Amgen Hosts Amgen Biotech Experience Meeting
The Amgen Foundation recently hosted lab technicians who participated in the Amgen Biotech Experience (ABE). The meeting, held at Amgen’s headquarters in Thousand Oaks, Calif., allowed the lab technicians, who administer ABE to science teachers, to network across the larger ABE community.
The Amgen Biotech Experience after a high school teacher was inspired by what he saw as part of an internship at Amgen and partnered with a group of scientists to develop a curriculum. The program has reached more than 700,000 students participating from schools around the world.
TGaS Advisors Awards “BoBs" for Best of Benchmark
Eleven companies achieved the highest honors in TGaS Advisors’ second annual search for the biopharmaceutical industry’s Best of Benchmark, or “BoBs," with 15 awards presented across 12 categories. The BoBs, awarded for commercial excellence, are based on the firm’s benchmarking of large, midsize, and emerging life-sciences companies.
The winners include:
Enterprise Strategy: Competitive Intelligence: Novo Nordisk
elsNetwork: Best Industry Impact: Dexcom, Seattle Genetics
Field Operations: Field Technology: Sunovion
Incentive Compensation: Incentive Compensation Excellence: Astellas
Learning & Development: Continuous Capabilities Training: GlaxoSmithKline
Market Access & Reimbursement: Account Management: Biogen
Marketing Operations: End to End Promotional Content Lifecycle: Astellas
Omnichannel Marketing: DCOE – Digital Analytics: Biogen; Latuda – Paid Search Campaign: Sunovion
Pricing, Contracting & Analytics: Gross-to-Net Forecasting: GlaxoSmithKline; Contract Profitability Analytics: UCB
Vendor Insights: Most Impactful: 159 Solutions, Custom Learning Designs, Mosaic Solutions Group
Arbor Pharmaceuticals Teams Up with Shaquille O’Neal
Arbor Pharmaceuticals, a U.S.-based specialty pharmaceutical company, has announced the launch of the Shaquille Gets Real About Heart Failure campaign, a national educational initiative designed to raise awareness around the heart failure disparity in the African-American community and ways to manage this condition. Though he does not have heart failure himself, Shaquille O’Neal, recognized around the world as a Basketball Hall of Famer, is helping to spread the word that every African American needs to take this disease seriously.
Studies have shown that African Americans are 20 times more likely than other ethnic groups to develop heart failure before the age of 50, and they are more likely to be hospitalized or die from heart failure than white Americans.
Future Blockbusters
Pharmaceutical collaborations and rare diseases drive the drugs to watch as new blockbusters are forecast to hit the market in 2019. A new report from Clarivate Analytics identifies seven new drugs predicted to achieve annual sales of more than $1 billion by 2023.
The drugs forecasted to launch in 2019 are dominated by immune-related and genetic disorders including: spinal muscular atrophy, rheumatoid arthritis, paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, and peanut allergy. This indicates a shift toward blockbuster-potential drugs targeting niche patient populations.
GSK Supports STEM Education
GlaxoSmithKline and the Philadelphia Education Fund hosted Empowering STEM, a free one-day conference for 80 Philadelphia teachers at GSK’s Navy Yard headquarters. The conference examined strategies for connecting classroom lessons to STEM careers, as well as provided teachers with the opportunity to connect with STEM industry leaders, network with city and state leaders in STEM education, and investigate solar energy, explore urban watersheds, learn about local wildlife, and conduct simple science fair experiments.
AMAG Pharmaceuticals Supports Innovative Model of Prenatal Care
AMAG Pharmaceuticals and the March of Dimes have announced Baystate Medical Center’s Wesson Women’s Clinic in Springfield, Mass., the first Supportive Pregnancy Care (SPC) site to help improve mom and baby health during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and infancy.
The program offers prenatal care in a group setting with moms-to-be of similar gestational ages, and a licensed obstetric provider meets individually with each woman to perform a physical assessment and discuss specific concerns. It also includes web-based tools and a social media platform to enable mothers to connect and socialize with each other.(PV)
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Awards…
Bayer Named as a Most Reputable Company
Bayer U.S. has earned a top ranking in Reputation Institute’s 2019 US RepTrak 100 — the biggest-ever survey measuring the reputation of companies in the country. The results from the 12th annual survey, which measures the public perception of companies based on multiple business drivers, find Bayer at No. 68 on this year’s list of America’s most reputable companies. Bayer is the only life-sciences company to make this year’s list.
Bayer was also honored with the National 4-H Council’s 2019 Corporate Leadership Award. Bayer was recognized for its nationwide partnership with 4-H on a corporate social responsibility (CSR) STEM program called Science Matters, which has provided more than 25,000 youths across the United States with access to essential agriculture programs and opportunities.
Klick Named a 2019 Best Workplace for Giving Back
Klick has been recognized on the 2019 List of Best Workplaces for Giving Back after independent analysis conducted by Great Place to Work. Each month, Klick supports a different charitable cause, including quarterly cornerstone campaigns in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank, Heart and Stroke Foundation, The Shoebox Project, and SickKids. The company dedicates each of the year’s remaining eight months to a different charity as nominated and voted on by Klicksters annually on #GivingTuesday. Over the last year, Klicksters have voted to support a wide range of charitable causes, including World Wildlife Fund, Operation Smile, Mélanie’s Way, and Majengo Children’s Home.
