this special compilation episode of Transforming Medical Communications, we walk the floor at the MAPS Americas Annual Meeting in Denver to speak with senior Medical Affairs leaders and share their thoughts on the future of Medical Communication and the right way to integrate AI into MedComms.


We’ll talk about:

• Why orchestration is the future of Medical Communications
• How leading pharma organizations scale effective communication across channels
• Why people who know how to use AI will outcompete those who don't
• How to craft AI prompts that actually work
  
  

 Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

Innovation in Medical Communications often hits the same wall: legal and compliance. But what if that wall is just a misunderstood part of the process? In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Guy Atchison and Janna Crabb of MedComms Experts to discuss how high-performing teams are successfully navigating compliance while still pushing boundaries.


We’ll talk about:

• How to reframe your legal team as innovation partners
• Why education bridges the compliance gap
• How modular content and guardrails unlock approval
• Why persistence and structured communication are often the difference between rejection and approval.
  
  

 Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

Conferences are often treated like isolated deadlines: build the booth, deliver the poster, survive the week, move on. But what if congresses were designed as strategic engines for prelaunch readiness, scientific alignment, and long-term HCP engagement? In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Mathura Shanmugasundaram, the Director of Global Medical Communications and Medical Affairs for Neuroscience at Takeda, to discuss what a high-impact congress strategy actually looks like.


We’ll talk about:

• How to define the true purpose of a congress before designing booths, symposia, or materials
• Why congresses should be treated as part of a scientific communications continuum
• How to integrate digital and on-site engagement into one seamless congress experience
• How to use social listening and hybrid formats to extend impact beyond the show floor
  
  

 Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers. 

What is one of the most unprecedented challenges pharma companies face today? Capturing HCP’s attention in under a minute. This challenge has given rise to a critical yet often overlooked strategic tool: the therapeutic area narrative. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by the Director of Scientific Communications and Content at Astellas Pharma, Sean Sheffler-Collins, to explore how cohesive therapeutic area narratives can elevate pipeline visibility, foster collaboration, and build trust across stakeholders.


We’ll talk about:

• How to develop and implement therapeutic area narratives that unify pipeline communications across multiple assets
• The critical role Medical Affairs plays in bridging R&D and clinical development teams to create compelling scientific stories
• Why consistent therapeutic area messaging is essential for building trust with HCPs
  
  

 

Cut Through the Noise. Elevate Your Strategy.

Guiding Medical Affairs strategy across Medical Communications, Field Medical, or Medical Affairs Training? Wesley Portegies, host of Transforming Medical Communications, is opening up a few exclusive 30-minute consultancy sessions.

This is a candid, insight-rich opportunity to step back from the day-to-day, pressure-test your approach, and explore fresh solutions to complex MedComms challenges—from scientific engagement to operational alignment.

If you’re shaping the future of Medical Affairs at your organization, this conversation is for you.

 Reserve your session → Schedule now https://mce.global/consultancy

Previous guests include: Sissy Easo-Joseph at GSK, Barbara Bish at Janssen, Drew Provan at Queen Mary University, Rebecca McCracken at Agios Pharmaceuticals

Check out our three most downloaded episodes:

• From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
• Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
• The SCP Playbook: Turning Strategy into Real-World Impact

Transforming Medical Communications is handcrafted by our friends over at: fame.so

Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed by the guest are their own and do not represent any past or current employers.