Medical Affairs professionals are increasingly recognized as the strategic bridge between scientific innovation and real-world application. Lori Long, Field Based Medical Excellence Lead at Sanofi, is at the forefront of this transformation. With 25 years of experience, Lori recently transitioned from leading a single field medical team to overseeing medical excellence across seven therapeutic areas. Lori joined Acceleration Point Co-CEO Scott Thompson on OnPoint: The Medical Excellence Podcast, sharing strategies for creating consistency, engaging Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), and fostering innovation to elevate Medical Affairs.
The Role of Medical Excellence in Scaling Innovation
Medical Excellence, as Lori describes, is about more than just standardizing processes—it’s about enabling teams to maximize their potential while maintaining strategic alignment. In her role, Lori focuses on harmonizing critical elements like data dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs), and medical value stories across teams. This ensures that while each therapeutic area retains flexibility to address its unique challenges, the organization as a whole moves cohesively toward shared goals.
One of her key initiatives has been creating a unified dashboard system for field medical teams.
“Here recently every field team has had their own medical dashboard that leadership would go and look at and look at the activity of field medical. What we’re really trying to do is combine it into one dashboard to where 80% of the teams, the dashboard is similar, but 20% you can tweak to towards your therapeutic area.” – Lori Long, Sanofi
By addressing foundational inconsistencies, Lori ensures senior leadership can better evaluate field medical activities and their impact, making data-driven decisions more efficient and effective.
Partnering with Key Opinion Leaders for Strategic Alignment
A cornerstone of Lori’s strategy is working closely with KOLs. These relationships not only provide valuable insights into healthcare trends but also help align medical strategies with the needs of the medical community. Lori emphasized the importance of engaging KOLs throughout the lifecycle of therapeutic areas, from pipeline products to those nearing the end of their lifecycle.
“Collaboration with KOLs isn’t just about gathering insights; it’s about building trust and creating a shared vision that aligns with medical and organizational goals,” she noted.
This collaboration is particularly important in shaping the medical value story—a framework that communicates the impact of Medical Affairs in a consistent yet flexible way. By incorporating KOL feedback, field medical teams can ensure their strategies resonate with real-world clinical needs.
Balancing Innovation and Consistency in Field Medical Teams
As Lori works to scale medical excellence across Sanofi’s vast organization, she faces the challenge of balancing innovation with consistency. Each therapeutic area—ranging from rare diseases to mainstream treatments—has distinct needs, yet they all share a common goal: advancing patient care through effective Medical Affairs strategies.
Lori employs a collaborative approach to address this balance. Through engaging Senior Directors and Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), she fosters an environment where teams can share best practices and learn from one another.
One example of this approach is piloting innovative solutions in specific therapeutic areas before scaling them across the organization. This method not only allows for experimentation but also ensures that proven strategies are implemented effectively across teams.
Navigating the Challenges of Medical Excellence
Lori candidly acknowledged the challenges of her role, particularly the sheer scale of Sanofi’s operations. Coordinating across 12 field teams and seven therapeutic areas requires constant communication and prioritization.
To stay connected, Lori holds regular meetings with senior leaders and MSLs, as well as advisory councils to gather input from the field. She also collaborates closely with Sanofi’s global medical excellence team to align U.S. efforts with broader organizational initiatives.
“It’s like turning a cruise ship,” Lori explained. “Change takes time, but by staying connected and prioritizing effectively, we can make meaningful progress.”
Her advice for others navigating similar roles is to focus on building trust, staying flexible, and communicating the “why” behind organizational changes. These principles have helped her drive alignment and engagement, even in the face of resistance to change.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Medical Excellence
As the pharmaceutical industry continues to evolve, Lori sees significant opportunities for Medical Affairs to lead the way in adopting new technologies, particularly in the digital and AI spaces. She highlighted the potential of generative AI tools to enhance data analysis, streamline workflows, and provide actionable insights for field medical teams.
“We’re trying to turn a large cruise ship versus a little tow boat when we try to make change. It’s a work in progress to do that, but I think that’s probably the biggest challenge is really just the scale.” – Lori Long, Sanofi
Her focus on personal development in areas like digital innovation reflects her commitment to staying ahead of industry trends and ensuring Sanofi remains a leader in Medical Affairs.
Conclusion
Lori Long’s work at Sanofi is a testament to the transformative power of Medical Excellence. By harmonizing processes, fostering innovation, and leveraging relationships with key opinion leaders, she is helping to shape the future of Medical Affairs. Her story highlights the importance of balancing consistency with flexibility, building trust, and embracing innovation to deliver real-world impact.
For more insights into Medical Excellence, the role of KOLs in advancing healthcare and much more, subscribe to OnPoint: The Medical Excellence Podcast.
To learn how Acceleration Point can support your field medical team and Medical Affairs operations, schedule a meeting with us.
