Interviewer: For all of you doctors that might not understand this, what types of things do Medical Affairs departments and physicians in pharma companies, what do they do?

Interviewee: In a Medical Affairs department, we’re responsible for the oversight of the medical activities around Phase 4 clinical trials, meaning clinical trials of drugs that are already approved in the country. We’re responsible for developing the educational programs to train physicians on how to use our products safely. We’re responsible for developing publications around our products and how they’re used. We’re responsible for responding to regulatory agencies regarding the safety of our products. So, it’s a very diverse, dynamic field.

Interviewer: Is there a lot of opportunities for physicians in Medical Affairs?

Interviewee: Absolutely. This wasn’t the case 10 years ago. But what has happened, because of all the concerns in the country around drug safety, is that the FDA realizes there needs to be a greater scrutiny and scientific rigor in post-approval work, which means there’s more work for physicians to do in that area. So, I think this is gonna be a huge area of growth over the next 10 years.