Rare Blood Disorders MSL Team Excellence: Benchmarking Staffing, Roles, Recruitment, Development, Retention, and Field Success

Industries Profiled:
Pharmaceutical; Biopharmaceutical; Manufacturing; Biotech; Consumer Products; Diagnostic; Medical Device; Health Care


Companies Profiled:
Agios; Alexion Pharmaceuticals; Apellis Pharmaceuticals; Astellas; Bayer; BioMarin; Chiesi; CSL Behring; Fresenius Medical Care; Kyowa Kirin; Legend Biotech; Novartis; Novo Nordisk; Servier; Sobi; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Study Snapshot

Best Practices, LLC engaged Field Medical and other Medical Affairs leaders from 17 top Rare Blood Disorders manufacturers in this research through a benchmark survey. Deep-dive interviews were also conducted with field medical leaders to capture additional insights.

Key topics covered in this report include:

• Rare Blood Disorders Staffing Levels: Traditional MSLs vs. Hybrid MSLs
• Drivers of Rare Blood Disorders Field Team Evolution
• Medical vs. Commercial Field Resourcing
• Effective MSL Recruitment in Rare Blood Disorders Segment: Factors and Tactics
• MSL Training Areas in Rare Blood Disorders Segment
• MSL Salary Levels and Trends in Rare Blood Disorders Segment
• Effective Perks and Retention Strategies in Rare Blood Disorders Therapeutic Area
• Field Challenges
• KOL Access - Post Pandemic
• Customer Engagement Preference
• Proactive Outreach
• F2F Meetings: Value and Ideal Mix

• Attrition rate: Overall, Rare Blood field teams have been forced to replace 31% of MSLs due to workforce attrition in the past 12 months. This includes a whopping 42% turnover rate among field-based MSLs!

• Ease of access: Some 67% of Rare Blood teams report that gaining access to KOLs and physicians in-person has grown more difficult over the past 6 months. Meanwhile, a combined 88% of companies indicate accessing KOLs virtually has been easier or at least the same as before.

• Project background
• Key study definitions
• Benchmark study partners - Rare Blood Disorders segment
• Key takeaways for rare blood disorders manufacturers
• Rare Blood Disorders executive field performance dashboard
• Full data summary
• Field-based vs. hybrid MSLs - Rare Blood Disorders segment
• F2F vs. virtual interactions - Rare Blood Disorders segment
• Effective recruitment and retention principles in rare blood disorders segment

• Prevalence of MSL types across the industry (Rare Blood Disorders) – Field-based MSLs vs. Hybrid MSLs vs. Virtual MSLs
• Case study: Large US pharma organization pilot
• Average staffing levels at Rare Blood Disorders field medical groups
• Assessing effectiveness of different MSL types in Rare Blood Disorders segment
• Post-Pandemic drivers of field team evolution
• Anticipated MSL staffing trends in Rare Blood Disorders segment
• Average staffing levels for non-MSL field roles in Rare Blood Disorders segment
• Key field support roles in Rare Blood Disorders therapeutic area
• Sales rep-to-MSL ratio in Rare Blood Disorders therapeutic area

• Overall YoY attrition rate among Rare Blood’s field-based MSLs
• Successful MSL recruitment factors
• Effective tactics to recruit MSLs in rare blood disorders segment
• MSL recruitment lessons learned in Rare Blood Disorders segment
• MSL training for essential field skills in Rare Blood Disorders therapeutic area
• Average salary levels of Rare Blood Disorders MSLs
• Drivers of MSL compensation
• Predicted MSL salary trends
• Defending increased field team investment
• Effective perks in attracting new MSLs and retaining existing staff
• Top MSL retention strategies in Rare Blood Disorders segment

• Top challenges faced by Rare Blood Disorders field teams in supporting external stakeholders
• Post-Pandemic KOL and HCP access
• KOL and HCP engagement preferences
• Average KOL call list size in Rare Blood Disorders segment
• Total monthly in-person and virtual meetings with KOLs
• Proactive outreaches to KOLs in Rare Blood Disorders therapeutic area
• MSL proactivity index
• Interview narrative around proactive outreach
• Value of F2F meetings in Rare Blood Disorders MSL scorecard
• Ideal mix of F2F interactions
• Interview narratives around top KPIs used to demonstrate Rare Blood field impact
• Effective KPIs used to measure Rare Blood field impact