You may read “goals” and think: product launches, ROI, faster sales cycles. While these macro goals are certainly important, it's also beneficial to set micro goals related to a key component of your life science organization: your medical, legal, regulatory review (MLR review) process. If you’re not goal-setting within your MLR and medsci team, you’re missing out on two key benefits:
Goals create cohesion within your MLR and MRC teams
Shared goals create alignment across medical, legal, and regulatory functions — a well-documented driver of team performance. Research on team goal setting shows that clear objectives can increase productivity and engagement and strengthen cohesion, which is vital for cross-functional workstreams like MLR.
Even if your marketing, medical, legal, and regulatory departments have differing opinions when it comes to the MLR or medical information review process, establishing shared goals will create alignment, clarity, and accountability–key aspects of efficient and effective MLR and MRC teams.
For example, let’s say your MLR goal is to focus on developing and publishing quality pieces. In that case, your MLR team would know where to focus their efforts–on creativity, accuracy and attention to detail. Alternatively, if your shared goal is around improving compliance, everyone can expect a certain rigor when it comes to regulatory reviews. No matter your goals, ensure everyone is on the same page. Identify an individual within your team, such as your process owner, to hold the team accountable and share progress.
Goals help you improve your MLR or medsci review process
Improving and optimizing your MLR process over time requires a deep understanding of your current process and primary barriers to success. If you’re just starting out with MLR goal-setting, take a look at current process data to glean insights around where to focus improvement efforts and what goals need to be set.
When crafting your MLR goals, be realistic around feasibility. Instead of focusing on how to achieve lofty, dramatic numbers, focus your goals on incremental, measurable progress your team can actually achieve to improve your process over time. Consider goals tied to metrics such as:
- Time to review a piece of content
- Number of revisions or circulations
- First pass acceptance rate or percentage
Make a habit of reviewing your goals quarterly, adjusting them based on real data, and linking them to business outcomes such as speed-to-market and risk mitigation. Integrated MLR processes, supported by goals tied to measurable performance, will be your competitive advantage in 2026 and beyond.
Remember: goal-setting is not a perfect science. It’s okay to fumble. Be patient and problem-solve as you go. You’ll be amazed at how this shared exercise, and shared goals, will benefit your MLR or MRC teams in both the short- and long-term.