If you are a MA-based full time student interested in attending this event, financial assistance is available through the Stay in MA program.  Please visit www.stayinma.com

Futures in Life Sciences Commercialization 2 (Reimbursement, Market Access, Patient Advocacy, and Pharmacoeconomics) Panel Discussion and Networking Event 

Are you a current graduate student (MBA, MPH, JD, Eng, Ph.D., MD etc,) or post doctoral fellow who is interested in learning how pharmaceuticals are reimbursed, what factors affect this assessment, and how companies determine pricing.  Are you interested in the economics of pharmaceuticals and understanding how companies use assessments such as  cost minimization analysis, cost benefit analysis, cost effectiveness, and cost utility analysis. Are you looking to learn more about patient advocacy and what people in these exciting and growing roles do? Are you interested in market access and understanding how companies evaluate and plan strategies to ensure patients all over the world have access to live saving therapeutics?  If the answer to the above is yes, then join us on October 16^th 2012 for the 7^th event in our 2012 Futures in Life Science Series which will cover information about and career paths in the areas of Reimbursement, Pharmacoeconomics, Patient Advocacy, and Market Access.  

Date: October 16^th, 2012

Location:  MassBio Offices, Cambridge, MA

Time: 5:30pm – 8:00pm 

Propel Careers, MassBio, and the MassBioEd have joined together to organize a series of networking and panel events focused on raising awareness of career paths that exist in life sciences for individuals with advanced degrees. This Futures in Life Science program will bring together experts across a wide range of disciplines and functional areas within the life science industry, who will detail their roles and will provide a rich context for the audience to gain a clear understanding of the skills, aptitudes, competencies, and personalities that thrive in their particular functions. 

Attendance for this program is open to current graduate students, post doctoral fellows, and medical residents who are interested in careers in the life sciences industry.  Space is limited to 100 individuals. Food and refreshments will be provided.

The event will focus on the various career options within the commercial area of the life sciences sector including Reimbursement, Market Access, Patient Advocacy, and Pharmacoeconomics where individuals with advanced degrees can thrive. 

Meeting Agenda:

5:30pm-6:00pm– Registration and Open Networking 

6:00pm-6:10pm – Introductions, Overview, and Recognition of Sponsors

6:10pm-7:30pm – Panel Discussion

Panelists:

 - Mike Walsh, Advocacy Development, Medimmune

- Amy Winnen, Sr. Director, Managed Markets, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

- Amy Connor, MPH, Senior Consultant, Market Access, Healthcare, GfK Bridgehead 

- Peggy McKinnon, Sr. Director, Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Cubist Pharmaceuticals

7:30pm-8:00pm – Open Networking

Upcoming Events in the Series:

November 20^th:Finance, Legal, Operations Career Paths - http://fils82012.eventbrite.com/

About the Moderator and Panelists

Rob Lowrance, Sr. Recruiter, Collaborative Consulting

Rob has over eleven years of experience in the life sciences and his roles have included staffing and recruiting, medical affairs, marketing, and clinical operations.  He is currently a Sr. Recruiter with Collaborative Consulting, a technology and Information Management consulting firm where he is focused on building their life science practice.  He is also a former employee and current adviser of Propel Careers, and has been involved with the Futures in Life Science program since its inception.  Prior to Propel, Rob worked for Veritude, EMD Serono and Genzyme.  He has a B.A. in Psychology from Colgate University and an MSW with a focus on clinical social work from Simmons College.

Michael Walsh, Advocacy Development, MedImmune

Medimmune is a Gaithersburg, MD-based biotechnology company that serves as the global vaccines and biologics division of AstraZeneca. MedImmune Advocacy serves as the company’s central resource for national and regional organizations working together to positively impact disease awareness, education, public policy and access for patients and families. Their mission is to be an engaged corporate participant helping drive optimal health outcomes in relationship with our many disease state partners. Prior to this role, Mr. Walsh has held several different commercial roles at MedImmune as well as Amgen and serves on a number of Boards of Directors, including the Massachusetts March of Dimes. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Management and Marketing and a minor concentration in Political Science from Bryant University, in Smithfield, RI.

Amy Winnen, Senior Director, Trade and Distribution, Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Amy Winnen is the Senior Director of Trade and Distribution at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. In this role, Ms. Winnen designs and implements the global commercial distribution strategies to ensure Vertex is well prepared to successfully and independently commercialize products.  Prior to joining Vertex, she managed distribution and related commercial operations functions for Millennium Pharmaceuticals. Additionally, Winnen has several years of experience in pharmaceutical business consulting. She holds an MBA from the Simmons School of Management and a BA in Economics and Sociology from St. Lawrence University.

