Operating at the speed of science: The modern medical affairs playbook

Operating at the speed of science isn’t just about moving faster. It’s about reducing the time between signal, decision and action.

For medical affairs teams, that requires a connected view of what’s changing in clinical practice, why it’s changing and where teams should act next. Fragmented data, disconnected workflows and static measurement models can make it harder for medical leaders to understand whether their work is changing scientific understanding, closing evidence gaps or improving engagement with the medical community.

In this episode, Josh Schwartz, vice president of medical affairs at BeOne Medicines, and Jalpa Shah, who leads the medical and evidence practice at ZS, discuss what’s changing for medical affairs leaders, where AI can create practical value and why the next playbook depends on more than technology. The conversation covers the need for real-time prioritization and the shift from explaining past activity to shaping what happens next.

You’ll hear practical perspectives on:

• How medical affairs can operate at the speed of science while preserving trust
• Why more data doesn’t automatically lead to better decisions
• How AI can help teams summarize insights, identify trends and guide next best action
• Why scientific engagement needs to become more precise as influence networks shift
• What medical affairs teams should prepare for over the next two to three years