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Mechanism Of Action (MOA) Animation

Mechanism Of Action (MOA) Animation

The mechanism of action (MOA) of a drug can be highly complex. At the molecular and cellular levels, the processes often feel abstract, far removed from what the human mind naturally grasps. Words and simple diagrams alone often fall short of conveying their intricacy. A high-quality MOA animation brings these mechanisms to life, bridging the comprehension gap by combining storytelling with visual demonstration. The more compelling the imagery, the deeper the audience’s engagement and understanding.
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Why invest in an accurate mechanism of action (MOA) animation?

  •  MOA animation is proven to explain complex drug pharmacology clearly and concisely, which is essential when speaking to busy healthcare providers (HCPs)
  • Accurate, high-quality mechanism of action animation adds credibility to your company’s messaging. In contrast, an inaccurate animation made by animators without scientific training will undermine your integrity as a science-based company.
  • A beautiful, engaging MOA video will attract visitors to your scientific congress exhibit booth. Experts can spot visual inaccuracies a mile away
  • Mechanism of action animations enhance presentations to investors and B2B collaborators, when time is limited and the stakes are high
  • Accurate, high-quality scientific visuals can be leveraged on multiple channels to support your scientific communication efforts

The AXS Studio difference

What makes an exceptional mechanism of action animation? If you know what to look for, it’s easy to tell what is excellent from average. Here are the key things to look for when hiring a medical animation studio.

Still from the Certepetide MOA Animation. The still takes place on the surface of a target cell and shows the CendR fragment bound to neuropilin-1 (NRP-1). A glow emanates from within the cell indicating activation of intracellular mechanisms. This is labelled in the still.

Animators with postgraduate science training

Accuracy is priority one for pharmacology animation. Depicting complex cellular and molecular activity correctly requires specialized knowledge and skills. Every animator at AXS Studio brings graduate training in biology and anatomy together with proficiency in 3D animation and narrative film design. The result is beautiful, compelling scientific storytelling that meets your high standard for accuracy. Be cautious of random animation companies that pair PhD writers with “generalist” animators. They lack the scientific training needed to depict biological processes accurately and make rudimentary errors that regularly undermine their clients’ credibility.

A Visual identity unique to you

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then an MOA animation is worth 10,000. Your animation will be a reflection of your company’s scientific expertise and its brand. In a highly competitive industry, it’s hard to differentiate your innovative approach and easy to look like every other company with a novel therapeutic approach. At AXS Studio, we analyze your brand and create a unique visual identity for your scientific visuals, including key cells and molecules. We will then document the look and feel of all graphical and text assets in a custom design system—standards that streamline the design and production of your scientific communications.

We futureproof your assets

When you commission an MOA animation from AXS Studio, we think about all the different ways you can leverage the video and design it accordingly. Is your company active on social media? We can provide you with short video clips in the required formats. Do you need compelling visuals for your investor or MSL deck? We’ll provide still images from your animation to easily slot into your presentation. MOA videos frequently need updating to integrate new data. When we design your animation, we do so with any eye to these future updates. For clients that operate internationally, we offer a translation package that makes regional copy updates a snap.

Hassle-free MLR/PRC reviews

With over 20 years creating compelling mechanism of action videos for biopharma clients, we have the experience and knowledge to make your medical and regulatory reviews a snap. Whether you call it PRC, MLR, MRC or another name, it’s key that your MOA video moves smoothly through your company’s review process. At AXS, we carefully reference and prepare voiceover scripts and storyboards to your specific review requirements. Our scientifically trained storyboard artists and medical animators ensure that all visuals—anatomy, tissues, cells and molecules—are accurately depicted and supported by peer-reviewed data.

We speak your language

Each member of our client services team has a life science background. We speak the language of science and understand the unique challenges our clients face telling their scientific stories in highly competitive industries. When you work with AXS Studio, you won’t need to spend time teaching us the science behind your therapeutic agent. With life science training and 20+ years experience working with biopharma clients, we arrive ready to solve your unique biocommunication challenge.

