Regulatory submissions are one of the biggest bottlenecks in drug development. Anyone in pharma or biotech knows the story well: years of research and trials come down to an avalanche of documents that must be precise, compliant, and delivered on time. The stakes couldn’t be higher. A missed deadline or a flawed submission doesn’t just slow down approvals—it delays patient access to life-changing therapies.
For decades, medical writing has been the painstaking, manual bridge between science and regulation. But that model is breaking down under the sheer scale of today’s trials and the growing complexity of regulatory requirements. It’s not sustainable. And that’s why Generative AI for the pharmaceutical industry is beginning to change the game.
At Hexaware, we’ve built Medical Writing as a Service (MWaaS) to meet this challenge head-on. By combining Generative AI with the expertise of seasoned medical writers, MWaaS reshapes how regulatory documents are created, reviewed, and delivered. The result? More accurate, faster submissions, helping sponsors keep pace with both science and regulation.
Why Medical Writing Needs an Overhaul
The pharma industry is producing more data than ever. Each clinical trial generates vast amounts of data that must be synthesized into regulatory documents: Clinical Study Reports (CSRs), Investigator Brochures (IB), patient narratives, and countless appendices.
On top of that, regulatory expectations keep rising. Authorities expect clarity, consistency, and strict adherence to ICH guidelines. Formatting, traceability, and cross-referencing matter just as much as the science. For medical writers, this means spending weeks or months piecing together content, ensuring compliance, and running endless cycles of revisions with clinical teams.
The problem isn’t just inefficiency—it’s risk. Every delay in document authoring pushes back submission timelines. Every inconsistency increases the risk of regulatory queries or rejections. When the cost of developing a new drug is already above $2 billion and timelines stretch to a decade or more, documentation inefficiency isn’t a small problem; it’s a business-critical issue.
Generative AI in Medical Writing
GenAI in medical writing does the heavy lifting without compromising quality. Instead of writers starting from scratch, AI can generate first drafts based on study data, pre-built templates, and regulatory mappings.
The impact:
- Patient narratives, which usually require examining thousands of case records, can be consistently generated at scale.
- A Clinical Study Report (CSR) can now be produced in days, not weeks.
- Regulatory documents can be automatically aligned to ICH guidelines, reducing time spent on formatting and structure.
Clinical documentation AI doesn’t replace expertise; it accelerates it. Writers can focus on refining drafts to ensure scientific accuracy and address regulator expectations instead of formatting tables or rephrasing boilerplate content.
This is exactly what Hexaware’s MWaaS is designed to deliver.
Hexaware’s MWaaS: AI Meets Human Expertise
Hexaware’s Medical Writing as a Service isn’t just another AI tool. It’s an end-to-end service model that combines advanced technology with human-in-the-loop expertise. Here’s how it works:
Flexible Deployment
Sponsors can deploy MWaaS in their own cloud environments or use it as a SaaS offering. A centralized document store ensures secure storage and easy access to all study and asset-related files. This flexibility means you can start small or scale quickly, depending on your needs.
Smarter Draft Creation
Our Agentic AI document creator automates the drafting of regulatory documents, ensuring consistency and compliance. MWaaS’ regulatory document first draft creator generates structured, ICH-aligned first drafts in minutes, whether it’s a CSR, an IB, or patient narratives.
Automated Document Mapping
MWaaS includes tools that map study documents to regulatory requirements, reducing manual effort and ensuring alignment with global standards. This saves time and reduces errors that can lead to regulatory pushbacks.
AI-Driven Processing
Agentic AI doesn’t just generate text; it processes study data, analyzes patterns, and refines content. This significantly reduces turnaround times and creates drafts much closer to final-submission quality.
Human Writers Still Matter—A Lot
If you think AI can fully replace medical writers, the answer is simple: no. And it shouldn’t. Regulatory writing requires nuance, judgment, and context that only experienced professionals can provide.
That’s why MWaaS is built around a human-in-the-loop model. AI does the first pass, handling repetitive work at scale. Hexaware’s medical writers then review, refine, and ensure every document meets scientific and regulatory standards.
Our writers aren’t an afterthought—they’re integral. They:
- Validate AI-generated drafts for accuracy and compliance.
- Work closely with clinical teams to resolve queries.
- Support sponsors during audits and inspections.
- Provide 24×7 coverage through teams in India, Europe, and the U.S.
This combination of speed (AI) and precision (human expertise) is what makes MWaaS different.
What Sponsors Gain
The value of MWaaS goes beyond efficiency. Here’s what it means in practice:
- Accelerated timelines: Faster drafts mean earlier submissions, which can directly impact time-to-market.
- Regulatory confidence: ICH-aligned templates and automated mapping reduce the risk of non-compliance.
- Cost efficiency: By automating the bulk of drafting, sponsors reduce operational costs without compromising quality.
- Scalability: Whether you’re a biotech with a single asset or a large pharma running hundreds of studies, MWaaS adapts to your scale.
Why This Matters Now
The push for faster submissions isn’t new, but it’s never been more urgent. Consider the current landscape:
- Rising trial complexity: Decentralized, adaptive, and platform trials generate more diverse datasets than ever.
- Global regulatory harmonization: Authorities expect ICH-compliant documents that can be reviewed across regions.
- Cost pressures: Pharma companies face mounting R&D costs and shareholder pressure to deliver greater efficiency.
- AI readiness: After years of hype, Generative AI has matured enough to deliver tangible results in regulated industries.
Put together, these factors make now the right time for sponsors to rethink how they approach medical writing.
Summary
Looking ahead, we see medical writing becoming a competitive advantage. Sponsors that adopt AI-driven writing models can submit faster, respond to regulator queries more effectively, and free up their medical writers for higher-value tasks like strategy, interpretation, and communication.
The long-term vision is clear: faster, more accurate, and less resource-intensive regulatory submissions. With MWaaS, that future is already here. By combining AI-powered medical writing with expert human oversight, Hexaware’s MWaaS leverages Agentic AI for regulatory submissions, helping sponsors deliver faster, smarter, and more reliable submissions.
The future of medical writing isn’t just faster—it’s better. And it’s already here. Ready to move faster? Contact us to talk to our experts about MWaaS and start simplifying your medical writing process.
