Promoting Best Practices for Medical Science Liaisons Position Statement from the APPA, IFAPP, MAPS and MSLS

Abstract

This position paper is intended to provide recommendations that will help lay the foundation for best practices for medical science liaisons (MSLs) and their activities. Its objective is to outline the roles and responsibilities expected of an MSL and provide clarity on the juxtaposition of MSLs and Sales representatives (SRs) when it comes to scientific exchange versus promotional messaging. It is of utmost importance that industry integrity and ethical standards are assured during external stakeholder engagement as well as medical and scientific communications. This guidance, delivered through the lens of APPA, IFAPP, MAPS and the MSLS executive committees, has been prepared primarily as a supportive resource to assist the Medical Affairs teams in the industry to develop their own set of standard operating procedures (SOPs), codes of conduct and policies within the framework of relevant industry regulations. We acknowledge that whilst there are guidelines already available that provide excellent directive to the MSL function, this paper is a review and distillation of these existing recommendations combined with the perspectives of four peak professional bodies to offer a practically focused resource to help MSLs interact, collaborate and exchange scientific information appropriately with external experts when out in the field.