Pharma companies spend over $30m on global MSL teams

Cutting Edge Information has shed light on pharmaceutical companies' MSL spend.

Pharmaceutical companies are spending more than $30 million on global medical science liaison (MSL) operations, a study has found.

MSLs are company representatives with medical training who work with doctors and researchers to advance clinical development.

A new study by Cutting Edge Information suggests that the amount spent on these operations varies dramatically, largely depending on the size of the company.

For instance, small pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies allocate just $1.5 million to MSL programmes, on average, while mid-sized companies spend around ￡10 million and the top 20 firms plough upwards of $30 million into their MSL operations.

"The largest companies, where US teams have been in existence for many years, spend five to ten times more in that market than in any other," said Elio Evangelista, director of operations at Cutting Edge Information.