Pharmaceutical Medical Director Salaries

What happens if you search Google for Pharmaceutical Medical Director Salaries? One of the first websites you'll find is Glassdoor:

Here are some numbers from Glassdoor:

• Novartis Pharmaceuticals Senior Medical Director $223,317
• Novartis Senior Medical Director $275,530
• Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Senior Medical Director $272,324

However, take these numbers with a grain of salt because on average, only two (2) people at each company reported a salary figure. Two. That doesn't seem like enough to generate a meaningful average.

At Amgen, there were 6 reported salaries: Medical Director Amgen $222,661

That figure is similar to the average Medical Director salaries reported by UnitedHealth Group (7 reported salaries from UnitedHealth Group employees): $229,086

What about a different source such as Salary.com? Let's look at their "Medical Director Salaries" page (which appears to include data from the Aerospace & Defense, Biotechnology, Business Services, Edu., Gov't. & Nonprofit, Energy & Utilities, Financial Services, Healthcare, Hospitality & Leisure, Insurance, Media, MFG Durable, MFG Nondurable, Pharmaceuticals, Retail & Wholesale industries):

The median annual Medical Director salary is $252,773 with a range usually between $230,915-$277,006. However, the salary for someone with the title Medical Director may vary depending on a number of factors including industry, company size, location, years of experience and level of education.

That range of $230k to $277k is reflective of 25-75% of Medical Director salaries. If you broaden the range to include 10-90% of Medical Director salaries, then you're looking at a range between $211k to $299k. 

There's one final and interesting factor to consider: in the clinical world, most medical directors are either MDs or DOs. They are physicians. But, in the business world, a "Medical Director" may be a PhD, a PharmD, an NP, someone with a master's degree, etc. You don't have to be a physician to hold the "Medical Director" title in the corporate world (of course, this also depends on the industry).