ISMPP Highlights
Building an ISMPP Educational Plan to Move Us All Forward
ISMPP consistently provides foundational educational resources for medical publication and communication professionals worldwide. To ensure alignment with the future educational needs of our members and to inform development of a longer-term, dynamic educational plan, the ISMPP Education Task Force launched a needs assessment survey in Q1 2021…
ISMPP-Sponsored Study on PLS Now Published in CMRO Presents Expert Perspectives
A new paper from the ISMPP PLS Perspectives Working Group has been published in Current Medical Research & Opinion. The paper presents findings from an ISMPP-sponsored, evidence-based study reporting on expert stakeholder perspectives to inform best practices for plain language summaries (PLS)…
ISMPP to be Featured in Advancements Television Series in 1Q 2022
ISMPP is honored to be featured in an upcoming episode of Advancements with Ted Danson, scheduled for broadcast in 1Q 2022. The Advancements television segment will present information about the medical publications profession and ISMPP’s role in establishing and maintaining standards for the profession…

Message from Our Leadership
Robert J. Matheis
ISMPP President and CEO
News and Trends
The Public Face of Science: Elevating Trust through Medical Communications – Continuing the Conversation
In any relationship, whether business or personal, transparency breeds trust. Today, despite the life science industry delivering unprecedented vaccine solutions to address the Covid pandemic, mistrust remains engrained in the public persona. Third parties have leveraged that doubt for their own gain…
A Snapshot into Medical Affairs
What does a Medical Affairs team look like at a pharmaceutical/biotechnology company? Is it like a bag of M&M’S® with similar functions, or is it unique from company to company, like a fingerprint? We conducted a survey of ISMPP members in March 2021, that provides insights into what comprises Medical Affairs at pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies…
A Company’s Approach to Developing Publication Plain Language Summaries
Scientific publications tend to be written with a specialized audience in mind… Plain language summaries (PLS) of publications represent a way to communicate research more broadly using everyday language. Pfizer recognized this, and in early 2020 implemented a company-wide process for developing PLS…
What Would You Do?
In our role as medical publication professionals, we may occasionally encounter situations in which it is not obvious how to ensure good publication practice. Have you ever wished you could consult the ISMPP membership for guidance when these situations arise? Here’s your opportunity!
What Would You Do? is a section of The MAP that presents case scenarios as an educational tool for medical publication professionals. The section provides a case scenario to ponder, and readers are invited to participate in a poll by selecting one of the listed solutions. Readers can also submit their thoughts on the scenario anonymously. The poll results, plus educational insights, are posted in a later issue for readers to digest.
Adverse Event Inclusion Just Before Abstract Submission
A medical writer worked with authors to develop a congress abstract for a Phase 2 clinical study. Two days before submission, the lead author requests an additional ‘medical narrative’ statement to be added detailing the management steps and time to resolution of an adverse event seen in one patient. What would you do?

ISMPP (pronounced IzMap) is the only nonprofit organization founded by medical publication professionals for medical publication professionals