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Medical Affairs' Growing Role in Today's Healthcare Environment Demands Resource Optimization and Strategic Alignment

Posted on: Thursday, 8 September 2005, 15:00 CDT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- In today's challenging healthcare environment, the medical affairs role has become even more crucial to pharmaceutical companies' success. Confronted with declining R&D productivity, escalating development costs, increasing competition, growing price pressures and intensified regulatory and public scrutiny, pharmaceutical companies seek to maintain double-digit revenue and earnings growth demanded by investors. In addition, companies are reallocating resources in response to new Office of Inspector General (OIG) guidelines. To fulfill growing strategic roles, the medical affairs function needs to continuously re-invent itself by optimizing its overall capabilities. Consequently, it needs to benchmark both inside and outside its organization to identify key strengths and improvement opportunities.

Best Practices, LLC's benchmarking report Medical Affairs Excellence: Structuring, Aligning and Funding for Global Success -- complimentary summary available online at http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr608.ad -- examines areas critical to the operational efficiency and effectiveness of medical affairs functions in driving business value. Specifically, the study probes organizational structures and processes, staffing, outsourcing and spending and performance measurement. For example, the following findings emerged from this research:

- The number of FTEs per compound ranges from 4 to 83, with the average for the group at 27 FTE per compound. - On average, medical affairs functions outsource about 48 percent of their work. - At 64% of the benchmark companies, the funding for medical affairs activities comes from multiple sources including medical affairs departments, sales and marketing, and research and development. Medical Affairs groups use this report to: - Allocate the right number of employees per number of compound and therapy - Check budgets against others' spend levels - Measure outsourcing levels against competitors - Determine which activities are best outsourced vs. in house

For additional findings on this topic, consider examining the Best Practice Database, a resource containing more than $30 million in proprietary research conducted on behalf of executives from Fortune 500 companies. You can use this tool to quickly identify best practices in the areas most important to you and your company. Do your own search as a visitor and learn more about the Best Practice Database and how to become a member at http://www3.best-in-/ class.com/database.

Download an excerpt of the study at http://www3.best-in-/ class.com/rr608.ad. During the month of September 2005, receive 10% off the original purchase price for this and all other Best Practices, LLC benchmarking reports. To receive your discount, enter promotional code 05Q3-10 during online checkout or contact Sue Silverstein at 919-767-9251 or ssilverstein@best-in-class.com.

About Best Practices, LLC

Best Practices, LLC is a research and consulting firm that conducts work based on the principle that organizations can chart a course to superior economic performance by studying the best business practices, operating tactics and winning strategies of world-class companies. Our clients include 43 out of the 50 leading pharmaceutical companies. For more information, call (919) 403-0251 or visit www3.best-in-class.com/

About Best Practices, LLC

CONTACT: Cameron Tew of Best Practices, LLC, +1-919-767-9246, orctew@best-in-class.com

Web site: http://www.best-in-class.com/http://www.benchmarkingreports.com/http://www3.best-in-class.com/rr608.adhttp://www3.best-in-class.com/database

Source: PRNewswire

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