Zoomedia Blog
Zoomedia recently had the privilege to spend a day with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation discussing challenges and strategies to help the organization advance its mission to fund research and bring patients to the center of the drug development process.
In our meetings, we were struck by the difference having a patient in the room makes. Kathy Giusti, CEO of MMRF was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1996. She was 37 years old, the mother of two young children, and at the height of her career as an executive in the pharmaceutical industry. The focus, drive, and motivation of Kathy and her team is palpable and leaves little room for inefficiencies or lack of clarity. Kathy challenged our thinking, our commitment, and our role as a life science communications agency. The ante is most definitely upped when the person you are addressing is the person ultimately affected by the results of your efforts.
As a communications agency for the life sciences, our job is to help articulate how our clients are working towards better therapies for patients. That includes communicating the challenges and roadblocks faced by every life science company – the science is incredibly hard, the regulatory environment is difficult to navigate, raising funds and maintaining a positive investor position takes constant effort, and of course there is always that moment when everything comes down to the success of a clinical trial and whether a potential product really does what you have pinned your hopes on… With all of this part of the daily work at a life science company, keeping the patient top of mind brings clarity, focus and inspiration to our work. Meeting people like Kathy and the MMRF team show what can be achieved and provides a benchmark for all of us involved in bringing better treatments to patients faster.
Bringing patients into the room can only elevate discussions on how to improve the drug development process and bring urgency to our collective efforts to cure diseases.
Bringing patients into the room can only improve clinical trial awareness and participation - fill trials faster, lower costs, speed results, sounds good?
Bringing patients into the room keeps it real and there's nothing more real than working to improve life…
Barbara
Tags: Patient Strategy, MMRF
carey kriz - March 4, 2008, 7:22 pm
Barbara,
You have just used the title of my book, which will be hitting the streets in mid April, as the title of your blog. As an FYI, the problem is a lot bigger than you can imagine and will be even harder to fix. Keep writing on the topic. We need more people to think this way.
Carey Kriz
"The Patient will See You Now"
Roman and Littlefield