Medical Advisor at Cipla

Job Purpose

• Provide strategic medical leadership and scientific support to cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment with business objectives and regulatory standards, and enhance patient outcomes

Key Accountabilities 

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Manage engagement with external stakeholders relating to Medical Intelligence to understand current clinical practices, obtain medical guidance and maintain up-to-date knowledge in respective therapy areas, in order to provide valuable insights and medical support to the business
• Build and maintain relationships with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), medical associations, and healthcare professionals.
• Respond promptly to medical inquiries from stakeholders, ensuring accurate and timely information sharing.
• Organize and facilitate advisory boards, expert panels, and scientific events.
• Leverage KOLs for strategy development, training and understanding therapy landscape.

Key Accountabilities 

Knowledge and Development

• Ensure the medical team stays current with evolving standards to support informed decisions, regulatory compliance, and business growth through proactive, expert-driven knowledge management
• Maintain up-to-date expertise in therapeutic areas by monitoring legislative, regulatory, and industry changes.
• Attend CPD events and track emerging medical trends to inform strategy and innovation.
• Provide expert input for special projects and ensure regulatory updates (indications, dosage, safety) are implemented promptly and accurately.

Key Accountabilities 

Compliance

• Ensure all medical activities meet current legal, regulatory, and ethical standards, supporting business objectives and safeguarding patient safety.
• Review and approve promotional, educational, and training materials.
• Oversee Patient Support Programmes (PSPs) to ensure regulatory compliance.
• Approve regulatory documents (e.g., package inserts).
• Participate in audits and ensure corrective actions are implemented.
• Manage medical budget and ensure alignment with approved allocations.
• Oversight of Pharmacovigilance activities conducted by the Qualified Person for Pharmacovigilance (QPPV) or deputy QPPV.

Key Accountabilities

Medical Strategy Input

• Contribute to medical affairs plans and help clarify business opportunities
• Develop and execute medical affairs plans aligned with business objectives.
• Analyse and interpret clinical data to inform product positioning and strategy.
• Prepare and review scientific and promotional materials for accuracy and compliance.
• Deliver medical training to internal teams and healthcare professionals.
• Identify therapeutic gaps and recommend new molecules, devices, or incremental innovations to strengthen the product portfolio, using market analysis

Key Accountabilities (5/5)

Team Capability

• Develop people capabilities to build a goal oriented team
• Develop content and material for medical trainings of internal team and sales team
• Develop induction training program with content for new team members
• Track effectiveness of trainings regularly by means of feedback from the team as well as ROI achieved from them

Key Decisions

Strategic & Scientific Decisions

• Approval of medical content for promotional, educational, and training materials.
• Planning and endorsement of Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities.
• Scientific input into product positioning, lifecycle management, and launch strategies.
• Evaluation and recommendation of new products or therapeutic innovations.

Compliance & Regulatory Decisions

• Final sign-off on materials to ensure alignment with regulatory and ethical standards.
• Oversight of Patient Support Programmes (PSPs) to ensure legal compliance.
• Approval of responses to regulatory queries and updates to product documentation.

Operational & Budgetary Decisions

• Allocation of medical budget and resources to support strategic priorities.
• Recommendations on portfolio development and commercial alignment.

Education Qualification

• MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery) – Preferred and commonly required.
• PhD or MPharm – Accepted with relevant experience.
• Postgraduate qualification in medicine, pharmacy, or healthcare management.
• Registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) – Essential for medical professionals

Relevant Work Experience

• 5–7 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry or related healthcare sectors.
• 2–3 years for candidates with an MD.
• 7–8 years for candidates with a PhD or MPharm.
• Experience in managed care, medical insurance, or clinical research is highly valued