Supreme Court Upheld the ACA. What Do You Do Now? Attend Webinar

The ACA has broad-reaching ramifications for health care

I've been working very hard on our next webinar. The topic is about how the ACA will affect health care from a pharma/biotech company perspective. It features some exciting new research findings about how physicians, payers, and pharmaceutical companies will have to adjust to the new system. It also details some interesting and valuable patient perceptions you can't get anywhere else.

There is no cost to attend.

Building Winning Strategies in an ACA World: Your Guide to Success in a Value-Driven Market

Date and Time: September 20, 2012 11:00am EST, 4:00pm GMT (60 minutes)

Please take 3 minutes to register for this webinar.

http://bit.ly/WGwebinar

It's informative. It's interactive. You and your peers will participate in live polls and can even submit questions to the panelists for the Q & A session. I'll be your moderator.

The webinar is designed to explain:

• How the ACA may impact cost-containment pressures, payer accountability and market conditioning
• What US marketers can learn from EU experiences to help them adapt successfully to ACA
• How the development and communication of clinical and economic value messages are changing, with the shift toward evidence-based medicine and comparative effectiveness research
• Why determining value drivers as early as possible in the clinical and commercial development process is critical for any brand

This educational webinar is easily accessed via the Internet.

If you cannot attend the live event, but want to access the OnDemand version, please register now, so that you receive the OnDemand access information via email after the event.

Learn more and register at

http://bit.ly/WGwebinar

I hope to see you online on September 20!

The Anti-Paper Pusher - A PharmaVOICE 100 Spotlight

Sheila Rocchio of PHT

By Taren Grom, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, PharmaVOICE

Sheila Rocchio doesn’t just know ePRO, she lives ePRO. She has been an industry standard bearer for moving electronic patient reported outcomes from its infancy more than a decade ago to the forefront of clinical trial efficiency.

Ms. Rocchio’s mission has been to get biopharma companies to abolish paper and embrace ePRO to collect the voice of the patient directly and without distortion. Today, the FDA and EMA strongly suggest using ePRO for clinical research to collect patient data, in large part to Rocchio’s passion and advocacy. Rocchio is a highly sought after speaker and thought leader on the topic, and colleagues and customers alike give her credit for guiding regulators to advocate for and sponsors to adopt ePRO technology.

Not only does she believe ePRO is the right way to go from a business perspective as VP of marketing at PHT Corp., a leader in the space, but that’s the right thing to do from a patient perspective. Sheila believes that the biggest challenge in the industry today is moving to a model where therapies are truly cost-effective to develop and to reimburse. She says with a global population that will soon reach 9 billion, there have to be ways for the industry and governments to collaborate in mutually beneficial ways to develop and deliver effective medicines to all of the people who need them. Sheila is all about delivering on that goal.

She is bringing ePRO to the next level by introducing a wide range of ePRO modalities from handheld eDiaries, to the Web, to the first ePRO smartphone app. Smart, driven, talented, passionate are just a few of the adjectives that colleagues use to describe this dynamic game changer. She is committed to continuing to develop products that PHT can bring forth to help researchers keep patient-driven eData at the center of clinical research and expand into disease management to help truly improve health outcomes.

She credits her boss, Phil Lee, and her CEO, Steve Raymond, the founder and Chief Scientific and Quality Officer, and former boss Linda Beneze with providing mentorship and guidance throughout her career, as well as her eldest sister. In turn, Sheila is devoted to paying it forward and considers mentoring one of the most enjoyable things about her job. She works closely with members on her team to discuss long- and short-term career goals to figure out how together they can achieve those goals in ways that are great for the individual and the company. She draws inspiration from her family, particularly her three young children, and her husband, whom she says helps her find the funny side of things.

She also draws a great deal of inspiration from PHT’s clients, who she says are working on innovative new therapies that have the ability to dramatically improve health and treat disease. Rocchio says their dedication and passion for their work inspires her to work harder and help PHT deliver even better products that help the research process.


Learn more about Sheila through her PharmaVOICE 100 feature in the latest issue of PharmaVOICE.

To learn more about PHT Corp., visit www.phtcorp.com.

Check out the other 99 PharmaVOICE 100 honorees at www.pharmavoice.com.

Mission: Innovation - A PharmaVOICE 100 Spotlight

                                            Mario Martinez II

By Taren Grom, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, PharmaVOICE

Mario Martinez II is an entrepreneur on a mission.

Capitalizing on an early passion for technology, Mario’s quick learning style and creative approach to solving complex problems quickly parlayed into an IT career. After a supporting role at Cornet International, he joined Eisai in a sales technology management position.

He says working at Eisai, which was a pharmaceutical startup in the United States at the time, was an incredible experience and he counts working on the Alzheimer’s therapy Aricept particularly poignant as later the devastating disease became personal, affecting a member of his family.

Mario believes that the benefits that can be delivered to patients and families by the industry and knowing he and those who work to make a difference to millions of lives is an incredible value that is hard to get in other industries.

Mario says he was fortunate to work around great leaders and observe them in action as they built Eisai from a start-up to a full-fledged pharmaceutical company in the United States. And he counts Lonnel Coates, executive VP, and president, Americas region, Eisai, and president and CEO, Eisai Inc., as a key mentor during that time. Mario say Coates provided him with guidance on his career and personal growth.

