Transforming Medical Communications

MedComms Experts

Medical Affairs and Communications need to catch-up. The field is being left in the dust by the cutting edge methods and practices in other industries. We’re going to change that. On Transforming Medical Communications we talk to the biggest and brightest names in medical affairs to find out what they’re doing to push our industry forwards and build for the future. If you’re looking for actionable insights into cutting edge developments in the world of medical communications, hit subscribe and watch out for future episodes.

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20 episodes
Updated July 14

Episodes20

Newest first

July 14 · 41 min
Why Clinicians Ignore Your Medical Content
Medical Affairs teams are producing more scientific content than ever, yet clinicians often never see it. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Amit Phull, Chief Clinical Experience Officer at Doximity, to discuss why the “build it and they will come” model no longer works.
June 9 · 28 min
The SCP Problem: Everyone Has One, Nobody Uses It
SCPs are meant to align teams, shape scientific narratives, and guide communication across the product lifecycle. But in reality, they often end up as static documents that few people actually use. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Enio Polena and Al Balkiewicz of MedComms Experts to share insights on how to make SCPs truly strategic and how to move from simply presenting data to telling scientific stories that clinicians actually remember.
May 26 · 36 min
Why Most Clinical Data Never Changes Patient Care
A lack of data isn’t the problem in oncology today. Physicians have access to an incredible volume of clinical trials, treatment pathways, biomarkers, and therapy management considerations. The real challenge is applying that data in the clinic.
May 12 · 19 min
Why Understanding Your Audience Changes Everything for MedComms
The most critical, yet often overlooked, first step in Medical Communications? Truly understanding your audience. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Guy Atchison, Director of Medical Communications Strategy at MedComms Experts, to dive into the process of audience diagnosis. They discuss a structured workshop-driven approach that draws on the frontline knowledge of MSLs, MedInfo teams, and field managers to build detailed audience personas befor
April 28 · 25 min
Can AI Diagnose Better Than Doctors?
Diagnosis is often talked about like a formula, but in reality, it’s far messier, more human, and far more dependent on experience, listening, and judgment than most people realize. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Dr. Lisa Sanders, the Medical Director of Yale's Long COVID Multidisciplinary Care Center, the physician behind the Diagnosis column in The New York Times Magazine, and the inspiration behind the TV series House M.D., to share insig
April 17 · 10 min
Is AI Overhyped in Medical Affairs? (MAPS Conference Reactions)
How AI is reshaping Medical Communications? In this special compilation episode of Transforming Medical Communications, we walk the floor at the MAPS Americas Annual Meeting in Denver to speak with senior Medical Affairs leaders and share their thoughts on the future of Medical Communication and the right way to integrate AI into MedComms.
April 1 · 15 min
Innovation vs. Compliance: The Real Way to Make It Work
Innovation in Medical Communications often hits the same wall: legal and compliance. But what if that wall is just a misunderstood part of the process? In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Guy Atchison and Janna Crabb of MedComms Experts to discuss how high-performing teams are successfully navigating compliance while still pushing boundaries.
March 10 · 32 min
From Event to Strategy: Making Congresses More Impactful
Conferences are often treated like isolated deadlines: build the booth, deliver the poster, survive the week, move on. But what if congresses were designed as strategic engines for prelaunch readiness, scientific alignment, and long-term HCP engagement? In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Mathura Shanmugasundaram, the Director of Global Medical Communications and Medical Affairs for Neuroscience at Takeda, to discuss what a high-impact congress s
February 24 · 31 min
How to Build a Therapeutic Area Narrative That Works
What is one of the most unprecedented challenges pharma companies face today? Capturing HCP’s attention in under a minute. This challenge has given rise to a critical yet often overlooked strategic tool: the therapeutic area narrative. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by the Director of Scientific Communications and Content at Astellas Pharma, Sean Sheffler-Collins, to explore how cohesive therapeutic area narratives can elevate pipeline visibili
February 10 · 12 min
From Silos to Strategy: Rethinking Medical-Commercial Alignment
For decades, medical and commercial teams in pharma operated in strict silos. But that model is quietly breaking down. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Lynsey Clarke, President, Client Partnerships North America, to discuss how the relationship between medical and commercial functions has evolved and where the real opportunities for alignment now lie.
January 27 · 39 min
Building a Medical Affairs Powerhouse Without a Big Pharma Budget
