The MAPS EMEA meeting in Zurich brought together around 500 Medical Affairs leaders for three days of cross-functional exchange, practical insights, and valuable networking. I attended for the first time with Scott Collins (Business Development Director).

A packed agenda covered the topics shaping the evolution of Medical Affairs, including:

• Clinical, HEOR, and regulatory strategy

• AI and digital innovation in workflows

• Real-world evidence and patient-centricity

• Medical communications, insights, and launch excellence (via hands-on masterclasses)

One session that stood out was the ‘Global Strategy to Local Reality: Omnichannel’ debate, chaired by Peter Black (OPEN Health), with panelists Wendy Fraser (Merck) and Meena Hansen (Lilly).

Key reflections from the discussion

• Delivering true omnichannel content remains challenging, particularly at affiliate level, with compliance constraints and limited ability to reuse global content.

• Measurement remains a major issue, with around 70% of content not linked to meaningful outcomes.

• A ‘one global approach’ doesn’t translate, with success dependent on local adaptation (regulatory, prescribing, and cultural context).

What’s needed to make omnichannel work?

• Align global and local teams from the outset (across medical and commercial)

• Define clear adaptation frameworks (for example, 80/20 global-to-local balance)

• Build strategies around audience archetypes, not one-size-fits-all

• Ensure platforms and infrastructure are fit for purpose

• Crucially, define success upfront—moving beyond reach to true behavioural impact

The experts made a particularly interesting point: While 92% of pharma still consider reach an important metric, there’s growing recognition that face-to-face engagement (for example, symposia) continues to drive real prescribing impact, yet remains difficult to quantify.

Final thought

Perhaps it’s time to rethink how we define “omnichannel”.

The real goal isn’t channel orchestration — it’s meaningful engagement, insight generation, and a genuine feedback loop.

And as ever, despite the rapid evolution of AI, one thing was clear:

The human element remains central to how we engage with content, and how we measure its impact.