Analyst/Medical Writer

 Role Summary

• Responsibilities: You will work on projects that involve the detailed analysis and presentation of data from clinical trials, which are instrumental to the successful uptake of novel therapies 
• Salary: £39,000 per annum
• Benefits: Discretionary profit share bonuses, hybrid working options that allow you to work from home up to 50% of your time after passing probation, generous holiday allowance, flexible working hours, employer pension contributions, comprehensive travel insurance, private medical insurance, critical illness cover, income protection, full funding for external training, interest-free travel loan scheme, discounted gym memberships, and more 
• Role Type: Full-time, permanent
• Start Date: We are predominantly recruiting for start dates throughout 2024 and 2025, which occur on a monthly basis
• Location: This role is available in our Global Headquarters in Cambridge, as well as our London, Manchester and Bristol offices. Please note office space in London is severely limited until we move to our new office in late 2024, so alternative working arrangements may need to be made in the short term

About the Role

Analysts and Medical Writers work on projects involving the detailed analysis of data from clinical trials and the assimilation and creative presentation of this analysis in different formats. These deliverables include posters, slide sets, value dossiers, reports and peer-reviewed publications, and they are used directly by our clients in communication with a range of external stakeholders, making them instrumental to the successful uptake of novel therapies. The work is structured on a project-by-project basis and you will usually be working on several projects in different disease areas at any one time.

You will work in project teams alongside experienced colleagues, who provide one-to-one training in the technical aspects of the role, including project management and effective client communication. Delivering project work requires close collaboration with clients, and following a successful induction period you will increasingly participate in teleconferences and face-to-face meetings with external stakeholders.

Costello Medical is structured into divisional teams focusing on distinct medical communications and health economics services, or serving a specific sector within the healthcare industry. If you have an interest in joining a specific division, you will be encouraged to specify this in your application form. On joining the company, you will be assigned a “home” division based on factors such as your interests and skills and our current business need. However, where possible, Analysts and Medical Writers work cross-divisionally with at least one additional division to develop a broad understanding of the company’s services and clients.

