MSLs build relationships with experts in a therapy area and discuss the science with them: new data, open questions, the design of studies, and how a disease is best understood and treated. They respond to unsolicited questions that go beyond what a sales representative can address, support investigators running clinical trials, and bring back insights about what clinicians think and need.
The role sits in Medical Affairs, not in sales, and the distinction matters. MSLs do not promote products and are not rewarded on sales. Their conversations are scientific, balanced, and governed by the company’s medical policies and by the rules on promotion in each market.
A typical MSL covers a territory with dozens of experts, many of whom publish, present and run trials regularly. Much of the job is preparation: knowing what an expert has published or presented since the last conversation, what has changed in the therapy area, and what questions are still open. Experienced MSLs keep this in their heads. New ones take months to build it.
If your team prepares for meetings by hand, our free MSL pre-call brief template offers a consistent structure.