Medical affairs is at an inflection point. As science advances and healthcare professionals gain access to information in real time, medical teams face a mandate to deliver insight with greater speed, relevance and impact.

In this episode of The Top Line, Josh Schwartz, Vice President of Medical Affairs, North America at BeOne Medicines, and Jalpa Shah, who leads the medical and evidence practice at ZS Pharma discuss what a modern medical affairs model requires. The conversation explores how the function is becoming a more strategic business driver and why traditional measures of activity are no longer enough to demonstrate value.

The episode examines the structural challenges that continue to hold organizations back, including fragmented data systems, limited visibility into insights and the difficulty of translating engagement into measurable outcomes. It also looks at how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping workflows by helping teams generate insights faster, identify trends and inform next best actions.

The discussion also considers the capabilities, operating models and cultural shifts medical affairs teams will need to keep pace with science and influence clinical practice. The central takeaway is clear: Future success will depend less on access to more data and more on the ability to turn intelligence into coordinated action.