•  Market Access. Within the healthcare sector, the Market Access process is essential to ensuring that medicines are reimbursed and rapidly made available to patients who need them. Our Market Access team supports a wide range of clients in developing the communication strategy essential to demonstrating the clinical and economic value of some of the newest, most innovative therapies in development. Our work is multidisciplinary, often beginning with evidence generation in the form of literature reviews, advisory boards with clinicians and payers, or economic modelling, to inform the development of global materials that present an evidence-based account of the product’s value in a compelling and accessible manner. These materials are used by our clients for the creation of further regional materials, ensuring that the product communication strategy is consistent across local market’s pricing and reimbursement submissions. As a result, our work has a direct impact on patient access to medicines worldwide. We also create local materials, from reports to help our clients understand the marketplace that their products will be entering, through to leave-pieces to educate payers about the budget and resource implications of new, high-impact medicines coming to market. A role in the Market Access division suits those who are passionate about patient access to healthcare and are fast-learners, with a strategic, problem solving mindset coupled with exceptional writing skills
•  HTA. By joining the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) division you will work on the successful delivery of projects to demonstrate the clinical and health economic value of some of the newest and most innovative therapies in development. In countries where HTA represents the final hurdle before a new therapy can achieve patient access, your work will have a direct impact on the successful reimbursement of these therapies. You will work closely with your clients to develop the HTA strategy for each project from the outset and will use your excellent written communication skills and scientific understanding to create clear, evidence-based, and strategic narratives to help demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of new therapies to the healthcare system. To date, the HTA team at Costello Medical have worked on over 100 submissions to national reimbursement agencies, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK, the European HTA agency EUnetHTA and Singapore’s Agency for Care Effectiveness (ACE). No prior experience or knowledge of economics is required (though there is considerable opportunity to develop knowledge of health economics in the role), but good numerical skills, the ability to critically appraise clinical evidence and strategic thinking are key to the role
•  Medical Affairs. Medical Affairs provides the scientific bridge between clinical development and commercial functions in pharmaceutical and device companies. Most activities have a strong patient and/or healthcare professional (HCP) focus, and act to educate and inform clinical decision making and patient care, or to gather insights that inform a product’s clinical development. As a member of the Medical Affairs team, you will work closely with our clients to present the ‘science behind the product’ through a wide range of projects including medical education events, advisory boards and medical information materials. You will collaborate with and support expert advisors and event speakers, and the requirement for on-site support at certain events provides opportunities for international travel. You will develop a complementary set of strong scientific, creative and writing skills, as well as the opportunity to become extremely knowledgeable about the therapy areas in which you work. The ability to creatively present scientific information to a wide range of audiences would be valuable in this role
•  Literature Reviews and Synthesis. Literature Reviews and Synthesis projects involve the identification of clinical, economic and real-world evidence to support the value of a pharmaceutical product or medical device. Our work includes rigorous systematic literature reviews that can be used to inform meta-analyses and network meta-analyses, as well as more creative and pragmatic evidence reviews to inform clients’ strategic decisions with regard to clinical development or market access. You will gain a thorough understanding of how to conduct various kinds of evidence review from searching to interpretation of results, ensuring that the reviews conform to industry guidelines where applicable. You will also be involved in writing up the methods and results of the reviews into engaging reports and slide sets. Furthermore, as original research in their own right, we publish many of our reviews as conference presentations or journal publications. This role suits those who are passionate about the concept of evidence-based medicine, have excellent attention-to-detail and organisational skills, and a talent for communication.
•  Publications. As a member of the Publications team you will work closely with clients and world-renowned opinion leaders to produce publications that communicate key scientific and clinical data to a wide audience. This includes the development of abstracts and manuscripts, as well as posters and oral presentations for large international congresses, with the opportunity to provide on-site support at such events. In addition, you may have the chance to work on regulatory documents, plain language summaries and policy-related publications. You will receive one-to-one training on the technical aspects of the role, including good publication practice and strategic publication planning. This role is for those looking to apply their scientific writing and creative skills to deliver high-impact publication projects to a wide range of clients
•  Rare Diseases. To date, over seven thousand rare diseases have been identified but only four hundred have an approved treatment; our specialised Rare Diseases team supports this sector in overcoming the unique challenges they face, such as an urgent need to bring treatments to patients, little clinical or health economic evidence and limited understanding of the condition across the clinical community and society as a whole. By joining this team, you will develop the appropriate skills and deliver projects that require a broad range of technical expertise and knowledge across all of our service offerings, including literature reviews, the development of global economic models and publications, and the organisation of medical education events. You will also have the opportunity to work on some of the most cutting-edge treatments, such as gene therapies, supporting patients in accessing potentially lifechanging treatments. This is an exciting time to join our growing Rare Diseases team and to apply your exceptional written and technical skills to the rare diseases field, leading to a measurable impact on access to novel, often life-extending, treatments for rare disease patients
•  MedTech. Manufacturers of medical devices face different challenges to pharmaceutical companies, and therefore we have a dedicated team that supports this distinct sector of the healthcare industry. Our team helps medical device manufacturers in bringing new technologies to market, and communicating the value of their brand. By joining this team, you will gain an understanding of the delivery of all our service offerings, with a focus on conducting literature reviews, compiling evidence summaries, creating key value messages and developing evidence-based customer-facing materials (such as brochures, apps and health economic tools). You will work in a growing team and develop strong relationships with clients, being able to support them through all aspects of their work. You will also help refine newer services for the team and attract new clients. A strong interest in medical devices is essential for the role, along with a flexible nature to accommodate the various needs of clients, and the ability to compellingly communicate the value of a product to a wide range of audiences
•  Real-World Evidence. Real-world evidence (RWE) is becoming increasingly important for the demonstration of clinical and economic value of pharmaceuticals and medical technologies. Our RWE team contribute to the design, execution and subsequent reporting of prospective, retrospective or cross-sectional real-world studies. They develop protocols and statistical analysis plans (in collaboration with our Statisticians, clients and external experts), acquire and analyse data, and communicate the methodologies and results in both written and oral formats. Studies include data from patient registries, claims databases, prospective studies or any other source of real-world data, and involve a wide range of research questions on burden of disease, clinical effectiveness or economic topics, among others. As one of our most recently established divisions, this is an exciting time to join our growing RWE team; you will play a key role in shaping the future of Costello Medical’s RWE service offering by delivering high-quality real-world studies that can make a meaningful impact in a wide range of disease areas. The role would be well-suited to someone with an interest in epidemiology or biostatistics, although no formal background in these areas is required
•  Pro Bono. Our Pro Bono division delivers projects free-of-charge to charities and not-for-profit organisations within the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors, with the aim of making a real difference to causes that our staff care about. We offer our full range of services on a pro bono basis, working collaboratively across our divisions and office locations to secure the right expertise to fulfil project briefs. By joining as an Analyst within our Pro Bono division, you will develop the appropriate skills and deliver projects that require a broad range of technical expertise and knowledge across our service offerings, including health economics, literature reviews, medical writing, peer-reviewed publications, medical education and design materials
•  Health Policy. Communications play a central role in health policy, helping to inform policy change at both the local and global level. At Costello Medical, our team provide end-to-end support on a diverse range of health policy projects to address unmet needs, promote best practice and, ultimately, enhance the quality of care for patients. We combine a strong scientific understanding, passion for health policy, ability to tailor language to different target audiences, and in-house design skills to develop impactful health policy publications
•  Health Economics and Statistics. As an Analyst in our Health Economics and Statistics (HES) division, you will work on projects involving the statistical analysis of data and the development of economic models, as well as the communication of the relevant methods and results to clients in a variety of formats, such as reports and slide decks. Health economics projects involve developing economic models that determine whether interventions are good value for money and/or provide an affordable treatment option to the healthcare system. Statistics projects involve analysing patient-level clinical trial data, observational study data, real-world data and published aggregate data to answer particular questions about relevant treatments; for example, whether one treatment is more effective than another in terms of a given outcome. When working as an Analyst on these projects, you will support the health economists who develop these models and the statisticians who analyse the data. This could involve writing up protocols and reports, searching and validating model inputs and providing input to the validity of model structures or assumptions used in statistical analysis from a clinical or scientific perspective

Hybrid Working Policy: We recognise that home-working can improve work life balance, reduce commuting times and costs, and provide the opportunity to juggle personal commitments. At the same time, we believe that having face-to-face time in the office holds many benefits and is central to ensuring that the community we have created, where people have a workplace they belong to and feel part of, is never lost.

Therefore, we offer flexible working arrangements that allow our colleagues who have passed probation to work from home for up to half of the time, measured across a 2-week rolling period. During your probationary period (normally the first 6 months of the role) you will be able to work from home for 1 day per week.

Career Profile

We offer many opportunities for personal and professional development at Costello Medical. Please click below to read firsthand accounts from our colleagues about their time with the company: https://www.costellomedical.com/careers/working-at-costello-medical/

A Day in the Life of an Analyst or Medical Writer

Our colleagues in the Analyst and Medical Writer roles have shared their experiences of their day to day lives at Costello Medical. Please click here to learn more: https://www.costellomedical.com/careers/working-at-costello-medical/