May 26, 2010 ·
Leave a comment
John Kelly, a 40-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, joined Thought Leader Select in the spring of 2010. Throughout his career, John has served in many leadership posts, directing commercial development and clinical operations for a host of companies in the United Kingdom and Japan. John holds an MBA from Oxford (UK) Brookes University, and has run a successful pharmaceutical consulting firm since 2006. Prior to founding his consulting firm, Moffat-Dickson, Ltd., Kelly established and managed the European operations of Kowa Japan, a Japanese pharmaceutical company with clinical development in Europe, Russia, and India. Kelly also established and managed European operations for another Japanese pharmaceutical concern, Kyowa Hakko, and served as commercial manager for Martindale Pharmaceuticals of the United Kingdom.
The Thought Leader Select Blog sat down with John, via Skype, to discuss his industry experience and his professional contribution to Thought Leader Select.
TLS Blog: Good morning, John. What made you sign on with Thought Leader Select?
John Kelly: When I began talking with Paul Meade (president of Thought Leader Select) and Neil Mellor (principal agent for North America), I could see from the outset that this would be a concept that’s potentially new to a lot of companies. From my experience in commercial development of new medicines, I could see how structuring groups of medical experts would help those processes immensely. ... read more »
TAGS: 
biotechnology drug development drug discovery John Kelly key opinion leaders KOL deployment KOL engagement KOL identification KOL selection Kowa Japan Kyowa Hakko Ltd. Martindale Pharmaceuticals MBA medical experts Moffat-Dickson Neil Mellor Oxford Brookes University Paul Meade pharmaceutical pharmaceutical marketing physicians Thought Leader Select
May 25, 2010 ·
1 comment
Industry Insights from Paul Meade, M. Sc, MPH
I have spent the last 30 years directly or indirectly involved with the pharmaceutical industry. I worked for two international pharmaceutical companies and have advised many other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies over the past few years. So I undoubtedly have a biased view in favor of this industry and its aims to promote health while making a reasonable profit for its research efforts.
While I can appreciate all the activities undertaken by pharmaceutical companies to develop medicines to improve the health of people throughout the world, I can also understand why many people have a jaded view of these companies. The perception that pharmaceutical companies take advantage of sick people and make them pay high prices for medicines to make them better is one that prevails among many societies. Yet, through the invention of antibiotics to control infectious diseases, and vaccines to prevent many childhood diseases, and many other products for a variety of diseases, the pharmaceutical industry has made significant improvements to healthcare. In addition to the high cost of medicines, few people realize that the total cost of pharmaceutical products as a portion of the total healthcare spending in the United States is less than 10%. Yet, many people believe that medicines are far too expensive.
Pharmaceutical companies, for the most part, ... read more »
TAGS: biomarkers biotechnology breast cancer childhood diseases clinical research drug development drug discovery drug prices genetic profile genetics healthcare improvment healthcare reform Herceptin infectious disease international business medical research pediatric medicine personalized medicine pharmaceutical research and development costs US healthcare spending vaccines
May 20, 2010 ·
Leave a comment
Key opinion leaders (KOLs) are health care leaders who make a high-impact footprint while advancing medical science. Thought Leader Select specializes in delivering objective, validated data on the skills and experiences of KOLs, so that pharmaceutical companies can seek their appropriate advice and guidance in the development of new medicines.
Thought Leader Select measures many areas where KOLs leave their respective marks in the medical community, including conducting clinical research studies, publishing articles in leading journals, and presenting breakthrough knowledge at scientific conferences.
In a recent assessment of over 200 specialists in epilepsy, Thought Leader Select measured the publishing frequency of these global key opinion leaders. Using keywords to link leading neurologists with new research knowledge in epilepsy, Thought Leader Select found most KOLs had published between 10 and 30 articles on epilepsy since 2004. The most prolific thought leader tallied 170 published articles in the last six years, amounting to more than 28 manuscripts a year. The top quartile published between 40 and 100 scientific articles within the last six years. The top KOL neurologists are undoubtedly very busy advancing the science of epilepsy, from understanding its etiology to treating the condition.
