APAC: The bolts in the medcomms bridge

As we reflect and celebrate the amazing work that we do in medical communications (medcomms) at Inizio Medical, our Asia-Pacific (APAC) team at Nucleus Global would like to take the opportunity to share our pride in the unique role that we play in the region and globally. For colleagues who have not heard of us, we are a team based in Singapore and Australia, with writers supporting a mix of global and regional accounts. We are not just another group of employees based in another location, but the small set of bolts that help link the various beams in the medcomms bridge to accessible and inclusive communications.

Crossing language and cultural barriers

Being a medical writer requires great flexibility – scope, priorities, and deadlines can change at a moment’s notice. This need for flexibility is amplified in the APAC region, which includes >50 countries with diversity in language, cultures, and communication norms. Although clients and authors in APAC are able to communicate in English, research conducted by our APAC team has shown that some may feel more comfortable speaking or writing in their native language.^* Our bilingual (English and Chinese/Malay, among other languages) writers play a critical role in ensuring that the voices of non-native English speakers are heard in meetings and in the development of publications. Awareness of the different Asian cultures also allows us to create a more pleasant and rewarding experience for clients and experts, leading to longstanding partnerships. 

Spanning time zones

With client teams becoming more global and the increased demand for faster turnarounds, it is no longer sufficient to provide coverage over just 14.5 h in a working day (7.5 h for a standard working day, with 0.5 h overlap between the UK and San Francisco time zones). For more than a decade, members of our APAC team have been supporting multiple global accounts across Inizio Medical to extend our services to a 24 h/day coverage. This extended coverage has driven more collaborations with clients and authors in the region, with our APAC writers who work with global teams also providing Client Services support to deliver real-time communications. Importantly, this also enables our teams to meet increasingly demanding timelines, while allowing our colleagues in the UK and US to log off with the peace of mind that projects will continue progressing after they end each day.

Connecting global and regional teams

Cross-regional collaborations help to build team dynamics, expertise, and connections that would otherwise not be possible if we were to work in our own silos. Our experiences from working on global projects provide us with critical insights that are subsequently applied to regional projects, enabling a smoother process with internal stakeholder alignment. On the flip side, APAC’s experiences have been helping to shape more inclusive communications at a global level. Many of our writers in APAC are also active in the International Society of Medical Publications Professionals (ISMPP), driving educational activities, developing region-specific guidance on key medcomms deliverables, and contributing to the advancement of our profession to the wider medcomms community in APAC. ^†

For a growing organization like Inizio Medical, a one-size-fits-all approach to medcomms is no longer sufficient if we want to remain competitive. Our APAC team commits to delivering scientific and medical information that is culturally relevant, accessible, respectful, and inclusive for different audiences. We may not be a very large team, but we are definitely beaming with pride over the many small differences we make to medcomms and Inizio Medical. Happy Medcomms Day!

* Research undertaken by the APAC team: Carruthers A, et al. Curr Med Res Opin 2024;40(10):1809–1819.

^† ISMPP publications with contributions from Nucleus Global APAC include: Hesp B et al. BMC Res Notes 2025;18:382; Hesp B et al. AMWA 2025;40(2).