16. Generative AI in Medical Affairs: Real Use Cases from Merck, Pfizer & Astellas

Update: 2025-06-13

Description

Following a standing-room-only session at the 2025 MAPS Annual Meeting, Acceleration Point CEO Scott Thompson sits down with three industry leaders who are shaping how Generative AI is being applied inside Medical Affairs today—not in theory, but in practice.

Wendy Fraser (Merck), Annamaria Crisan (Pfizer), and Rishi Ohri (Astellas Pharma) share real-world examples, critical lessons, and hard-won truths from piloting Gen AI across Field Medical teams, Medical Information, HEOR, and Omnichannel. They discuss personal productivity, process improvement, clinical risks, compliance pitfalls, and how to build trust—both with your technology and your teams.

If you're exploring how to scale Gen AI within a regulated environment, this is your roadmap.

🔹 Key Takeaways:

• Start with Low-Risk, High-Impact Use Cases

• Human-in-the-Loop is Essential for Quality & Trust

• Prompt Engineering is a Leadership Priority

• Compliance Buy-In Starts with Demonstrating Quality

• Modular, Fit-for-Purpose AI Beats “One Size Fits All”

Connect with the guests on LinkedIn:

Wendy Fraser: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-fraser-86316710

Rishi Ohri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rishiohri

Annamaria Crisan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annamaria-crisan-b0018a17

[00:00 ] Why Gen AI? Why Now?

[04:00 ] Defining the Problems to Solve

[08:00 ] Three Buckets of Use Cases

[12:00 ] Real Examples: What’s Working (and What’s Not)

[28:00 ] Risks, Trust & Compliance in a Regulated World

[36:00 ] Scaling Gen AI Without Breaking Workflow

[47:00 ] Upskilling & What Leaders Are Learning Next