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» Products & Services » » Medical Affairs » Medical Communication

From Congress Investment to Impact: How Biopharma Medical Affairs Teams Plan, Execute, and Demonstrate Excellence

Medical Congress Investment

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ID: POP-419

Features:

19 Info Graphics

37 Data Graphics

660+ Metrics

8 Narratives

Pages: 64

Published: 2026

Delivery Format: Shipped


 

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  • STUDY OVERVIEW
  • BENCHMARK CLASS
  • STUDY SNAPSHOT
  • KEY FINDINGS
  • VIEW TOC AND LIST OF EXHIBITS
Medical Affairs organizations face growing pressure to justify congress investment and demonstrate strategic value while navigating constrained budgets and increasingly complex stakeholder environments. Despite congresses remaining a cornerstone of scientific exchange, many organizations struggle to translate participation into measurable business impact—leaving significant value unrealized and ROI difficult to defend at the executive level.

Video Brief:


Developed by Best Practices, LLC, this benchmarking research uncovers how leading biopharma Medical Affairs teams are approaching congress strategy, execution, and performance measurement. Drawing on insights from 32 Medical Affairs executives across 24 companies, the report examines how organizations structure congress programs, define ownership, engage KOLs and investigators, allocate spend, measure outcomes, and align Medical and Commercial functions to maximize congress impact. This research also explores how technology and AI are enabling operational breakthroughs in insight generation, real-time KPI tracking, and post-congress pull-through.

The findings equip Medical Affairs leaders to build more accountable, outcome-focused congress programs that strengthen organizational alignment, elevate stakeholder engagement, and position Medical Affairs as a strategic driver of scientific and enterprise success.

What You'll Learn From This Report:

  • How leading Medical Affairs teams determine which congresses merit investment
  • Benchmarks for congress portfolio size, staffing levels, and budget allocation
  • The KPIs top-performing organizations use to measure congress success
  • Best practices for KOL engagement, booth effectiveness, and insight generation
  • Strategies for improving Medical–Commercial alignment before, during, and after congresses
  • How leading organizations are leveraging AI and technology to improve congress planning, execution, and impact
Industries Profiled:
Biopharmaceutical; Pharmaceutical; Manufacturing; Biotech; Consumer Products; Diagnostic; Medical Device; Health Care; Consulting; Clinical Research; Laboratories


Companies Profiled:
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals; ArriVent BioPharma; AstraZeneca; Bayer; BeOne Medicines; Biogen; Eisai; ImmunityBio; Insmed; Ipsen; Jazz Pharmaceuticals; Libbs; Merck; Novartis; OM Pharma; Organon; Otsuka Pharmaceutical; Precision AQ; Rigel Pharmaceuticals; Sanofi; Santen Pharmaceutical; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company; Vantive; Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Study Snapshot

Best Practices, LLC engaged 32 Medical Affairs leaders from 24 biopharma companies. The research team also conducted deep-dive interviews with select participants to capture additional insights on how Medical Affairs teams are planning, executing, and measuring the impact of their congress engagement programs.

Key topics covered in this report include:

  • Congress Portfolio Sizing and Selection Criteria
  • Congress Execution: Tactics, Booth Strategy, and KOL Engagement
  • Budget Allocation and Spend Benchmarks
  • KPIs, Performance Metrics, and ROI Measurement
  • Medical–Commercial Collaboration and Alignment
  • Technology, AI, and Post-Congress Insight Pull-Through

Key Findings

Select key insights uncovered from this report are noted below. Detailed findings are available in the full report.
  • Congress Value Is Recognized, But Proving ROI Remains the Central Challenge: Congresses remain a cornerstone of Medical Affairs strategy, yet demonstrating quantifiable ROI continues to elude most organizations. Only 31% of large pharma leaders rate their congress programs positively—compared to 71% of mid/small pharma—revealing a widespread gap between investment and measured impact that demands a shift from activity tracking to outcome-based measurement.

  • Medical–Commercial Collaboration Drives Measurably Better Congress Results: When Medical and Commercial teams co-own congress budgets and planning, every core performance metric improves—including booth visitors, KOL meetings, information requests, and insights gathered. Medical leaders predict insights generation capability as the #1 growth area over the next five years (+70 weighted score), with Medical–Commercial collaboration a close second (+66).

  • Technology and AI Are Emerging as Key Competitive Differentiators: Early adopters of congress management technology—including meeting scheduling platforms, real-time insight capture, and post-congress analytics—are gaining measurable competitive advantage. As congress footprints are predicted to shrink and the emphasis on outcomes intensifies, the ability to generate, capture, and act on data-driven congress insights will separate industry leaders from laggards.

