Importance of Big Data for Medical Affairs Professionals

The most competitive companies in pharma must inundate themselves with data to navigate and excel in an ever increasingly complex environment. But, according to Bain & Company, companies have difficulty explaining the science and data to stakeholders in an effective and meaningful way.1 Just imagine a chemical engineer trying to explain chocolate milk to a 3-year-old. According to Bain research, this shortfall is one attributing factor to the 50% of launches that fail to meet company expectations.

So how does a company manage this problem without losing sight of their main goal, the resulting product? This is where a Medical Affairs Professional comes to the rescue. The ability for a Medical Affairs Professional to collect, analyze, interpret and present data can help ensure the success of a company.

Why is big data so important? Drug development has become more focused on narrower and more personal indications resulting in a more involved treatment. This trend, along with rising costs, and a greater multiplex for physicians to navigate has left a gap that leading companies are filling with medical affairs teams to help them translate their data in a way that physicians, payers, and providers can understand. While the company can focus on their products, they can leave the Medical Affairs Professionals to sort and distribute their big data in a valuable, effective, and consumable way.

Want to learn how to leverage company big data throughout the drug development process?

The International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians and Pharmaceutical Medicine (IFAPP) Academy provides online Continuing Professional Development for Medical Affairs Professionals.

The IFAPP Academy is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote, develop, and implement educational activities that support Pharmaceutical Medicine by enhancing the knowledge, expertise, and skills of pharmaceutical physicians and medicines development scientists worldwide. Partnered with King’s College London, the Academy offers Professional Certification for students successfully completing the course. Click here to learn more about the benefits of Professional Certification from the IFAPP Academy.

To read more about big data in the world of Medical Affairs please check out this great article from Bain & Company: Reinventing the Role of Medical Affairs.

References:

1. Plantevin L, Schlegel C, Gordian M. Reinventing the Role of Medical Affairs. Bain & Company. http://www.bain.com/publications/articles/reinventing-the-role-of-medical-affairs.aspx. Published March 15, 2017. Accessed January 11, 2018.