Beyond the silo: the importance of cross-functional perspective in pharma

By Chris Toller, expert trainer of the Inside Pharma course

A pharmaceutical company is essentially a chain of highly specialised functions. Each has its own expertise, its own goals and its own priorities. But no function can operate in isolation – plans and decisions made in one part of the company can have important implications – both positive and negative – for others.

Decisions regarding study populations and endpoints made by clinical development are not only important to meet planned regulatory submissions, but will also affect the terms of any licensing agreements, the scientific data medical affairs can discuss with clinicians, the competitive claims made by marketing and the outcome of market access negotiations with payers.

No matter where our primary area of responsibility in pharma, our decisions will impact colleagues across the organisation. As a result, cross-functional understanding is a core skill in every role: ensuring we have a clear vision of the whole pharma model from future vision to R&D, clinical and regulatory, medical affairs, commercial and access. What are their challenges and ambitions? How can their actions and strategies affect you? How can your expertise impact their goals? Better understanding of responsibilities and challenges is critical to cross-functional excellence.