After moving up the ranks at Eisai, Mario went on to a management role in sales technology at Medicis. After three years, he knew he was ready to pursue the passion he felt at Eisai and marry this with his expertise in technology.

The result was founding 360 Vantage in 2006 at the age of 30. His mission is elegant: pursue innovation. This young entrepreneur has had remarkable success in just afew short years: in addition to his first client, Medicis, he has added more eight more life-sciences clients, 30 employees, a development center in India, and a healthy margin that most CEOs would envy.

Martinez is positioning the company to push the limits of existing sales and marketing technology to design fast, accurate, and easy-to-use applications that can be accessed from anywhere, from the latest devices. Mario saw a growing need for business transformation and end-user adoption within the industry, and successfully predicted the emergence of cloud computing.

Since then, the company has become a pioneer in the development of custom CRM and marketing apps developed on Salesforce.com and Force.com platforms, with some of the industry’s first offerings for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.

Mario is more than just a visionary, he is also committed to his community and to giving back to those less fortunate. Mario has earned a place on the 2012 PharmaVOICE 100 and is inspiring his employees, clients, and colleagues to stretch beyond what they think is possible.

Learn more about Mario through his PharmaVOICE 100 feature in the latest issue of PharmaVOICE.


To learn more about 360 Vantage, visit www.360vantage.com.

Check out the other 99 PharmaVOICE 100 honorees at www.pharmavoice.com.

When Disciplines Collide: A PharmaVOICE 100 Spotlight

Dr. Chris Tobias

By Taren Grom, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, PharmaVOICE
There are very few in the life-sciences industry who can claim to have credible authority in multiple and cross-functional disciplines. Dr. Chris Tobias, Executive VP and Chief Scientific Officer, Director of Business Development at Dudnyk, is one of those few. Chris brings a unique perspective to the challenges that not only specialty brands and companies face but the complexity of communicating in a new world. No doubt his unique academic background, including a Ph.D. In neuroscience, an MS degree in physiology, and a BS in medical technology helps to frame his outlook in finding new ways to communicate with physicians. Colleagues say Chris' perspective is invaluable when meeting with clients, participating in pitches, or expanding the agency's footprint in new markets. Chris has been goal-oriented throughout his life — from his days as a hall-of-fame high school scholar athlete and top Division I NCAA gymnastics competitor — to his current role at Dudnyk. Chris says being the business development leader for Dudnyk from 2007 to 2010, a time period in which Inc. magazine listed the agency as among the 5000 fastest-growing, privately held companies in the US, has been a true career highlight.
He draws inspiration from many areas of his life. His grandfather, Ken Loomis, a WWII veteran who was married to his grandmother for 65 years, was the milk man for their small town of Ashtabula, Ohio. Chris says his grandfather worked incredibly hard to provide for his children/grandchildren, and he is the kindest, most honest, and most honorable man he has ever known. The good doctor Tobias also counts himself lucky to have had the good fortune while as a doctoral student to have had the late Dr. Judah Folkman — the father of tumor angiogenesis research — as an advisor/mentor. During Dr. Folkman's review of some of Chris' thesis research, he asked where Tobias planned to submit the specific research for publication. Chris mentioned the name of a modest but respectable journal, which would give what he believed his best chance for publication. Chris recalls that Dr. Folkman looked at him and said, “Aim high. You never know what will happen unless you try.” Those words have stuck with him ever since. He looks to pay forward the good advice he received by mentoring students in biomedical science. He believes many doctoral students are unaware of the numerous opportunities available to people in their field, and he helps them review their opportunities and network with colleagues if they are interested in leaving the laboratory. Chris' commitment to combining scientific insights with innovative and solid marketing as well as doing the right thing for his agency, his colleagues, and the next generation of aspiring scientists are just a few of the reasons that Chris Tobias has earned a spot on the 2012 PharmaVOICE 100 list.
Learn more about Chris through his PharmaVOICE 100 feature in the latest issue of PharmaVOICE.
To learn more about Dudnyk, visit www.dudnyk.com. To learn more about the other 99 PharmaVOICE 100 honorees, please visit www.pharmavoice.com.

Who Do You Know in the 2012 PharmaVOICE 100?

click on cover for a larger image

Today we unveiled our PharmaVOICE 100 for 2012. It's one of our most popular issues every year. Big thanks to all who sent in nominations, and a hearty congratulations to all who are in the 2012 PharmaVOICE 100.

I always enjoy my small role in bringing it to our readers every year. Our entire staff has a hand in it. Now it's your turn to enjoy the fruit of our labor of love.

This year's exemplary group is full of extraordinary leaders, innovators, game changers, researchers, scientists, clinical experts, technologists, creatives, patient advocates, and mentors. We dug deep to learn about their aspirations, successes, and life lessons, with a bunch of fun stuff added to the biographical mix.

The print issue is arriving in the mail this week, but you don't have to wait. Check out the Digital Edition now and see how many of your friends, colleagues, peers, and associates made the 2012 list. We promise you'll enjoy reading about this group of 100 exceptional people.

http://www.pharmavoice.com/content/digitaledition.html?pg=1