OBmedical
Medical Affairs Agency - Olga Bálková
Specialized service based on more than a quarter of a century of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and clinical medicine. I provide professional training for internal staff in various Medical Affairs positions, Sales Representatives and Marketing Experts - Rx and OTC drugs, medical devices, food supplements and in vitro diagnostics. I offer literature analysis, medical writing (including social media) and internal communication of professional topics to staff, incl. video materials. I prepare presentations for healthcare professionals and the general public. I review promotional materials of pharmaceutical products for medical and regulatory accuracy.
Olga Bálková, MD
is a board-certified physician in urology. Since the 90s she has been working in pharmaceutical companies in the field
of Medical Affairs and Product Marketing. She has experience with original and generic companies. She is an expert in medical
marketing of drugs, medical devices, and food supplements. She has spent more than 11 years as an Expert Consultant
in the field of laboratory diagnostics.
She is experienced in Compliance and internal employee Communications. She has delivered over 1,000 presentations on a variety of human medicine topics.
Medical Affairs Service is based on a broad knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry and clinical medicine
Olga Bálková has 30 years of professional experience. After graduating with honours from the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University in Brno, she started as a doctor in a hospital. She successfully passed the certification exam in Urology. While still studying medicine, she completed her internship at the University Hospital in Innsbruck (Austria).
In the pharmaceutical industry, she has worked in both Medical and Marketing departments from the beginning and has gradually worked her way up to Senior Medical Management positions with responsibility for several countries within the EU. She is fluent in English and German, but also can speak Russian, French, Greek and Hebrew.
She has attended hundreds of medical congresses, conferences and seminars in the Czech Republic, EU, USA, Canada, Singapore and Japan. She has organized satellite corporate symposia at many professional congresses and conferences. She is author of a number of professional texts that have appeared in both corporate and medical publications and on social media.
You have a choice
”You can prefer a "reputable" agency or an Experienced Professional with more than 25 years of experience. In the first case, a junior position holder with one-third the knowledge and experience will do the job for you, but at three times the price. In the latter case, both you and your CFO will be satisfied.
Training of pharmaceutical company teams
Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives and Marketing Experts can only be good partners for Healthcare Professionals if they have a good expert
knowledge of their products. And it's not just about drugs. Corporate portfolios include medical devices (including in vitro diagnostics)
or food supplements.
Promotion in the pharmaceutical industry is heavily regulated by legislation. State Authorities keep a close watch on advertising slogans
and do not hesitate to hand out draconian fines for violating legal rules. This is also an area that Commercial Teams have to manage.
And it's not just about specific products. Good Reps and Marketers are aware of a number of diseases. About etiology, diagnostics and treatment.
Education of Commercial Teams is done face-to-face, online or through e-newsletters or short tutorial videos.
Staff training in Medical Departments
People in Medical Advisor or Medical Science Liaison positions have a science background and know a lot about diseases and their treatment.
However, they also need to be educated in the relevant Legislation.
Especially at the beginning of their careers, they can get lost in the Clinical Trial system, Project Management and the management of Key
Opinion Leaders. Presentation and communication skills tend to be their Achilles heel. But these soft skills most often determine
whether their information gets noticed at all.
I have an overview of the various „umbrella“ organisations in the healthcare industry, whether they are professional societies or various
associations in the pharmaceutical industry.
Establishment of a new Medical Department
Without Medical departments, it is not possible for pharma companies to provide quality information and service to either professionals
or the general public. Smaller companies sometimes hire external agencies to handle these processes.
But one day they decide to set up their own local Medical Team. I can offer personal experience in establishing
Medical Departments from scratch, including the creation of a Medical Science Liaison team.
Literature analysis
The information explosion set off by the routine use of the Internet often leads to frustration with the flood of data. Professionals need concrete and understandable Messages. And for pharma employees, that means knowing where and what to look, being able to evaluate the information, and interpreting and communicating it correctly. This is my area of expertise as well.
Writing professional texts for professionals and lay press
Putting something "on paper" is quite a time-consuming activity. At the beginning, of course, is finding relevant professional sources,
analyzing them and drawing conclusions. However, authors must pay attention not only to content but also to form. The chosen form
of communication must correspond to the reader segment.
It must be clear what is being communicated and to whom. I choose the medium and terminology accordingly. All in accordance with
the legislative rules that guide professional texts.
Lectures for Healthcare Professionals, Patients and Users
According to the company need, I can prepare a presentation for Healthcare Professionals (doctors, pharmacists, nurses, laboratory technicians) and Patients or Users of drugs, medical devices and food supplements. All based on your topic, time scale and desired format.
Consultancy and Product Mix setup
Is it worth launching a Product? When, for Whom and under What conditions? These are not just questions for marketers. Before they
start thinking, experts in the Medical Departments of companies must analyse the real therapeutic or diagnostic benefits of new
products. Evaluate competitors, guidelines, medical trends, organize Advisory Boards.
Focusing on „Unmet Medical Needs“ is of great importance today, especially for chronic diseases. Companies are trying to develop
new products to fill the blind spots of human medicine.
Assessing the suitability of a new product for a specific market, indication and target groups takes time. And it is good to ask
an external consultant who can assess the problem independently.
Pre-launch activities
The launch of any pharmaceutical product is just the Final step. What happens before is crucial for sales Success. It's not just about
years of Research and Development. Pharmaceutical companies, especially with original products, spend long months and sometimes years
gradually introducing new products to Healthcare Professionals, especially medical doctors. They select the right Target Groups,
Decision Makers, present the results of clinical trials and the therapeutic or diagnostic significance of new drugs and other
products.
It's both hard work and a long haul.
Control of promotional materials
The European Union has strict legislation governing the content and form of promotional material. Rx drugs must not be advertised to the general public. All promotional claims must be supported by literary sources. In 2021, the medical device field has become very hot. Czech legislation is even stricter than European legislation. And the State Authorities are keeping a close eye on food supplements - no medical claims are allowed in their promotion, but even the permitted health claims are strictly regulated by the influential European Food Safety Authority.
1991
GRADUATION at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University in Brno. I graduated with Honours Degree and heading to the Regional hospital in Trebic.
1998
JAPAN. Internship at the Research centre of the pharmaceutical company Yamanouchi near Tokyo.
90s
marked by continuous Education. Here in Cannes, France.
The beginning of the new millennium
This time, the leaders of the Société International d´Urology gathered in Singapore.
2013
One of hundreds of lectures for doctors and pharmacists.
2021
Hospital habits are not forgotten. They became useful at a Vaccination centre in Prague during COVID-19 pandemia.