Medical Affairs teams face increasing pressure to deliver greater impact with limited resources. As HCPs increasingly consume information through digital channels and abbreviated formats, traditional Medical Communications approaches often fall short. But what if the solution isn’t doing more, but doing less, more strategically? In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Georgea Pasedis, Vice President, Medical Affairs at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., t
January 13 · 37 min
How to Humanize Clinical Data: The "Listen First" Strategy
How do you turn complex clinical data into actionable insight for HCPs? In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Daniela van Eickels, Senior Vice President and Head of Medical Affairs at Kyowa Kirin, to share why great data isn’t enough, how pharma can better listen before it talks, and what it takes to truly humanize Medical Communication.
Dec 17, 2025 · 34 min
Best of 2025: The MedComms Strategies That Moved the Needle
In this Best of the Year episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies brings insights from some of the leading voices in Medical Communications to unpack the most pressing shifts shaping how HCPs consume scientific information today, featuring Simon Priou of bioMérieux, Kimberly Eskridge-Rose of Travere Therapeutics, Janet Davies of UCB, Erin Reineke of Sanofi, Matthew Krzywosz of Astellas Pharma, and Nishal Patel of Pfizer.
Dec 9, 2025 · 30 min
Mind the Gap: How to go viral in the HCP Community with Raj Patel
In Medical Communications, we’ve long operated under the assumption that scientific data naturally trickles down from academic thought leaders to the wider HCP community. However, this traditional model is failing to meet the needs of modern healthcare practitioners. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Director of Worldwide Medical Oncology in Medical Communications at Bristol Myers Squibb , Raj Patel, to discuss innovative strategies for reachin
Nov 25, 2025 · 17 min
Insight Drop: Why Google Is Ignoring Your Medical Content and How to Fix It
You’ve invested heavily in clinical resources and HCP engagement initiatives. Your content is scientifically rigorous, expertly reviewed, and strategically valuable. Yet when HCPs search for answers, your platform doesn't appear on the first page, or maybe not at all. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Janna Crabb, Director of Digital Communications Strategy at MedComms Experts, to unpack the real strategy behind SEO in Medical Affairs and acti
Nov 12, 2025 · 35 min
Telling Better Science: What MedComms Can Learn from Journalism
What if you could blend journalism techniques with Medical Communications to create more engaging scientific content? In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Christan Thomas, a Director of Oncology Scientific Communications at Pfizer, to delve into her journey from journalism to pharmaceutical communications, how she applies journalistic storytelling techniques to data dissemination, and her innovative approach to creating scientific content in oncol
Nov 4, 2025 · 20 min
Insight Drop: How Successful Medical Affairs Teams are Using Email to Drive HCP Engagement
With social media and digital platforms dominating the conversation, email marketing might seem like yesterday's news. However, for Medical Affairs professionals seeking to engage HCPs, email remains one of the most significant yet underutilized channels in their communication strategies. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Janna Crabb, Director of Digital Communications Strategy at MedComms Experts, to break down how pharma teams build effectiv
Oct 14, 2025 · 32 min
The Missing Link in MedComms: Field Medical Insights That Actually Resonate
The traditional approach to Medical Communications often follows a top-down model: strategy flows from leadership teams to Field Medical, with content created based on broad objectives rather than real-world feedback. However, this misses a crucial opportunity to tap into the wealth of knowledge gathered by Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs) during their daily interactions with HCPs. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by the Director of Global Scienti
Sep 30, 2025 · 40 min
How Pfizer Transformed HCP Engagement Without More Content
When 80% of HCPs find pharma content irrelevant to their needs, we have a problem. Omnichannel strategy in Medical Affairs requires a fundamental shift from pushing content through multiple channels to delivering targeted, audience-centric scientific communications that solve real healthcare challenges. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by the Omnichannel Lead of Global Scientific Communications Oncology at Pfizer, Nishal Patel, to unpack what omn
Sep 12, 2025 · 19 min
Insight Drop: Why 80% of Medical Content Goes Unseen
Creating valuable medical content is only half the battle. The real challenge? Making sure it actually reaches and impacts HCPs who need it most. In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, Wesley Portegies is joined by Janna Crabb, Director of Digital Communications Strategy at MedComms Experts, to explore how Medical Affairs teams can design and implement effective digital awareness campaigns that drive measurable HCP engagement and behavior change.