TAGS: clinical research clinical trials epilepsy key opinion leaders KOL engagement KOL identification KOL profiling KOL selection KOLs manuscripts medical journals medical research neurology publications publishing frequency therapeutic area
May 19, 2010 ·
1 comment
Industry Insights from Paul Meade, M. Sc, MPH
With all the players in the healthcare field scrambling to understand just how the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is going to impact their livelihood, it is no wonder everyone has “Post-Reform Jitters.” A new report has just been published by PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute titled, “Health Reform: Prospering in a Post-Reform World,” which suggests that everyone is going to have to work together nicely and all get along. This is, undoubtedly, an interesting concept, since the healthcare industry has spent the last hundred years fragmenting and segmenting care delivery. In fact, health care in the United States has become a system of silos and fiefdoms with so many intermediary players all attempting to “carve out” their respective niches and take their fair share of the profits that healthcare costs have become the proverbial runaway train. So why are we so worried?
We can sum up the impact of this new healthcare reform in two words: accountability and transparency. To effectively integrate healthcare back into a manageable, efficient system, the players are certainly going to have to get along and play nicely, as suggested by the PWC report. But more importantly, those who play in the healthcare game are going to have to be more accountable to those receiving the ... read more »
TAGS: accountability biology cost of health care evidence-based health outcomes genetics Gillings School of Global Public Health health care in United States health care reform medical ethics medical science Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Paul Meade PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute quality care transparency University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
May 18, 2010 ·
Leave a comment
Clarissa Noureddine joined Thought Leader Select in 2007, after spending the previous four years as a practicing veterinarian. A graduate of the University of Florida, Clarissa earned a master’s degree in molecular biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, followed by a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from North Carolina State University. In her role as senior research manager, Clarissa provides key insider perspectives on treatment, use of pharmacological agents, and the collaboration of doctors with the pharmaceutical industry to deliver thorough, accurate, and understandable key opinion leader identification and profiling research.
The Thought Leader Select Blog recently sat down to catch up with Clarissa Noureddine and learn about her background and how she makes her professional contribution to the work of Thought Leader Select.
TLS Blog: Good afternoon, Clarissa. Tell us why you joined Thought Leader Select.
Clarissa Noureddine: In 2006, I left veterinary practice to become a stay-at-home mom, as well as to pursue a much-needed change of scenery, professionally–one that would present new challenges on an ongoing basis. I immediately started doing research for Thought Leader Select and joined full-time as a research manager in March of 2007. In a very short period of time, I really came to love what I do—delivering key research on physicians to help drive better quality medications and higher standards of ... read more »
TAGS: Arabic belly dancing Clarissa Noureddine doctor of veterinary medicine key opinion leader KOL engagement KOL identification KOL mapping KOL profiling KOL research KOL selection Lebanon Maher Noureddine medical research molecular biology North Carolina State University public health senior research manager therapeutic area thought leader Thought Leader Select University of Florida University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill veterinarian
May 13, 2010 ·
Leave a comment
In a recent Marketing: Health blog post at MediaPost, Kathy Thorbahn of Razorfish Health, a marketing/advertising/public relations firm focused on health care industries, makes a strong case for the pharmaceutical industry to fully embrace social media in its efforts to give balanced information for consumers to make good health decisions.
While several companies are experimenting with self-created communities built around different products, brands, diseases and conditions, as well as starting Twitter accounts, Facebook pages, and YouTube channels for company news the promotion of certain products (see Digital Dose of Pharma for a list of pharma’s early adopters in social media), Thorbahn makes the point that the industry is missing out on the real essence of social media—“. . . ultimately social media is not about advertising, and it’s not about marketing. It’s about sharing the insight, information and tools that can help people make better decisions.”
In the not-too-distant future, we may see companies like Thought Leader Select and others, in their ongoing efforts to promote positive relationships among pharmaceutical companies, physicians, and patients, utilizing social media communities to bring these three groups together to share product information (pharma), treatment advice (doctors), and feedback about the effectiveness of drug therapies (patients). This level of communication and transparency, aimed at promoting the public health by drilling down to one-to-one interaction ... read more »
TAGS: biotechnology Facebook Kathy Thorbahn key opinion leaders KOLs patients pharmaceutical physicians Razorfish Health social media Thought Leader Select Twitter YouTube
May 12, 2010 ·
Leave a comment
May 12, 2010 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) Thought Leader Select, a North Carolina firm dedicated to delivering the most accurate and effective key opinion leader (KOL) profiling research for the biopharmaceutical industry, announces the commencement of a significant new research assessment for a top-10 global pharmaceutical company.
