Accelerating the content lifecycle: A 7-step guide for AI in MLR

In the rapidly evolving landscape of the life sciences industry, artificial intelligence (AI) is moving away from experimentation and taking its place as a strategic asset to biopharmas. However, for many organisations the path to achieving measurable, lasting value remains obscured by unfocused pilots or overly complex solutions that fail to integrate into daily workflows. These challenges often lead to poor adoption and limited return on investment.

To bridge this gap, a new approach is emerging: embedding industry-specific, agentic AI directly into the platforms professionals use every day. By integrating AI agents into medical, legal, and regulatory (MLR) processes, organisations can transform content lifecycle management to a faster, scalable, and more compliant workflow to meet today’s content demands.

Moderna recently went live with Veeva AI for PromoMats, a solution built directly into the Vault Platform to increase productivity by automating tasks. Moderna’s journey offers a pragmatic blueprint for biopharmas looking to move beyond experimentation and realise the tangible benefits of AI, resulting in faster delivery of compliant treatment information to healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients.

Redefining the review process with industry-specific agents

The MLR review process is frequently talked about as a primary bottleneck. AI is now moving from a theoretical concept to a practical tool that addresses this by automating repetitive, manual tasks. This shift allows highly skilled professionals to focus their expertise on high-risk content, ultimately improving both quality and compliance.

According to findings from a Veeva AI for PromoMats focus group involving leaders from 10 biopharmas, industry experts expect 38% of the MLR process to be AI-driven by 2028. The first of these agents, Quick Check Agent and Content Agent, are now available. Quick Check Agent scans materials against editorial and compliance guidelines before submission, while Content Agent provides context-aware insights, summarises text, and analyses visuals to assist reviewers.

Jason Benagh, global marketing operations director at Moderna and an early adopter of the technology, noted the impact of this collaborative development: “We're going to be able to do more work with the same amount of people with Veeva AI, and that's important as we have ambitions for many more products over the next few years.”

A strategic guide to AI adoption

Moderna’s transformation experience can be distilled into seven strategic steps for implementing AI in MLR:

1. Adopt a humanistic mindset

While Moderna maintains a digital-first culture, they recognise that the full value of AI is 30% about the technology and 70% about people and process. Keeping AI as a human-centric technology, as per the AI Act 2024/1689, treats AI as an assistant that amplifies human work, rather than replacing it. In this model, the reviewer maintains final accountability, choosing which AI suggestions to apply while the agent handles the heavy lifting of pre-submission checks.

2. Define a clear, strategic vision

Moderna’s objective was to enable a lean MLR team to manage increasing content volumes without expanding headcount. They chose to act when the technology became practical and easy to implement. As Benagh explained, "The biggest opportunity for Moderna is envisioning an almost touch-free review process. That is what we truly hope to achieve with the tool."

3. Set realistic expectations and KPIs

Success in AI adoption often comes from cumulative wins, rather than instant transformation. Moderna established success metrics based on short-term qualitative feedback, such as reviewer trust and usability, and long-term quantitative data regarding process efficiency and accuracy.

4. Gather early user feedback

Involving reviewers early in the process increases trust. Moderna discovered that different users utilise agents for unique, high-value tasks, such as generating alternative compliance language or providing document summaries. They also found that involving external agencies early is critical, as their file-uploading methods directly impact the quality of AI results.

5. Study the roadmap and adapt

Optimal AI performance relies on a strong data foundation. Leaders should not only demo current products, but study the long-term roadmap to prepare their internal data. For Moderna, this meant building a mature claims library in anticipation of future AI capabilities.

6. Test and validate with agency partners

Moderna collaborated closely with its global content partner, Wildtype (an Omnicom Health agency), to validate how AI agents fit into real-world workflows. Agencies can serve as a vital testing ground, helping to reduce friction in the MLR cycle and building confidence that approved content meets every compliance standard.

7. Implement without disruption

Because agentic AI can be embedded directly into existing workflows, technical implementation can be remarkably swift. Benagh noted the simplicity of the rollout: “Implementing Veeva AI was so simple, I told my digital team: ‘I don’t need any digital support – just my team’s project management skills.’ The approval was easy: ‘Go ahead.’”

Looking forward: The future of MLR

The transformation by Moderna demonstrates that successful AI adoption does not require large amounts of resources or complex, multi-year integrations. When agents are purpose-built for the industry and integrated into existing software, the transition is seamless.

In the race to accelerate content delivery, waiting to see what happens may result in lost ground. By implementing these tools now, biopharmas can realise immediate benefits while mapping a vision for the future of compliant, high-quality content.

Watch the interview with Jason Benagh to learn more about why and how Moderna is moving towards a game-changing MLR review process, supported by AI.

About Veeva Systems

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Veeva delivers the industry cloud for life sciences with software, data, and business consulting. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva serves more than 1,500 customers, ranging from the world’s largest biopharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. As a Public Benefit Corporation, Veeva is committed to balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the industries it serves. For more information, visit veeva.com/eu.