Collaboration Is the Defining Skill for Medical Affairs: What Fierce Pharma Showed

Earlier this year, Fierce Pharma changed its blew up it’s conference format. No more siloed events. Medical Affairs, BD, Marketing, and PR were all under one roof. Multiple tracks, one shared space.

This time at Fierce Pharma Week in Philly, I made the most of it. I went to 2 PR sessions, 2 marketing sessions, and 3 commercialization sessions. And here’s what surprised me: in almost every single one, Medical Affairs was already part of the conversation.

In a commercialization talk on launch readiness, a VP of commercial operations had it written right there on a slide: “Medical Affairs pave the way.”

In 2 other talks, speakers called out how Medical was pulled in to share their findings and provide guidance. Not vaguely. Not as an afterthought. Integrated.

So if Medical Affairs is already visible, why does the function still feel invisible?

The Real Blind Spot

Here’s what doesn’t get talked about enough: understanding cross-functional partners. In a recent Add Value to Internal Stakeholders 60-min virtual training, we asked MSLs a simple question: “What are the metrics of your cross-functional partners?”

Not one person could answer.

How can you lead from the field and build trusted relationships if you don’t even know how your colleagues are measured? This is why collaboration so often fails. Medical Affairs shows up with the science, but if it doesn’t connect to how others define success with storytelling, the impact gets lost.

Why Collaboration Is the Most Overlooked Skill in Medical Affairs

Here’s how this plays out and why our “how to get along with other people” training was born. 

A sales manager calls an MSL manager: “Your MSL isn’t playing nice with the rep.”
Then the MSL manager calls us: “Can you do a training on collaboration?”

This started happening a lot and pretty frequently. That’s why we created Influence Lab, an AI-powered, practical program built on the frameworks and feedback Medical Affairs actually needs.

Because collaboration isn’t “be nice in the sandbox.” It’s:

• Asking better questions.

• Listening to understand.

• Using language that invites partnership.

• Practicing with personalized feedback.

Skills that should be core but are missing and 99% of companies don’t train on. That’s why collaboration remains the most overlooked skill in Medical Affairs. Have you ever had good training on how to work well with other functions?

Showing Value Through Collaboration

Metrics won’t fix this. They prove activity, not value.

Value shows up when collaboration is strong,  when Medical Affairs makes others’ jobs easier, when the science is translated into what commercial, marketing, or access can actually use.

The VP’s slide said it best: “Medical Affairs pave the way.” But unless that recognition gets reinforced every day through tight, trusted collaboration, it fades fast.

From Buzzword to Behavior

“Collaboration” looks great on a slide. But until it’s trained like a muscle, it stays theory and Medical Affairs will struggle to show value.

Dedicated training like the Influence Lab changes that. It’s where collaboration stops being an idea and starts being practiced:

• Tools powered by AI.

• Frameworks that cut the friction.

• Feedback that makes the difference.

Because collaboration isn’t optional anymore. It’s the defining skill for the future of Medical Affairs.

Final Word: The Most Overlooked Skill in Medical Affairs

Medical Affairs already has the science. That’s expected. But science isn’t what will earn the seat at the table. Collaboration will.

Because collaboration is how insights get across the finish line. It’s how strategies stick. And it’s how patients benefit.

Fierce Pharma Week made it clear: Medical Affairs is already in the conversation. The only question is whether the function will master the most overlooked skill, collaboration, well enough to prove it.

👉 Let’s bring these skills to your team.