The Syneos Health Podcast

No industry standard currently exists to measure value and impact of medical affairs, and the traditional metrics that companies often use to determine return on investment (ROI) simply don’t apply. In this second episode in our Medical Affairs series, Josh Samon , Managing Director and Colin Oliver , Director in Medical Affairs at Syneos Health Consulting, discuss the unique challenges around def...

Why do people make good (and bad) decisions about their health? How can we help motivate them to change and give them the resilience to try and try again? Our industry and our world are obsessed with those questions right now. Kathleen Starr, PhD , Managing Director, Behavioral Insights and Leigh Householder , Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Insights and Innovation at Syneos Health...

Medical Affairs, once considered a support function, now has a seat at the table as one of the major pillars of biopharmaceutical organizations.  So now what?  Our new Medical Affairs series, which will unfold over the next several months, will explore what’s next and provide insights and best practices for “Next Gen” Medical Affairs.  In this first episode of the series, Suma Ramadas , Senior Man...

The need for real world evidence is growing beyond its original footprint of post-market intelligence, with uses now including regulatory approval, proof of value, maximized access and more.  However, without a true understanding of the regulatory requirements around real world evidence, there is a risk of a “Goldilocks effect”— gathering either not enough information, the wrong information, or fa...

Creating and supporting productive, motivated and happy teams is an ongoing challenge in today’s global workplace – and particularly in the fast-paced biopharmaceutical marketplace.  Incentives can differ based on region, culture, or individual.  Approaches can hinge on countless variables beyond compensation – although in some cases, cash is king.  So what’s the key to success? Based on 25 years...

There are dozens of software-driven products under regulatory review for diagnosing, treating, or preventing medical conditions, defining an entirely new sector for the life sciences industry. Today we are joined by Allison Murphy , Vice President, Business Development, Selling Solutions at Syneos Health and Skye Hodson, PhD , Engagement Manager, Commercial Advisory Group at Syneos Health Consulti...

Not that kind of pie.  In this case, PIE – or Preapproval Information Exchange – refers to the communication of clinical and health care economic information on therapies in development between U.S. population health decision makers and drug manufacturers prior to regulatory approval.   John Seay , Vice President and Content Expert, Managed Markets Communications at Syneos Health,   discusses the...

Oncology continues to be one of the hottest therapeutic areas in the biopharmaceutical industry, but one that also poses some of the greatest challenges to developers.   Jessica Lee, Ph. D. , Managing Director in the Commercial Advisory Group at Syneos Health Consulting , discusses the most recent and promising innovations in oncology therapeutics, the opportunities and challenges for combination...

When it comes to clinical trials, what do clinical psychologists bring to the table? Quite a lot, says Alexandria Wise-Rankovic, Ph. D. , a clinical psychologist and Senior Vice President, Clinical Development in the CNS Business Unit at Syneos Health.  In this episode, Dr. Wise-Rankovic discusses the important role of the clinical psychologist in clinical trials beyond recruitment, even beyond tr...

The biopharmaceutical market has evolved quite a bit over the last five to 10 years.  As more emerging companies are opting to commercialize on their own, they can no longer look to the “tried and true,” traditional strategies for bringing a therapy to market – those rules no longer apply.  So what’s the new normal, and what does it mean for this new generation of developers? Nick Marasco , Execut...

The infrastructure we rely on to create new medicines is in sore need of an upgrade. More and more investigational drugs are streaming into the pipeline. But most of them fail in clinical trials, draining corporate resources, disappointing investors, and shattering the hopes of patients.  Financially speaking, return on investment (ROI) for R&D in biopharma is at an all-time low of 1.9% . In a...

Research in the area of live biotherapeutics has exploded in the last seven years. There is still much to learn about whether a dysregulated gut microbiome (dysbiosis) causes disease, or whether disease leads to dysbiosis – but the potential for significant contribution to healthcare is there.  Erin Mistry , Senior Managing Director, and Thunicia Moodley , Senior Engagement Manager for Syneos Heal...

