Proposal of Standard for Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Profession in Japan: A Viewpoint from the Japanese Association of Pharmaceutical Medicine (JAPhMed)

Abstract

Medical science liaisons (MSLs) are field-based professionals sited in medical affairs (MA) departments who contribute to the generation of medical evidence and exchange advanced medical and scientific information with healthcare professionals to standardize treatments and maximize the value of medical products for patient outcomes. As such, it is essential for companies to have MSL training programs that cover areas such as advanced scientific expertise, pharmaceutical regulations, and medical communication proficiency and to certify the knowledge and skills that enable MSLs to perform their tasks effectively. The lack of a standardized training curriculum, assessment of MSL capabilities, and key performance indicators (KPIs) in Japan has made it difficult for MSLs to carry out these tasks. It is important to clarify the status of MSLs in MA divisions within the Japanese pharmaceutical industry. The mission of the Japanese Association of Pharmaceutical Medicine (JAPhMed) is to promote pharmaceutical medicine by enhancing the knowledge, expertise, and skills of pharmaceutical professionals. JAPhMed established an accreditation system for the MSL certification programs of individual companies in early 2015 and then embarked on defining the individual MSL qualifications from late 2015 to mid-2017. Here, we describe the MSL recommendation that covers (1) MA in Japan, (2) definition of MSL, (3) roles and activities of MSLs, (4) regulation and compliance for MSLs, (5) qualification requirements for MSLs, (6) KPIs for MSLs, and (7) a training curriculum for MSLs. In the training curriculum, JAPhMed considered the relevance of each part of the training curriculum in terms of the fixed roles and activities of MSLs.