Speakers:
Dave Andrews
Tom Grant
Catherine Skobe
Guy Yeoman

The emergence of COVID 19 as a major public health issue has highlighted skepticism in science, fuelled by misinformation across various media channels. Industry continues to struggle to educate the general public on the value of biopharmaceutical research, and why there is a need to develop new molecules to treat disease. Medical affairs, medical communications and scientific publications roles communicate evidence and work to build trust in science, but more can be done within the remit of these groups to address the issue of skepticism. Recently, several high-profile journal retractions of COVID articles have generated negative media attention and highlighted issues on data provenance and the role of authors. These events emphasize the need for robust data governance and access to full data sets, all of which come within the remit of the publications professional to influence and safeguard. This session will provide a call to action for our profession and provide several recommendations that can be readily implemented within ones' organization.
Learning objectives:

• Understand how skepticism and mistrust of pharma and science is fuelled by misinformation across media channels, particularly in the current pandemic crisis</p>
• Have practical suggestions on how roles within medical communications can address the issue of skepticism in science, research, and the biopharma industry</p>
• Be able to discuss with colleagues outside of medical communication how the issue of trust can be addressed within their organisation