MedComms Day 2022: Celebrating our Global Medical Writing team

At UCB, we are driven by our commitment to people living with severe and rare diseases who inspire our research and development where our expertise, innovation, and ambition align with unmet needs. Today for #MedCommsDay2022, we celebrate the incredible commitment, dedication, and hard work of UCB’s Global Medical Writing team.

MedComms Day started eleven years ago as a small networking event out of the UK for medical communication specialists. It has now evolved into a global opportunity to highlight individuals working in and around the pharmaceutical industry and the invaluable work they provide in the advancement of healthcare. This year, the theme of Illuminate shines a light on the work that we do.

The UCB Global Medical Writing team, including Medical Writers, Medical Writing Specialists, and Narrative Writers are highly‑trained scientists and quality control personnel with expertise in clinical development and regulatory strategy, and their breadth of knowledge of the entire clinical development continuum is truly valued both internally and externally. They are often the “glue” that holds a team together, contributing not only to the generation of high-quality documents, but also carrying forth key messages and contributing to the development and presentation of clinical strategy in our documents. 

There is no "typical day" for a medical writer. The type of work can vary significantly – from deep focus work reviewing a clinical study report, analyzing data tables, or writing a key submission document – to project management and collaborative work with teams developing complex integrated submission timelines, guiding teams to a consensus regarding a document review meeting, or pitching in to assist another team with an unexpected regulatory agency request.

In a recent submission, 18 colleagues authored over 340 narratives in less than 2 months – all while managing other portfolio project priorities – a true example of a high-performing team!

As an organization, we are in a key phase of our long-term strategic growth plan. To ensure our success, we will need to continue to support our strong pipeline while expanding access of medicines to patients. It’s imperative that we are clear on our patient populations and continue to be agile in development. We aim to lead in specific patient populations, breakthrough with the next generation of science where we prioritize the research that goes where the patients lead us and prioritize creating the right conditions for all UCB employees to thrive.

It is imperative that we remain steadfast and focused on these priorities with plans to deliver overlapping global dossiers across multiple regions, a first for UCB. With the increase in demand for the portfolio, our medical writers are working in an agile resourcing model to ensure care for our people, projects, and timelines, which will ultimately enable us to deliver on UCB’s goals and priorities. 

Our colleagues at UCB are driven by a culture of collaboration and curiosity. We value diverse perspectives and backgrounds taking care for each other, for our communities, for the planet, and for the people who inspire and define our purpose. Therefore, on this #MedCommsDay2022 and every day, we thank our incredible Global Medical Writing team who work passionately to create value for people living with severe and rare diseases and work to improve the health and wellbeing of the society in which we live.