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Senior formulation scientist vs medical science liaison

The differences between senior formulation scientists and medical science liaisons can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a senior formulation scientist and a medical science liaison. Additionally, a medical science liaison has an average salary of $145,718, which is higher than the $102,574 average annual salary of a senior formulation scientist.

The top three skills for a senior formulation scientist include dosage forms, scale-up and formulation development. The most important skills for a medical science liaison are patients, medical affairs, and MSL.

Senior formulation scientist vs medical science liaison overview

Senior Formulation ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Yearly salary$102,574$145,718
Hourly rate$49.31$70.06
Growth rate17%17%
Number of jobs48,66857,208
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4141
Years of experience44

What does a senior formulation scientist do?

As a senior formulation scientist, your main aim is to have clinical trials as well as to conduct some tests to compare the reaction of potential customers to that of your previous formulations. You need to design pre-formulation studies. By doing this, you can understand the formulation of different types of medical trials performed. You also need to assist in the pharmaceutical formulation to form a great report for the company.

The main skills which are required to become a senior formulation scientist are observational as well as critical thinking skills. You need to have proper report-making skills so that you can research and analyze the data from your formulations and then condense them into important medical documents. You should be able to communicate clearly to your team members so that they can help and assist you in the formulations as well as develop different ideas.

What does a medical science liaison do?

A medical science liaison (MSL) is a scientific professional who facilitates a working relationship between healthcare companies and leading physicians, researchers, and clinicians. Also referred to as key opinion leaders (KOL), medical science liaisons represent their company to the decision-makers in the medical community as well as to investors and government regulatory agencies. They analyze clinical trends and monitor the scientific literature for new developments in the medical community. Medical science liaisons also prepare medical samples and data to investigate the causes of chronic diseases, pathogens, and toxicity.

Senior formulation scientist vs medical science liaison salary

Senior formulation scientists and medical science liaisons have different pay scales, as shown below.

Senior Formulation ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Average salary$102,574$145,718
Salary rangeBetween $74,000 And $141,000Between $59,000 And $359,000
Highest paying CitySouth San Francisco, CAJackson, TN
Highest paying stateCaliforniaTennessee
Best paying companyExelixisSaint Luke's Health System
Best paying industryManufacturingManufacturing

Differences between senior formulation scientist and medical science liaison education

There are a few differences between a senior formulation scientist and a medical science liaison in terms of educational background:

Senior Formulation ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorPharmacyNursing
Most common collegeDuke UniversityUniversity of Southern California

Senior formulation scientist vs medical science liaison demographics

Here are the differences between senior formulation scientists' and medical science liaisons' demographics:

Senior Formulation ScientistMedical Science Liaison
Average age4141
Gender ratioMale, 81.2% Female, 18.8%Male, 41.6% Female, 58.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.6% Asian, 26.4% White, 53.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.5% Asian, 23.4% White, 56.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between senior formulation scientist and medical science liaison duties and responsibilities

Senior formulation scientist example responsibilities.

  • Identify 10 leads with IC50 o MOA study reveal non-genomic effect though PPAR.
  • Forge and manage collaborative relationships with DoD and academia.
  • Manufacture of supplies for animal bio-studies and GMP supplies for clinical trials.
  • Provide scale-up and tech transfer support to commercial manufacturing facilities through process validation and subsequent manufacturing activities.
  • Generate monthly GMP reports and schedule of GMP training for scientists.
  • Lead feather keratin peptides for cosmetic, leather tanning, bio-adhesive application.
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Medical science liaison example responsibilities.

  • Supervise and analyze medical necessity review of manage care appeals.
  • Develop and manage KOLs resulting in presentations to regional, national and international meetings.
  • Utilize extensive knowledge of medical terminology, ICD-9, HCPCS and CPT coding along with analysis and processing of Medicare claims.
  • Provide pre-launch field support for a novel diabetes compound.
  • Provide drug information to medical professionals and sales force within FDA guidelines.
  • Join Clementine as a trainee BMS and successfully complete training and registration.
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Senior formulation scientist vs medical science liaison skills

Common senior formulation scientist skills
  • Dosage Forms, 15%
  • Scale-Up, 10%
  • Formulation Development, 10%
  • GMP, 7%
  • CMC, 4%
  • Data Analysis, 4%
Common medical science liaison skills
  • Patients, 11%
  • Medical Affairs, 9%
  • MSL, 7%
  • Medical Science, 6%
  • Pharmaceutical Industry, 5%
  • Internal Stakeholders, 4%

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