Partnering with Your Compliance Teams to Advance Meaningful Collaboration with Patients

Victoria Bates began her career in the NHS as a nurse, midwife. She has over 25 years of experience working within the Health Service and Pharmaceutical Industry in senior commercial and operational roles, developing and delivering strategic programs in the UK and Europe to support Life Sciences collaborations with Health systems to better empower Citizens and Health professionals to improve health and well-being and achieve outcomes that matter to patients. Ms Bates is an Independent Management Consultant for Life Science and Health, her work is focussed on supporting organisations to deliver greater value and build sustainable collaborative partnerships. Ms Bates led the development of the ABPI Patient Engagement Strategy launched in April 2021, and has overseen the implementation including exploring how to improve Patient Organisations and Pharma working together. Ms Bates is an Affiliate member of Swansea University and contributes to their Value Based Healthcare Executive Education and MBA programmes. Over the past year she has worked with a number of Pharma and Market Access organisations to further support work in partnerships and is a Non-Executive Director for the Life Science Hub in Cardiff.

Dr Natalie Bohm was awarded a Masters in Law at Oxford University in 2000. She qualified as a doctor at St. George’s Hospital Medical School, University of London in 2005, completed a PGCert Healthcare Management, at Manchester Business School in 2012 and a PhD Health Services Research University College London in 2020. She was awarded a Darzi Fellowship in 2011. She is a Board-certified ENT surgeon, having completed her postgraduate training in Otolaryngology. She worked as an ENT surgeon in the NHS and Clinical Academic Lecturer at University College London before joining Pfizer in 2018. Dr Bohm is a Senior Associate Tutor at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, and an Associate Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine. She was appointed Medical Director External Engagement at Pfizer in 2021.

James Read has led public and patient engagement in many areas of healthcare over a life sciences industry career spanning 25 years – as a central element of wider, successful public affairs, policy and communications strategies. He led the launch of one of the first magazines focused on people affected by cancer at Hayward Medical Communications. At AstraZeneca Mr Read led global mental health public relations based at AZ’s then HQ for neuroscience R&D in Delaware, at the height of the company’s success in that field. Founding the international public affairs team of Gilead Sciences Europe in London as part of its International Operating Committee, he led the company’s engagement with HIV and hepatitis communities in the years prior to the transformation of the hepatitis C treatment landscape. In the field of cardiovascular health, Mr Read was responsible for corporate affairs supporting a major UK launch for Amgen while also leading internal and external communications for Amgen’s European R&D hub. Today as a member of MSD’s External Affairs Leadership Team in the UK, he is responsible for policy and communications across Public Health and Diversified Medicines – recently leading the company’s UK and European communications, and UK policy engagement, in the COVID-19 antiviral space. At MSD Mr Read has also worked on governance approaches in a range of areas including engagement with members of the public, social media and data privacy. With a background in science, he is motivated by opportunities to support better health outcomes and wellbeing by building public understanding of health and science.

Jayne Spink is Translational Research Director with Prostate Cancer Research. Dr Spink believes strongly that patient engagement and involvement is central to delivering innovation that meets patient needs and preferences. After graduating with a PhD from Cambridge University, Dr Spink became a postdoctoral researcher. After leaving the bench she worked for the UK Department of Health leading the Genetic Science, Safety and Regulation team, developing policy related to genetics and advanced therapies and supporting the work of the Gene Therapy Advisory Committee. Dr Spink has served as an Associate Director of the Centre for Clinical Practice at NICE and has held senior positions in the third sector for over 15 years;  Director of Policy & Research (Multiple Sclerosis Society) and as CEO of the Tuberous Sclerosis Association, CEO of Genetic Alliance UK and Chair of Rare Disease UK.