We accelerate understanding

HCPs and other stakeholders typically spend about two minutes watching a mechanism of action video. It’s essential that they understand how your investigational drug works in that brief time. At AXS Studio, we employ design principles based upon cognitive psychology to optimize your MOA animation for viewer attention and learning. Faster understanding is good for healthcare and for business.

Frequently Asked Questions

MOA animation—sometimes called pharmacology animation—explains how a drug works inside the body at a cellular and molecular level. This is important because the changes a drug affects within a person’s cells has implications for its efficacy, side effects and interactions with other medications—all things a physician should be aware of when prescribing the drug or recommending a patient for a clinical trial. Furthermore, a drug’s pharmacology distinguishes it from other medications that target the same illness. Understanding how a novel drug candidate differs from existing drugs informs important decisions, from prescribing to investing to B2B partnerships.

Simply contact us with details about your project, including objectives, and timelines. We’ll schedule a consultation call with you to discuss your needs in detail and provide a personalized proposal for review.

Most medical animation companies and agencies hire animators who are generalists—i.e. without scientific training. Many of these companies also outsource production to cut costs, which is reflected in the lower quality and lack of scientific accuracy in their MOA videos.

AXS Studio is unique among our competitors. We exclusively employ medically trained animators. Every one of our artists has a scientific background and holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in biomedical communications from one of the five graduate programs accredited by CAAHEP. AXS Studio animators are formally trained in anatomy, physiology, pathology, cell biology and molecular biology. We have 5 Board Certified Medical Illustrators (CMIs) on staff and over 20 years experience visualizing complex medical science for a discerning healthcare professional audience.

Our highly specialized training means that we speak your language and understand your science from the very start. We will communicate your product’s mechanism of action more clearly and accurately than other companies. See what our clients have to say.

An MOD animation—also called a disease state animation—explains the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie a specific disease or adverse health condition. It deals with pathology. An MOA animation, on the other hand, explains how a therapeutic agent like a drug works at cellular and molecular levels to treat the cause of disease and/or its symptoms. Oftentimes MOD and MOA animations are presented together in one video, in a “problem → solution” format.

The cost is determined by:

  • Length: In general, the shorter the animation, the less time and resources it takes to create, and the less it costs. When estimating the length of your animation, a rule of thumb is 100 words of voiceover per minute. We’ll collaborate with you on the voiceover script to ensure it fits your budget and does an outstanding job explaining your drug’s mechanism.
  • Visual complexity: The number and complexity of scenes in your MOA animation is an important factor in cost. We’ll optimize the animation for your budget during the storyboarding stage.
  • Video resolution: High-definition (HD) video requires fewer computing resources than Ultra-high definition (UHD or 4K) video and therefore costs less to produce. HD is sufficient for most of the way in which an MOA animation is deployed. If you need a custom resolution for a special application, we have you covered.


All MOA animation development is done at our Toronto, Ontario studio. We pass no markups on to our clients. If you’d like a quote for your animation, get in touch!.

AXS is a full-service studio. Our in-house capabilities that cover the entire production pipeline. Our quotes include:

  • Content research and script writing, including referencing
  • Storyboarding
  • 3D modeling, animation, rigging, lighting, shading, rendering and compositing
  • Audio: Voiceover, music, sound effects and mixing
  • Project management


When we say content research, we mean research. With AXS Studio, our fee includes our in-house scientific expertise. Our medically trained animators do a literature deep dive to become familiar with your science. They then prepare a comprehensive visual research deck before drawing a single MOA storyboard panel. We’re committed to making sure your mechanism of action is communicated flawlessly.