The pharmaceutical company chose Thought Leader Select to identify and profile 50 key opinion leaders to collaborate with the company in the development and launch of new medicines for children. The scope of the research includes the identification and profiling of pediatricians, primary care physicians, internal medicine specialists, emergency doctors, and other key specialists in pediatrics. Thought Leader Select’s deep-profiling methodology will match key opinion leaders with the appropriate development areas for the company, based on the respective KOLs’ skills, experiences, and interests.
In addition to the KOL identification and profiling research, the company has contracted Thought Leader Select to develop a set of activities to assist with the advancement of new and better medicines for children. This collaborative effort will result in a better working relationship between the pharmaceutical company and thought leaders in pediatrics.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to assist our client in improving their relationship with important thought leaders as they develop better medicines to address childhood illnesses,” stated Paul Meade, Thought Leader Select’s president. “Physicians who care for children are also ... read more »
TAGS: activity planning biopharmaceutical biotechnology deep-profiling emergency doctors internal medicine specialists key opinion leaders KOL deployment KOL development KOL engagement KOL identification KOL profiling KOLs Paul Meade pediatric specialists pediatricians pharmaceutical physicians Thought Leader Select thought leaders
May 11, 2010 ·
Leave a comment
May 11, 2010 (CHAPEL HILL, NC) Paul Meade, founder and president of Thought Leader Select, a North Carolina firm dedicated to key opinion leader (KOL) development solutions for the biopharmaceutical industry, received a master of public health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on May 8, 2010.
The Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC awarded Meade, a 25-year veteran of the pharmaceutical industry, with a master of public health degree and a certificate in public health ethics in the Public Health Leadership Program. Meade’s research report, “How Volunteer Community Organizations Can Assist State Public Health Departments During Pandemic Influenza,” explored specific possibilities for the Civil Air Patrol, a volunteer non-profit national organization and an auxiliary of the United States Air Force, to assist state public health officials during widespread outbreaks of influenza.
The master of public health degree is Meade’s second master’s degree. He earned a master of science in biomedical science from the University of Guelph (Canada) in 1977, following his bachelor of science degree in biology and chemistry from Acadia University (Canada) in 1971.
During his 25-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, Meade served in a variety of leadership positions at Merck and GlaxoSmithKline. During his ten years at Merck, Meade worked his way from a sales representative position to director of marketing planning for ... read more »
TAGS: biopharmaceutical biotechnology certificate Civil Air Patrol Clear Point Health clinical operations clinical researchers Gillings School of Global Public Health GlaxoSmithKline healthcare ethics healthcare policy healthcare research key opinion leaders KOL deployment KOL development KOL engagement KOL identification KOL profiling KOLs marketing planning master of public health medical affairs Merck nurses Paul Meade pharmaceutical pharmacists physician assistants physicians predictive medicine public health ethics Public Health Leadership Program research and development Thought Leader Select United States Air Force University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill veterinarians
May 6, 2010 ·
Leave a comment
Kristen Smithwick joined Thought Leader Select as its director of research operations in 2006. Kristen leads sales, marketing and strategic planning in her current role as vice president of the company. A 1998 graduate of Duke University, Kristen spent the first seven years of her career as manager of membership services at a North Carolina firm providing best practice benchmarking services to the biopharmaceutical, medical device, and health care industries.
The Thought Leader Select Blog recently sat down to catch up with Kristen Smithwick to learn about her background and how she makes her professional contribution to the work of Thought Leader Select.
TLS Blog: Good morning, Kristen. Tell us why you joined Thought Leader Select.
Kristen Smithwick: After seven years working to help a small company grow its market share, I wanted a new, different challenge in my career. I saw a great opportunity at Thought Leader Select—I loved the concept that Paul Meade and Lisa Smith (Thought Leader Select’s founders) had put together. This concept—providing unbiased, objective data on key opinion leaders to assist pharmaceutical companies in developing new medicines—was something we all thought the industry really needed. I had worked with Paul and Lisa at my previous company, and I appreciated Lisa’s sharp-minded approach to research and Paul’s big-picture, strategic mindset.
TLS Blog: How does your academic background and/or professional career ... read more »
TAGS: benchmarking best practices biotechnology Duke University health care key opinion leaders KOL deployment KOL development KOL engagement KOL identification KOL mapping KOL profiling KOLs Kristen Smithwick Lisa Smith medical device objective research Paul Meade pharmaceutical Thought Leader Select thought leaders
Older posts »
