Careers, client partnerships and the evolution of Medical Communications: A conversation with Dave Andrews & Cora Carolan
The Science. Strategy. Solutions. Podcast is a new series from Bioscript Group, bringing together perspectives on how scientific and medical information is communicated and understood across medical communications, market access and regulatory writing.
In the first episode, we sit down with two of Bioscript Group’s senior scientific leaders: Dave Andrews, Chief Scientific Officer, and Cora Carolan, Managing Director, Medical Communications. Together, they reflect on their career journeys, what drew them into medical communications, how the industry has evolved, and what effective partnership looks like in today’s complex pharma environment.
Their conversation circles a simple theme: progress comes from understanding the client’s world and showing up as a partner, not a vendor. That means empathy for pressures and context, clarity on goals, flexibility when priorities shift, and measurable value at each step. The highlights below capture where the industry is heading and how teams can respond with confidence.
Q: What inspired you to pursue a career in medical communications, and what keeps you motivated?
Dave: My career in MedComms wasn’t planned; it was luck, timing and some questionable career choices. I fell sideways into being a medical writer and moved between content generation, business development and account management before ending up here. What keeps me motivated is the people. We work with some of the cleverest people in the industry and collaborate with some of the best physicians in the world. Being able to work across every therapy area and have an opinion that people listen to is a big motivator.
Cora: I started out as a scientist and thought I wanted a clinical or lab-based role. I quickly realised the lab wasn’t for me and moved into PR at Novartis, where I became more interested in the medical communications side. That led me into MedComms as a brand-new Account Executive, and I worked my way through roles in client services, BD, strategy and agency leadership. What keeps me motivated is the variety. No two days are the same. You might be working on a pitch, solving a client issue, supporting your team or recording a podcast in a basement in Manchester. That variety is what keeps it exciting.
Q: What strategies do you find most effective for engaging clients in the pharma industry?
Cora: It starts with really understanding their world. Their challenges, pressures, expectations and context are all different. When you walk in their shoes and understand their landscape, clients are more open, more willing to partner and more trusting. Authentic partnership comes from empathy and understanding.
Dave: Exactly. To build strong relationships, you have to move beyond delivering tactics. Being a strategic advisor requires credibility, flexibility and the ability to adapt to what the asset, the programme and the team actually need. Effective engagement comes from bringing value at every point, not just ticking boxes.
Q: How has the medical communications industry evolved over the past decade?
Dave: It has evolved massively. When I started, we used dial-up internet, delivered materials via FedEx and had fixed budget cycles. The industry has matured in sophistication, processes, compliance expectations and strategic role. It is no longer just about delivering three advisory boards, ten papers and a symposium. Now we talk about omnichannel engagement, return on investment, metrics, compliance frameworks and patient insight. Communications are no longer something that happens at the end of development; they are integrated throughout the lifecycle.
Cora: The fundamentals of helping physicians do the best for patients remain the same, but the world around us is more complex. Access considerations, global public health, digital transformation and regulatory separation between functions all play a role. I also think our industry now has its own identity and community. We are not just an extension of pharma; we have our own voice and purpose.
Q: What opportunities are there for differentiation among MedComms agencies?
Dave: Differentiation is nuanced. Therapy area expertise matters, but good scientists and communicators should be able to step into any therapy area and add value. The biggest differentiator is partnership. Agencies that demonstrate consistent value, flexibility and long-term thinking stand out. It’s not about one USP; it is about being able to show measurable impact and meaningful approaches that support the needs of clients and assets.
Cora: And it’s about being human. Clients want partners who are open, collaborative and able to adapt. Budgets move, priorities shift and challenges change quickly. Agencies that are resilient, proactive and genuinely invested in the client relationship make the biggest impact.
Q: How has digital transformation impacted MedComms, and what future trends do you see?
Dave: The amount of data being generated is growing exponentially, and our role is to find the meaning in that data. AI is now part of molecule discovery, content generation and insight development. We have gone from sending PDFs to talking about omnichannel strategies and measurement. Digital transformation has increased expectations. It pushes us to work faster and more precisely, and although big leaps are rare, small incremental improvements lead to significant progress over time.
Cora: AI feels like a new wave. It is moving faster than anything we have seen before and opens up possibilities for how we synthesise information, design communication journeys and support global public health. But we must adopt it responsibly. Quality, compliance, equity and global access are critical considerations. The exciting part is that we now have more precise tools to help us do all of this better.
What builds trusted, value‑led partnerships
If there’s a throughline to this discussion, it’s that trust is earned through behaviour over time: doing the work to understand context; bringing useful clarity rather than more noise; flexing as needs change; and demonstrating impact, consistently. Agencies that approach relationships this way aren’t just delivering tactics; they’re helping clients make better decisions in a more complex environment.
Episode 1 is the start of that exploration. We’ll continue sharing practical perspectives from across medical communications, market access and regulatory writing as the series develops.
Listen to episode 1