Amy Conner, MPH, Senior Consultant, Market Access, Healthcare, GfK Bridgehead 

Amy Conner is a Senior Consultant in Bridgehead’s Boston office with over 10 years of experience with roles in medical device and diagnostic companies as well as reimbursement, pricing and market access consulting firms. Prior to joining Bridgehead, Amy spent three years as the Director of Reimbursement at Trans1 Inc-a small medical device firm with a novel implant in the spine fusion space.  In her role as Director, Amy was responsible for obtaining coverage, coding and payment for the Company’s portfolio of products and managed a field team of reimbursement specialists. Amy was a Senior Manager with QIAGEN Corporation (formerly Digene Corporation) for five years where she assisted with the execution of a coverage campaign that resulted in near universal coverage for the Company’s molecular-HPV test.  Additionally, she developed and implemented tactical reimbursement programs to increase patient access to HPV testing. In addition to Amy’s industry experience, she has extensive consultancy experience working first at Boston Healthcare Associates and then the Frankel Group where she ran engagements focused on managed care and reimbursement strategy, product positioning, pricing, and market development. Amy holds a Master of Public Health in Health Administration from Boston University’s School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Boston University.

Peggy McKinnon, Sr. Director of Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Cubist Pharmaceuticals

Peggy leads the HEOR team which is a sub-function within Medical Affairs.  Her group employs six FTEs in HEOR primarily engaged in developing the scientific strategy and conducting data generation to support the value of all of our products.  This includes providing input regarding optimal endpoints into early drug development plans for phase II and III clinical trials as well as ensuring data needs for global market access and HEOR life-cycle management planning.  Her previous roles were in academia and clinical pharmacy, functioning primarily as an infectious diseases pharmacist engaging in health outcomes research.  She spent 9 years at Detroit Receiving Hospital/Wayne State University and 5 years at Barnes Jewish Hospital/Washington University (St Louis). She is a fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy and have served on the Board of Directors for the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists.  She completed her BS in Pharmacy at UCONN, did a residency for a year at the Mayo Clinic, then went back to complete her PharmD at SUNY Buffalo.  She then spent two years in post-doctoral fellowship training in Buffalo in Infectious Diseases and Pharmacoeconomics.  Practicing as a clinical pharmacist, she encountered many questions where answers did not come from randomized, clinical trials, designed to evaluate drug efficacy and safety.  No patient is the same as an “average” patient and it was clear that there were many gaps in the existing data that, if filled, could help clinicians better manage patients.  She dedicated her research practice to evaluating the best practices to help our patients.  Today, she is as invigorated as ever by the need to answer these questions, and at Cubist she has opportunities to design trials to evaluate relevant outcomes for patients with infection and other diseases in the acute care setting.  The healthcare landscape is undergoing massive evolution.  Central to the success of efficient healthcare delivery is understanding the value products and interventions bring to our patients.  The need for outcomes data continues to grow and it is exciting to be a part of creating the solutions moving forward. 

About the Organizers

MassBio - MassBio, a not-for-profit organization that represents and provides services and support for the Massachusetts biotechnology industry, is the nation's oldest biotechnology trade association. Founded in 1985, MassBio is committed to advancing the development of critical new science, technology and medicines that benefit people worldwide. Representing over 600 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, research hospitals, and service organizations involved in life sciences and health care, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs and events, industry information, and services. To learn more, visit: http://www.massbio.org. 

MassBioEd - The Massachusetts Biotechnology Education Foundation, founded in 2001, is a non-profit charitable organization committed to supporting science and biotechnology education in Massachusetts through school programs, workforce training, and lifelong learning.  MassBioEd is closely affiliated with the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council and helps the Council in fulfilling its goals to nurture the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) pipeline in Massachusetts. To learn more, visit http://www.massbioed.org. 

Propel Careers - Propel Careers is a Boston based life sciences search and career development firm founded in 2009 to foster entrepreneurship and to cultivate leaders in the life sciences industry.  Propel recognizes the importance of job creation and career development opportunities to the success of the industry as well as to next generation of industry leaders.  The mission of Propel Careers is to make connections that fuel innovation, and we do this through placement, networking, coaching and mentorship.  To learn more, visit http://www.propelcareers.com.