Table of Contents

Sr. No.
Topic
Slide No.
I. Executive Brief: Six Imperatives for Medical Congress ExcellencePg. 3
II. Study BackgroundPg. 4
III. Executive SummaryPg. 7
IV. Key Study Highlights: Strategic Alignment; Effective Presence; and Technology, AI & Critical ToolsPg. 16
V. Impacting Medical Success across the Congress LifecyclePg. 25
VI. Challenges & Opportunities; Booth Content & Effectiveness, KPIs & ImpactPg. 41
VII. Congress Resourcing; Collaboration with Commercial; and The Future of Congress ExcellencePg. 49
VIII. About Best Practices, LLCPg. 64

    List of Charts & Exhibits

    I. Study Background

    • Project background and research methodology
    • Participating benchmark companies
    • Benchmark response demographics: organization size and therapeutic area segmentation

    II. Executive Summary

    • The big picture: Key themes reshaping congress value and engagement
    • What separates high performers from the rest
    • Persistent barriers and untapped opportunities
    • The path forward: Strategic imperatives for congress excellence
    • Congress Excellence Framework: From operational success to strategic impact
    • Alignment disconnect: How organizational gaps undermine congress value perception
    • Congress evolution and the Medical value arc

    II. Key Study Highlights: Strategic Alignment; Effective Presence; and Technology, AI & Critical Tools

    • Self-assessment of medical congress programs: Performance, competitive standing, and footprint sizing
    • Criteria driving congress attendance decisions
    • Congress selection: Tier 1 and niche congress portfolio sizing – Total benchmark class and large vs. mid-small pharma segment
    • Defined ownership: Single accountable owner for congress strategy
    • Organizational alignment between Medical and Commercial under single-owner congress strategy
    • Sentiment shift by organization size: Achieving positive outcomes linked to congress attendance
    • Achieving positive congress impact: ROI confidence and insights influence
    • Defining congress success and communicating impact successfully

    III. Impacting Medical Success across the Congress Lifecycle

    • Impacting Medical success across the congress lifecycle
    • Effective pre-congress activities and preparation tactics
    • Top pre-congress activities and preparation tactics by organization size
    • Effective technology and tools for pre-congress planning
    • Top engagement tactics at congresses
    • Most effective engagement formats by organization size
    • Most impactful tactical differentiators for driving high KOL engagement during congresses
    • Tactical differentiators during congresses by organization size
    • Most impactful booth differentiators for driving KOL engagement
    • Top booth differentiators by organization size
    • Booth success stories: location, immersive content, and unique engagement strategies
    • Congress spend categories: Tier 1 and niche congress budget breakdown
    • Top post-congress follow-up activities with HCPs and KOLs
    • Top post-congress follow-up activities by organization size
    • Technology and tools for peri- and post-congress planning

    IV. Challenges & Opportunities; Booth Content & Effectiveness; and KPIs & Impact

    • Barriers to congress success: top challenges by ranking
    • Barriers to congress success by organization size
    • Industry-average per-unit congress spend across core Medical Affairs outputs
    • Per-unit congress spend: large pharma vs. mid-small pharma comparison
    • Congress impact assessment: Most important KPIs for measuring success
    • Congress impact assessment by organization size
    • Engagement-to-Impact Ladder: How Medical Affairs teams define congress success

    V. Congress Resourcing; Collaboration with Commercial; and The Future of Congress Excellence

    • Active medical engagement: Frequency of MSL and director participation at congresses
    • Leadership participation at congresses by organization size
    • Congress footprint: Average staff sent to Tier 1 and niche congresses
    • Congress budgets: Average spend per Tier 1 congress and total annual budget
    • Spend breakdown: Tier 1 vs. niche congress spend comparison
    • Spend breakdown: Tier 1 congress spend by category
    • Spend breakdown: Tier 1 congress spend by category and organization size
    • Spend breakdown: niche congress spend by category
    • Spend breakdown: Niche congress spend by category and organization size
    • Joint ownership: Medical–Commercial shared responsibility for key congress activities
    • Joint ownership at large pharma: Medical–Commercial collaboration by activity
    • Joint ownership at mid-small pharma: Medical–Commercial collaboration by activity
    • The future of congress excellence: Predicted growth areas over the next five years
    • Future trends and predictions by organization size: large vs. mid-small pharma

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