The role of Medical Affairs has changed dramatically in China over the last 10-15 years, moving from what was once considered a secondary support function to one now at the forefront of a more patient-centric paradigm. Sam Ying, Vice President and General Manager for Syneos Health Commercial in China, discusses the evolution of the Medical Affairs function in China, the rise of the Medical Science...

The art of communications in the pharmaceutical industry is becoming more complex. According to Amy Hutnik , Chief Growth and Transformation Officer for Syneos Health Communications , we’ve evolved from the point of DTC (Direct to Consumer) to the extremely individualized opportunity of DT“Me” (Direct to Me).  The landscape has changed dramatically in terms of not only the sheer number of channels...

New regulations, which were adopted on May 26, 2017, will affect all device and diagnostics manufacturers looking to sell products in the EU, with stricter requirements being introduced in order for these products to be approved.  We are just over a year out from implementation of some of these European Union Medical Device Regulations (EUMDR), set for May 2020.  With the deadline looming, how pre...

In this first episode of the Syneos Health Podcast: APAC Edition, host Robbie Chana speaks with Sebastian Bather , President of APAC in Japan for Syneos Health, about key trends in Asia Pacific with potentially high impact on the biopharmaceutical industry in the region, including significant growth and change in regulation in China, great interest in digital, and the increasing talent war, among...

According to the Syneos Health 2019 Health Trend Ten , perhaps the biggest shift for 2019 and beyond is global focus on understanding what product differentiation looks like in real-world environments.  In Europe in particular, countries are implementing more stringent measures that will impact how value is assigned in the future – and real world evidence (RWE) will play a key role. Alastair MacDo...

Big changes are happening in Asia, opening up a world of possibilities for biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate clinical development of innovative medicines. Robbie Chana , Vice President, Business Development, Asia Pacific talks about the unique opportunity for biopharma in the region, such as regulatory and financial incentives for innovation – but also the unique challenges that come with...

A commercial model built to deliver blockbuster drugs to the market is no longer effective – particularly for delivering therapies for complex disease states to smaller, more targeted patient populations and specialty providers.  But what will the new, “commercial model of the future” look like? There’s no one clear answer, but Howard Brock , Senior Managing Director and head of customer and digit...

The treatment of cancer has undergone a sea change in the span of a generation.  In this two-part episode for World Cancer Day , we discuss the increasingly complex oncology landscape, from both a clinical and clinician perspective.   First, Bob Millham , Executive Vice President of Clinical Development and head of our Oncology Center of Excellence, addresses the potential of clinical research in...

It’s just one word.  But it carries the weight of over 43 million people, about a quarter which spends 41 hours or more per week providing care for loved ones with medical conditions.   Caregivers are not just influencers for healthcare decision-making; many are the decision makers, according to Carolyn Stephenson , SVP, Director of Insights, and Ilya Vedrashko , Managing Director, Communications...

As we head toward the close of the year, we are already looking to see what 2019 has in store.  Drawing on the knowledge and experience of more than 200 leaders and experts who work on the front lines of healthcare, we identified 10 critical shifts that will change how we test and commercialize novel new therapies and innovations in the years ahead. In this first of two episodes on the Health Tren...

As we head toward the close of the year, we are already looking to see what 2019 has in store.  Drawing on the knowledge and experience of more than 200 leaders and experts who work on the front lines of healthcare, we identified 10 critical shifts that will change how we test and commercialize novel new therapies and innovations in the years ahead.   In our last episode, we heard about some of th...

In our increasingly digital world, it was only a matter of time before search and social marketing would start to take on an important role in clinical trial patient recruitment. But with  shaken trust in data security combined with sensitivities around medical data privacy, will potential patients click? Matthew Snodgrass and Michael Pearlman from the Syneos Health Digital & Social Strategy t...

Clinical trials are arguably the largest investment a biopharma company makes in bringing a product to market - in dollars, and time. Driving the stakes higher: the patient is waiting. How can we improve the process, realize shorter and more efficient trials, and ultimately get the therapy to that patient faster? Syneos Health Clinical Solutions experts Kellie Malloy , Executive Vice President and...