Medical/clinical science liaisons (MCSLs) play an important role in disseminating complex clinical and product information that assists payers in making critical decisions that impact market access. HIRC's report, Best in Class Medical/Clinical Science Liaison Customer Insights, provides nominations of the best medical/clinical science liaisons, as well as the descriptive factors that define industry excellence. The report addresses the following questions:

• Which very large, large and mid-size firms' medical/clinical science liaisons receive the most best-in-class nominations?
• Which firms lead in best medical/clinical science liaison nominations across health plan pharmacy directors, health plan medical directors, and pharmacy benefit manager executives?
• Which medical/clinical science liaison attributes operationally define the best-in-class?
• Which manufacturer provided the best medical value story in the last 12-18 months?

Key Finding: The best MCSLs succeed in their role as an information provider of clinical insights, best practices, and actionable intelligence, are intelligent, responsive, and demonstrate deep therapeutic area/disease state knowledge.

Medical/Clinical Science Liaisons from Novo Nordisk are Most Frequently Nominated as Best-in-Class. HIRC queried 71 commercial health plan and pharmacy benefit manager key decision-makers to learn which firms' medical/clinical science liaisons are best-in-class. Novo Nordisk leads with the most best-in-class nominations from managed markets customers, followed by Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, AbbVie, and Biogen.

The full report provides a complete listing of best MCSL nominations as well as the rationale behind the nominations.

Defining Best-in-Class Medical Value Stories. Managed markets customers were asked to nominate a manufacturer providing the best medical value story in the last 12-18 months and explain why. Analyses reveal that their evaluations fall within four key descriptive factor categories: (1) Value in Disease/Therapeutic Area, (2) Clinical Expertise/Reputation, (3) Biosimilars Value, and (4) Value to Patients.

The best medical value stories in 2024 are often described by managed markets key-decision makers as (1) providing evidence of successful disease modification, and (2) offering patient and caregiver educational support. The complete report explores example best value stories from the perspective of the customer.

Research Methodology and Report Availability. In April 2024, HIRC surveyed 71 key decision-makers from commercial health plans and pharmacy benefit managers. Online surveys and follow-up telephone interviews were used to gather information. The complete report, Best in Class Medical/Clinical Science Liaison Customer Insights, is available now to HIRC’s Best Programs and Best People subscribers at www.hirc.com.