Our clients frequently express relief when we begin working together. It’s not uncommon to hear about problems experienced with their previous agencies, including:

  • Failure to understand their objectives
  • A lack of scientific expertise that results in errors and delays
  • Being charged overages to fix agency errors
  • Stressful, last minute to meet congress deadlines


In contrast, clients have described working with AXS Studio as “an absolute pleasure”. They’ve said that our scientific expertise sets us apart from other suppliers they’ve worked with and “the AXS team works hard to understand our needs and goals.” Clients have noted that our team is honest, invested, a pleasure to work with, and that they never have to worry about AXS making deadlines or surprising them with unplanned overages after a project delivers.

The AXS Studio team stands out from others with our strong scientific literacy, meticulous attention to detail, and proactive approach to addressing potential hurdles before they arise. We are known throughout the industry for providing exceptionally beautiful and accurate work. But don’t take our word for it; see what our clients have to say themselves.

A two-minute MOA or pharmacology animation can take 12–16 weeks to complete, including script and storyboard development. A key determinant is your company’s review and approval process. We recommend getting in touch four months ahead of your deadline, if possible. We’ll work with you on a production schedule that fits your processes without compromising on the quality of your MOA animation.

After 20+ years creating outstanding MOA videos, we’ve learned that 90–120 seconds is the “sweet spot” for an HCP audience. This is long enough to get across key messages and short enough for the attention spans of busy professionals. Because the runtime of an MOA animation is a key factor in its cost, budget tends to also keep animation length in check. If you’re preparing an outline or narration script for your animation, we recommend using the rule of thumb of 100 words per minute of animation.

  1. Define the primary audience and key learning objectives and for your MOA animation. Your audience informs the complexity of your script and visuals.
  2. Send us any resources (key review papers, MSL decks, scientific posters, etc.) that can inform the content of your animation.
  3. We will write a content outline for your review, followed by a voiceover script. The script usually undergoes two rounds of review.
  4. Next, we’ll prepare a detailed storyboard, consisting of drawings—one for each shot in your MOA animation—accompanied by corresponding script, onscreen text (or supers), and a brief description of the action. Storyboard usually undergoes 2 rounds of review by your team, followed by a formal MLR or PRC review. See our post on medical and scientific animation storyboards for a complete overview [coming soon].
  5. Once the storyboard is approved, we’ll develop the greyscale rough cut animation. The rough cut is a greyscale video for review and approval of the action and timing. It will be accompanied by sample still renderings—sometimes called “style frames”—showing the proposed final look of the animation.
  6. Following rough cut approval, we’ll record a professional voiceover track and prepare the prefinal animation. The prefinal shows the final look and includes the finished voiceover and music. This near-finished version of the MOA animation is submitted for MLR/PRC review and approval.
  7. Following MLR/PRC approval, we’ll deliver the final animation as a compressed video file for immediate release, followed by an uncompressed master video, from which additional outputs can be made as needed.

MOA animations help educate healthcare providers about new drugs in development and on the market..

Patients and caregivers may watch an MOA animation to learn about treatment options or how a prescribed medication will address their condition. Knowing a drug’s mechanism of action can help patients make more informed decisions.

Medical affairs and scientific communications professionals commission MOA animations to explain how drugs in development are believed to work. Their audiences are usually healthcare providers who attend medical congresses and visit drug development websites.

Once a drug has been granted regulatory approval, product managers and marketing managers commission MOA videos for use on pharmaceutical product websites at medical congress booths.

MSLs use mechanism of action animations reactively in detail aids and presentation decks in the field to explain how drugs are believed to work to physicians.

Opinion leaders use MOA videos in symposia presentations as visual aids to explain complex therapeutic mechanisms to attendees.

Absolutely! You can use frames (still images) directly from your MOA animation, at no additional charge. These images are large enough to use in slide presentations, small print materials and your website. If you need larger images for a conference booth, for example, we can provide those for a modest fee. We can also provide individual elements from an animation, such as key cells and molecules, for use in your other materials.

At AXS Studio, we ensure that any material we submit for review has been diligently referenced and prepared to your MLR (or PRC) standards. We’re also available to remotely attend your review sessions to field questions and support visual and narrative decisions.

Want to learn more?