While the summer hiring slump (and other bad news for the pharma industry) continues, today I’m zooming in on a specific role, the Medical Science Liaison (MSL). I'll discuss what MSL hiring patterns can reveal about strategic moves inside pharma companies.

MSLs act as field-based scientific experts, educating physicians and other stakeholders about a company’s products. The role often requires a PhD, involves heavy travel, and is widely seen as one of the more lucrative positions for life science professionals.

Who is hiring MSLs?

Over the past six months, 33 of the 59 companies I’m tracking have posted Medical Science Liaison positions, totaling 897 roles. The top companies hiring MSLs are:

• Takeda (156)
• GSK (141)
• Johnson & Johnson (88)
• Novartis (84)
• Sanofi (68)

Takeda leads the pack, with a sharp burst of postings between May and June. These roles are concentrated in Dermatology (105), followed by Gastroenterology (26), Oncology/Hematology (17), and general roles (8).

This surge aligns with Takeda’s December 2024 announcement that it expects six Phase 3 readouts and three NDA filings in 2025–2026. The hiring pattern suggests they’re preparing to launch zasocitinib (for psoriasis) and rusfertide (for polycythemia vera), among other pipeline assets, a strong signal that medical affairs is ramping up to support commercialization.

Salary Distributions

MSL salaries remain high across the board. Based on the midpoints of posted salary ranges, the median is $193K.

The top salary ranges were posted by Pfizer for an "Advanced Medical Engagement Lead" role, which ranged from $204K–$341K and $242K–$403K across postings. The lowest came from Takeda, with a broad range between $108K–$170K.

Companies offering median salaries above $200K include Merck, Novartis, Neurocrine Biosciences, Genentech, and Gilead.

This was a different kind of post than usual.

Want more like this? I can dig into other roles (like HEOR, clinical development, or regulatory affairs), highlight specific companies, or explore how hiring maps to product pipelines.

Let me know what you’d find useful — reply here or email me at nick@pharmapaywatch.com.