Prevalence of Dedicated Medical Publications Teams Grew 20% since 2007

Cutting Edge Information finds more than 80% of surveyed companies build dedicated medical publications groups

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A majority of surveyed pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have dedicated medical publications groups in place, according to a report from Cutting Edge Information.

“Affiliates may see less need for a dedicated group.”

The study, “Strategic Medical Publications Management: Plan Development and Resource Benchmarks,” found that 81% of drug manufacturers employ dedicated publications teams, up 20% since 2007 when a similar study found that 64% of drug makers’ publications teams were dedicated groups.

Many pharmaceutical companies have worked to reorganize their medical publications departments in recent years. To comply with various regulations and guidelines, drug companies have worked to separate clinical research departments from commercial functions. Medical affairs groups have not escaped similar reorganizations and medical publications groups’ structures have evolved to ensure compliance and streamline the publication process.

The study also found that prevalence of dedicated publication teams varies with company size and location. All surveyed Top 25 companies reported dedicated teams, while the percentage dropped to 71% and 78% for surveyed Top 50 and Top 100 companies, respectively.

Moreover, “every surveyed Top 50 and Top 100 company without a dedicated publications team is located outside the United States,” according to Ryan McGuire, research team leader at Cutting Edge Information. “Affiliates may see less need for a dedicated group.”

No matter their size, pharmaceutical companies tend to have dedicated medical publications departments in place. Medical device companies, however, show more variation on their publication team structures. Only 50% of surveyed device companies reported having dedicated publications teams.

“Strategic Medical Publications Management: Plan Development and Resource Benchmarks” (http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/medical-affairs/medical-publications/) explores top-performing medical publications teams’ best practices for management, strategy planning and more. The study includes insights on team resource allocation, structure, performance metrics and challenges. Use this report to:

• Optimize the impact of medical publications by understanding how, when and where to publish
• Get input from critical stakeholders to drive strategic decisions
• Manage all aspects of medical publications including team-building, vendor and writer relationships and journal selection

For more information about medical publications and medical affairs strategy, contact Cassie Demeter at [phone].