This article provides a brief overview of the various ways to create communication tools from a single clinical article.
The question, which could hold cultural significance, becomes particularly important in the context of communication for companies in the life sciences and personal care sectors. Companies in this field—whether dealing with pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, supplements, or other products—experience clinical data from two different perspectives, effectively envisioning it as a Janus figure: on one side, there is the need to generate clinical data within a product validation context to ensure it is indeed safe and effective as required (leading to its regulatory significance); on the other, clinical data demonstrating safety and efficacy serves as the “seal” of truth regarding the product’s communication.
The clinical article exists in between these two poles. It is a “noble” object (as it is published), yet while it contributes substance to both product validation and related communication, it does so with limited effectiveness regarding either. From the standpoint of product validation, research and development, and regulatory affairs, the article belongs to the past: before its publication, the data had already been collected, the study results were already known, and they had been interpreted within the company for their significance in terms of product validation and regulatory weight. Conversely, in commercial communication, it is well known that the article alone will serve little, if anything: left with a physician, it typically gathers dust on their desk; included in a sales representative’s manual, if its content is not adequately explained, it will remain just a few lines in a possibly extensive list of bibliographic references.
As with all “intermediate” objects, the article only communicates effectively if transformed and transposed into a form that is closer to one of the two poles where it can find its true value. Let’s explore a few examples in the brief list that follows.
The World of Validation/Regulatory
- Summary Report: A point-by-point technical summary that recaps clinical results, their significance in relation to the clinical background, and the regulatory implications of the findings for the product in question.
- Data Extraction Form: The extraction of data in the form of schematic and summary models.
- Efficacy Data Table: The product’s efficacy, presented numerically.
- Safety Data Table: The product’s safety, presented numerically.
- Scientific Support for Marketing Claims: Concrete evidence supporting marketing assertions.
- Clinical Compendium: A collection of all clinical evidence established for a specific target population or condition of interest.
The World of Communication
Visual Folder: Available in web or print format, it summarizes the article with a few key claims, accompanied by impactful graphics.
Summary for Clinicians: The core of the article, presented in a specialized and effective language, often in Italian.
Infographic: The article conveyed through images and brief key messages.
Scientific Abstract: A summary devoid of interpretations or comments, maintaining the typical structure of the original work.
Scientific Poster: A static, summary presentation of the results obtained.
Executive Summary: A synthesis of all key results and points from the original work, tailored for decision-makers who may not be experts in the field.
White Paper: An informative document promoting or highlighting the product’s features based on available literature.
Training Presentation for Sales Representatives: Explaining the results to those who will convey them further.
Video Capsules: The article animated—ranging from brief social media clips to comprehensive training tools.
Material for Patients/Users: The main content of the article presented to patients and users in simple, accurate, and effective language.
From this brief description of these objects, it is clear that the possibilities are numerous and fundamentally tied to the destiny we want to give to the collected clinical data: what we want it to express, how we want to convey this content, to whom we want to communicate it, and through which channels. Even minor differences can completely change the nature of the communication or validation object prepared.
To make the most of this “palette” of possibilities, it is necessary to refine and then simultaneously employ various skills. Each of the described objects has, for example, a different text—not only in content (the finished object will highlight certain aspects of the original article while deliberately omitting others) but also in language: this will be adjusted not only for technical terminology but also in tone. This applies to written text and even more so to the graphic transformation of content. The necessity of deploying diverse skills simultaneously in this transformation process means that some of these objects can only be created as a team effort, rather than by a single resource.
