Medaffcon’s scientific expert’s day includes a variety of activities tailored to the needs of the pharmaceutical industry

This article was originally published as part of the “Health from Data” blog, which has since been retired. Find all Health from Data blogs here.

Medaffcon experts are versatile professionals who adapt to customer needs. In this article, one of them, Liisa Ukkola-Vuoti, a senior scientific advisor at Medaffcon, describes her work over two weeks. Liisa is also one of the writers for the Health Data Site by Medaffcon.  

I have been working at Medaffcon for over four years. Initially, all my tasks were focused on real-world evidence (RWE) studies. Over time, my responsibilities have expanded to include other tasks. I still work in the RWE team, so most of my tasks are somehow related to real-world data.  

At Medaffcon, work is conducted in four teams: RWE, health economics, medical, and data sciences. The boundaries between teams are somewhat artificial, as an expert can perform tasks for another team if needed.  

Collaboration between teams is important for example when a client seeks reimbursement for a medication from the Pharmaceuticals Pricing Board. In such cases, real-world data from ongoing research at Medaffcon can be incorporated into the health economic model.  Additionally, the entire reimbursement application or supporting material for the application can be produced at Medaffcon.  

In this article, I describe my tasks over a two-week period, as we use an Agile working model and one of our sprints lasts two weeks. The period I describe in the spring of 2024 highlights the diversity of my tasks at Medaffcon, as this sprint included tasks related to real-world data studies as well as tasks related to customer-produced materials.  

Medaffcon conducts regulatory reviews of client marketing and health information materials, ensuring that the content complies with the regulations of the Pharma Industry Finland and the client companies themselves. We also perform medical reviews to verify the scientific content. A globally operating pharmaceutical company may need the help of a Medaffcon professional for material inspection, as laws and regulations vary by country.  

Medaffcon experts are trained to review client materials according to the Ethical Guidelines of Pharmaca Health Intelligence (former Pharmaceutical Information Center) and the client companies’ own guidelines. We review marketing materials as well as health information and other consumer-targeted health and disease-related information. In this sprint, I also reviewed materials to be presented at a conference.  

I am a project manager in real-world studies at various stages. Thus, project management is a vital task. Much of my work consists of producing written content.  

In this sprint, I wrote two RWE study result reports and one research protocol. The topics of the studies varied from immunology to cancer. Medaffcon teams are not divided by therapeutic areas, so the work is diverse.  

To best meet the client’s information needs, we are in regular contact with them during the project. This allows us to plan schedules and respond quickly to any changes.  

During this sprint, I discussed with the client about creating a conference poster and the possibility of forming a virtual control arm from the research data. Additionally, we planned the communication of information obtained from the RWE study together with the client. From one RWE study, we gain a lot of new information. It is important not only to publish it in a scientific article but also to communicate it strategically to different target groups.  

On the last day of the Agile sprint, we gathered at the office to enjoy breakfast. This was served during the weekly meeting, and nearly twenty of us were present – a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the company of Medaffcon colleagues before the weekend!