Objective:The purpose of this survey was to identify the roles,responsibilities and skills of medical science liaisons(MSLs) in Japan. In addition,we compared to the prior survey results in 2011,2013 and 2015.
Method:We contacted 47 pharmaceutical companies with a questionnaire survey on MSLs which included 22 items and analyzed the anonymized results using a web response system.
Results:The total number of MSLs increased compared to prior surveys(ranged from 0 to 110). Many companies need MSLs with medical professional qualifications and sophisticated medical expertise. The roles and responsibilities MSLs were expected to perform included managing thought leaders(TL)and/or key opinion leaders (KOL)and implementing medical strategies. On the other hand, issues reported included management of MSLs and cooperation with other stakeholders in the company,and a still low level of recognition of MSLs.
Conclusion:The roles of MSL are diverse,and while their activities and status are becoming established they are not yet unified across companies. It is recommended that at the earliest opportunity the roles,responsibilities and key performance indicators(KPI)of MSLs are defined,and educational programs established so that they can act as effective liaisons with medical professionals.
