How to Build a Best-in-Class MSL and Scientific Affairs Team

Published 5 September 2026

Author(s): Richard Meyer

I’ve seen pharma companies spend months recruiting MSLs, debating territory size, developing training programs, building dashboards, and identifying hundreds of KOLs. Then, six months after launch, someone in senior management asks a very reasonable question: What exactly are we getting from our MSL team? That’s where things can get uncomfortable.

The problem usually isn’t the MSLs. Most are smart, motivated, scientifically credible people who genuinely want to make a difference. The problem is the system companies build around them. Too many companies still manage field medical teams around activity rather than impact. They count interactions, track KOL coverage and produce dashboards filled with numbers that look impressive in management meetings.

But 3,000 scientific interactions don’t mean much if nobody can explain what the company learned from them. There is a better way to build Scientific Affairs.