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

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


Companies Profiled:
Alexion Pharmaceuticals; Amicus Therapeutics; Astellas; Bayer; Biogen; BioMarin; Bluebird Bio; Chiesi; CSL Behring; Dompé; Galapagos; Horizon Therapeutics; Ipsen; Kyowa Kirin; Novartis; Orchard Therapeutics; Sage Therapeutics; Servier; Supernus; Takeda Pharmaceuticals; Ultragenyx; Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Study Snapshot

Best Practices, LLC engaged Field Medical and other Medical Affairs leaders from 22 top Rare Disease 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 Disease Staffing Levels: Traditional MSLs vs. Hybrid MSLs
• Drivers of Rare Disease Field Team Evolution
• Medical vs. Commercial Field Resourcing
• Effective Recruitment in Rare Disease Segment: Factors and Tactics
• MSL Training Areas in Rare Disease Segment
• MSL Salary Levels and Trends in Rare Disease Segment
• Effective Perks and Retention Strategies in Rare Disease Therapeutic Area
• Field Challenges
• KOL Access - Post Pandemic
• Customer Engagement Preference
• Proactive Outreach
• F2F Meetings: Value and Ideal Mix

• Field-based vs. Hybrid MSLs: Some 72% of organizations make use of traditional “field-based” MSLs, while another 56% use “hybrid” MSLs – but few organizations use both types in a strategically complementary manner. For many companies, the difference between field-based and hybrid MSLs is largely a semantic, as both types tend to operate in a similar manner.

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

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

• Overall YoY attrition rate among rare disease MSLs
• Successful MSL recruitment factors
• Effective tactics to recruit MSLs in rare disease segment
• Lessons learned in rare disease MSL recruitment
• MSL training for essential field skills in rare disease therapeutic area
• Average rare disease MSL salary levels
• Drivers of MSL compensation
• Anticipated MSL salary trends
• Defending increased field team investment
• Effective perks in attracting new MSLs and retaining existing staff
• Top MSL retention strategies in rare disease segment

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