Rho Executive Named a 2019 Health Care Hero
Rho, a full-service contract research organization, has announced that Clinical Research Scientist Meagan Vaughn was honored by the Triangle Business Journal as a 2019 Health Care Hero. Each year the Triangle Business Journal hosts the Health Care Heroes awards to honor Triangle individuals and organizations for putting innovation and compassion to work to improve the human condition. Ms. Vaughn was honored in the volunteer category for her personal and professional dedication to advancing a cure for cystic fibrosis.
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Innovation Corner
Novo Nordisk Awards Prizes
The Novozymes Prize and the Novo Nordisk Prize, two of the Novo Nordisk Foundation’s most prestigious prizes were awarded to Professor Dame Carol Robinson and Professor Hans Bisgaard. Each prize is accompanied by DKK 3 million. Dame Robinson is being honored with the Novozymes Prize for her scientific breakthrough in the use of mass spectrometry for analyzing proteins.
Professor Hans Bisgaard is recognized for his research efforts to understand how asthma and other inflammatory diseases emerge early in life and how to improve the treatment of these diseases.
Winners of 2019 Sandoz Healthcare Access Challenge (HACk) Announced
Sandoz, a Novartis division, has announced the winners of the 2019 Sandoz Healthcare Access Challenge (HACk). The challenge invites entrepreneurs and innovators in the field of digital technology to submit ideas with the potential to complement or disrupt established approaches to driving access to healthcare.
The three winners, chosen from more than 400 ideas across 80 countries, who will receive EUR 20,000 each in funding, are:
U.S.-based Regulora, led by Tim Rudolphi, which offers a prescription-only digital therapeutic for patients with irritable bowel syndrome
Netherlands-based SocialGenomics, led by Susanne Baars, which is developing a smart social network with a matchmaker tool to connect patients who suffer from rare and undiagnosed diseases
Ugandan-based Mobile Clinic, led by Andrew Dbembe, which seeks to use an app and a mobile van clinic to provide door-to-door maternal healthcare services in Uganda
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Pharmaceutical Innovation Index 2019*
Gilead Sciences
AbbVie
Lilly
Pfizer
Merck
Sanofi
Novo Nordisk
Roche
Novartis
GSK
* The Pharmaceutical Innovation Index measures, scores and celebrates a company’s ability to deliver innovation to patients, by objectively evaluating performance based on a rolling five year period (2013-2018).
Source: IDEA Pharma
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PharmaVOICE 100 News
Dr. Leo Francis Joins Evolution Health
Evolution Health Group, a full-service, global healthcare communications organization, has named Leo Francis, Ph.D., chief medical officer. Dr. Francis brings more than 20 years of agency experience to Evolution Health. He has held a variety of leadership positions in the past, including global group president at Publicis Healthcare and, most recently, as chief medical officer at Avadel Pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Francis is a PV100 — 2010, 2012.
Joe Shields Joins Digital Health Coalition’s Board
Digital Health Coalition (DHC), a nonprofit organization that serves as the collective industry voice for the digital marketing of healthcare products and services, has announced the election of Joe Shields to its board of directors.
Mr. Shields is currently president and co-founder of Health Accelerators, a business-to-business marketing strategy and services agency supporting suppliers to life-sciences companies. During his 22 years in healthcare, he has worked in global marketing, communications, and innovation roles for leading biopharmaceutical and medical device companies AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Wyeth.
Mr. Shields is a PV100 — 2010.
Ogilvy Health’s Johanna Skilling Took the Stage at SXSW
Johanna Skilling, head of planning, Ogilvy Health, presented at South by Southwest (SXSW) as part of the “Designing the World at Ignite" event on March 11, in Austin, Texas. The Designing the World at Ignite program allows 10 presenters to each share their firsthand experiences, knowledge, and ideas about the design world. Ms. Skilling’s talk, entitled Engineering Empathy for Health & Well-Being, explored what happens when technology evolves to replace human interactions in healthcare.
Ms. Skilling is a PV100 — 2017.
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Contributed Article
Drug Development Innovation: Increasing the Likelihood of Drug Launch and Market Access with
Real-World Data Studies
Provided by: Parexel
Podcasts
A Holistic Approach to Transforming Clinical Trials
Sponsored by: ICON
Drug Development Innovation Enabled by Real-World Data Studies
Sponsored by: Parexel
Webinars
Reaching for 99% Compliance and Engagement in Clinical Trials
Sponsored by: Datacubed Health
Applying Service Design Methods to Transform Teams, Programs, and Services: An experience Strategy Primer to Reset Your Focus and Accelerate Business objectives
Sponsored by: Mad*Pow
Improving Clinical Trial Milestones and Reducing Site Burden with Clinical Trial Nurse Educators
Sponsored by: VMS BioMarketing
White Paper
Choosing the Right Solution: Improving the Site Feasibility Process
Provided by: WIRB Copernicus Group
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Woman of the Week Podcast Series
MARCH
Melinda Richter, Global Head, JLABS, Johnson & Johnson
Gail Moore, Director, Global Patient Advocacy, Horizon Pharma
Dr. Shannon Dahl, Chief Scientific Officer, Cell Care Therapeutics
Clareece West, VP, General Manager, Cardinal Health
Please go to https://www.pharmavoice.com/wow-podcasts to listen.
