Where the medical writing jobs are
Medical-writing jobs can be found through professional contacts, associations, recruiters and searches for employers in a chosen location. The search includes pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, contract research organisations, communications agencies, government and academia, with temporary work offering another route into employment.
People and associations
Professional contacts can help a qualified candidate become known to an employer as reliable and trustworthy. The person already known to a team is often the one who gets the position. Before applying for a posted job, candidates should try contacting people they know at the company or recruiters who work with it. Useful contacts include current and former colleagues and managers, cross-functional colleagues, college friends, professional-association contacts and trusted recruiters.
A network can grow through professional associations, events and online tools, and should expand when a writer changes jobs. Sharing contact details with former colleagues can create connections across many companies as those colleagues move on. A quarterly review and periodic emails can help maintain those connections. Contacts should include administrative assistants, IT professionals and human resources staff as well as senior executives, because any of them may later be able to help.
Networking is recommended as the best route to a job. It involves conversations and relationships, beyond exchanging details or asking a new contact for a job. Aspiring writers should ask about the work, show curiosity, give updates on their progress towards a writing role, ask about what they do not understand and follow up.
AMWA and its local chapters can provide job advertisements, mentors and contacts; an experienced writer approached through LinkedIn or a chapter leader can be a starting point. One regulatory writer found the advertisement for her entry-level job through AMWA. EMWA's website and conferences can also help identify opportunities and connect candidates with recruiters and other writers. Volunteering with EMWA provides another way to meet people.
Types of employer and local searches
Employers of medical writers include the life-sciences industry, contract research organisations, medical communications companies, government agencies and academia. In academia, people writing medical information may hold titles such as postdoctoral researcher or fellow. European employers also include medical-device companies, business consultancies, digital communications companies and technical consultancies.
A search can start with organisations that have a physical presence in the writer's country of residence. Multinational organisations may have offices in several countries and subsidiary agencies with different names from their parent company; for example, the 2025 European employer survey identified PPD as part of Thermo Fisher Scientific.
European employer locations
A survey conducted in late 2023 and published in June 2025 mapped medical-writing employers in continental Europe and Ireland, excluding the UK and countries with limited opportunities outside remote or freelance work. Its 44 responses came through professional networks, LinkedIn, email and social media, and the resulting list was not intended to be exhaustive.
The survey described established medical-writing employment in central and southern Europe, with more limited, emerging opportunities in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. In France, agencies and CROs clustered in Paris while pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies were located in other regions. Ireland's offices were mainly in Dublin, the Netherlands' headquarters in Amsterdam, and Warsaw was emerging as a medical-communications centre. Northern Ireland also had opportunities to work remotely for UK companies. Belgium's biopharmaceutical sector, Germany's mix of industry and service companies, Austria's consultancies and CROs, Switzerland's pharmaceutical, biotechnology and NGO employers, and satellite offices in Spain and Italy provided other locations for the search.
The following employers were listed for central and southern Europe in that survey.
| Country | Agencies and consultancies | Industry | CROs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Emtex Life Science; Modis | AstraZeneca; Bayer AG; C. H. Boehringer Sohn AG and Ko. KG; Roche Pharmaceuticals | 4Clinics; Archer Research; Cropha; ICON; Keyrus Life Science |
| France | Azur Health Science; Evidera; McCann Health (IPG Health); Publicis Health France; Strategik & Numerik; TBWA/Adelphi | Biocorp (Novo Nordisk); Genethon; Genomic Vision; Sanofi; Servier | 4Clinics; Aixial Group; Apices; Biotrial; Excelya; Keyrus Life Science; NAMSA; Veristat (formerly Scinopsis); Venn Life Science (hVIVO) |
| Germany | Co.medical; Cast Pharma; Cerner Enviza; FleishmanHillard; Kyoups; M:werk; McCann Health (IPG Health); Medperion; Trilogy Writing & Consulting | Bayer; BioNTech; Boehringer Ingelheim; Grünenthal; Merck KGaA | ClinStat; ICRC-Weyer; OCT Clinical; Scope International |
| Ireland | Affinity; Edelman; Inizio; InkLab; MedMedia; NIIT; Synergy Vision | Gilead Sciences; Grifols; LetsGetChecked; Novartis; Regeneron | Cromos Pharma; Syneos Health |
| Netherlands | BlueNovius; Excerpta Medica (Adelphi); Medical Digitals; Synterex | AM-Pharma; EuroTrol; Thermo Fisher Scientific (Evidera) | Venn Life Science (hVIVO) |
| Poland | Bioconvey Health Communications; CB Health Spark (IPG Health); HealthWay Medical Communications Sp. z.o.o.; Proper Medical Writing; Publicis Groupe | GSK | JSS Medical Research; ICON; Pharmaxi |
| Austria | DREHM Pharma; Gouya Insights; Medperion; NeuroScios | Boehringer Ingelheim; Med-El | CW-Research & Management; Joanneum Research; SGS; ZAK Clinical Research Services |
| Switzerland | Emtex Life Science; Infinity Communications; MedComms Experts; Medperion; nspm | Idorsia; Johnson & Johnson; Novartis; Roche | None found in this search |
| Spain | CDM Barcelona (Omnicom); Kalispera Medical Writing; PharmaLex; mPhaR | AstraZeneca (Alexion); Bayer Hispania | Apices; MEDSIR; Syneos Health |
| Italy | Alecrìa Healthcare; CDM Milan (Omnicom); Connexia; EDRA S.p.A. | Osmosia S.r.l.; Chiesi; GSK; Medtronic | Syneos Health |
The Nordic employers were listed without classification by employer type.
| Country | Organisations |
|---|---|
| Finland | Bayer; Biocodex; PhaMe |
| Sweden | Sobi; Immuneed; Scandinavian CRO; TFS HealthScience |
| Denmark | Coloplast; Novo Nordisk; Publicis Denmark |
Inizio, MedEngine, Medtronic and LINK Medical were also identified as operating at several Nordic locations. In Eastern Europe, opportunities appeared mainly in CROs, with Budapest an emerging pharmaceutical and support-services centre. Regional examples included ADAX International, Bayer, BiTrial, Comac Medical, Medtronic and Worldwide Clinical Trials. Hungarian employers listed were Syntesia Medical Communications, Cortex Pharma Services, Pharma-Regist and Roche Services & Solutions; AstraZeneca was listed for Ukraine, and Bulgarian Organized Research Activities and Rotrial Contract Research for Bulgaria.
Multinational organisations named in the survey included AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Edelman, Inizio, IPG Health, IQVIA, Omnicom Health Group, Parexel, SanaClis, Syneos Health and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Temporary work and hiring freezes
During the COVID-19 hiring slowdown in 2020, job seekers were advised to reach out proactively to their networks and consider temporary positions or contingency contracts as chances to demonstrate skills an employer might want to retain. Mentioning willingness to consider temporary work or freelancing could attract employers. Short-term contracts could also help employers maintain work during the disruption.
Two writers searching for employment during that disruption found industry roles after a few months of persistence. Their account described hiring freezes, reduced pay, furloughs and job losses, delayed responses to first-quarter applicants, and an increase in openings in the third and fourth quarters, many offered remotely. Recruiters should offer transparency and empathy, and professional contacts should help people who approach them for opportunities.