When I was young, my father was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of cancer for which there were few treatment options. The prognosis was grim, and my family was devastated.
This experience compelled me to pursue a career related to cancer research, and I am honored to be part of a team that has done so much to improve the lives of people living with and impacted by cancer.
Today, as Vice President US & Global Oncology Medical Affairs at Eisai U.S., I have the privilege of leading an amazing team of in-house and field-based medical employees. For the purposes of this blog, I will be focusing on our field-based team, medical science liaisons (MSLs). Their work ensures that health care providers (HCPs) and the medical community have the necessary clinical and scientific data behind Eisai’s approved and investigational treatments. In addition, MSLs bring relevant insights from the field on research developments, treatment landscape and new concepts in medical treatment. Moreover, MSLs serve as a conduit for communication between Eisai research and the medical community regarding ideas for future research with Eisai’s products. This vital work of MSLs directly contributes to our human health care (hhc) mission: giving first thoughts to patients and their families to help increase the benefits that health care provides.
HCPs view MSLs as scientific peers and credible experts because MSLs hold advanced scientific and academic credentials with significant clinical patient care or bench-research training/experience. We are seen as subject matter experts with the skill of sharing scientific information.
Our MSLs also serve as liaisons between clinical study sites across the U.S. and Eisai’s Clinical/R&D department. This often begins early in the clinical trial planning stages during which we may recommend new sites based on our knowledge of sites’ capabilities and interests. Working remotely and being geographically close to clinical trial sites gives us the opportunity to develop collaborative relationships and facilitates appropriate information sharing between the trial sites and Eisai’s clinical/R&D colleagues, contributing to the efficiency of our ongoing trials. We often support patient enrollment efforts and follow up with sites related to our clinical programs on request from clinical teams.
Eisai’s Oncology clinical colleagues appreciate our MSLs’ efforts and collaborative approach, in which each other’s roles are respected and complemented. Involving MSLs in support of research from early phases is crucial for many reasons. It helps to build trust and relationship continuity between Eisai and institutions, as MSLs can share valuable feedback from HCPs about the design of later phase trials.
The team’s ongoing contributions are valuable to Eisai and further enhance our ability to meet the needs of people with cancer and their care partners.
Increasing opportunities for Medical Affairs to create vital connections
My recent participation in two industry-leading conferences about the role of Medical Affairs in supporting clinical trials has reinforced the critical importance of collaboration between clinical and Medical Affairs teams. I was a panelist at the Fierce Medical Affairs Strategic Summit East and a moderator at the 21st BioPharma Clinical Trials Nexus Conference. Participants represented a variety of pharmaceutical and biotech companies reflecting the diversity of our industry.
What I learned:
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Medical Affairs is viewed as an essential strategic pillar of the pharmaceutical industry. These teams make substantial contributions to pharmaceutical companies, the industry and health care overall by providing essential, compliant, and balanced information about clinical trials, medicines, and the science behind them.
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Medical Affairs is a key collaborative partner for Clinical Development and Operations teams in all pharmaceutical companies. While the Clinical department takes the lead in the process, the work of the Medical Affairs team generally complements it, ensuring success of the clinical program overall.
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Close collaboration between Medical Affairs and Clinical Development & Operations can help to achieve the best results for patients. By working together, the teams can identify efficiencies and opportunities to achieve more than they would independently. For example, the teams can collaborate on the development of educational resources for HCPs. MSLs can bring invaluable insights to Clinical Development informing optimal design and efficient conduct of future trials. MSLs and Clinical Operations can collaborate on identifying the best sites for clinical trials and ensure speedy patient enrollment.
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Enlisting Medical Affairs as early as possible in support of the clinical development process, sometimes as early as Phase 1 and continuing through Phase 3, helps streamline and advance the drug development process, ultimately accelerating research and bringing new therapies to patients faster. I’m pleased this is something Eisai already embraces.
I will continue advocating for further collaboration, because it will lead to new, innovative, and rewarding ways to integrate our work toward a common goal to achieve regulatory approvals that enable us to bring meaningful advances to patients.
“I feel a connection not only to the individual patients and doctors we serve, but also to the communities they belong to because so many people are touched by cancer.”
Because my work matters
In 2025, over two million new cancer cases are expected to be diagnosed in the U.S.1 There are too many families like mine, who have loved ones who are scared and living with a cancer diagnosis and patients like my dad grappling with an uncertain future.
My father’s story and his fight against cancer is what brought me to the pharmaceutical industry and a career in Medical Affairs. This story continues to inspire and motivate me to strive to make lives of patients (similar to my father’s) better.
I’m grateful to have found my passion through my family’s experience. I am incredibly proud that the work of my team is vital to Eisai’s hhc mission, and that by working together, we are truly making a difference to improve the lives of patients living with cancer.
References:
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