The Pistoia Alliance Appoints Advisory Board of Notable Life Science Figures to Support its Mission to Increase Industry Collaboration

February 13, 2017

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - Feb 13, 2017 - The Pistoia Alliance, a global, not-for-profit alliance that works to lower barriers to innovation in life sciences R&D, has appointed an advisory board to guide its strategy. Providing insight and expertise from across the industry, the board consists of 12 senior individuals spread throughout Europe and the US. Members are drawn from leadership positions in a variety of global life science, pharmaceutical and technology businesses; along with governmental and public bodies, including NICE and the NHS. The board will meet for the first time in London in March 2017.

“Our new advisory board members bring many decades of invaluable experience from across the life sciences industry. From payers and providers, to regulators and R&D heads - these knowledgeable individuals are perfectly placed to help develop our future strategy,” commented Steve Arlington, President of The Pistoia Alliance. “Their insights into the key challenges, threats and opportunities to the life sciences industry, will be crucial in helping our member companies direct their resources and keep on top of emerging trends.”

The full list of advisory board members follows:

  • Alan Lewis (Board Director at Assembly Biosciences Inc.,Board member at BıoMarın, President and CEO at Diavacs, Chairman of the Board at Batu Biologics, La Jolla, USA)
  • Bill Burns (Switzerland; Shire; Mesoblast; Vestergaard; Wellcome Trust; Institute of Cancer Research)
  • Bryn Roberts (Switzerland, Roche)
  • Carl Peck (USA, FDA and now NDAPartners)
  • David Feigel (USA, Amgen, UCSF and now NDA Partners)
  • Kevin Dean (UK, Cisco Europe, now Chair AMRA, Digital Health consultant & Adjunct Professor, Maersk Institute, Denmark)
  • Mike Farrar (UK, Head of NHS Trusts and now independent advisor, HC)
  • Paul Fitzpatrick (UK/USA, HLInc Consultant)
  • Shobie Ramakrishnan (USA, Genentech/AstraZeneca )
  • Tim Irish (UK, NICE, NED)
  • James P Sullivan (USA VP Discovery AbbVie)
  • Steve Wooding (UK/USA, Head Global Commercial and Market Access Strategy, Janssen)

The Pistoia Alliance’s mission is to overcome barriers to collaboration in life sciences. The new advisory board underlines its commitment to ensuring that members - which range from single individuals to global enterprises - continue to benefit from projects, events and collaborations on key industry issues. Moreover, the Pistoia Alliance members and the newly appointed board will also have the chance to be exposed to new technologies and innovations that will generate significant value for the worldwide life sciences R&D community.

The advisory board are available for media interviews to discuss their appointment, and what they believe are the biggest life sciences trends in 2017. Please contact pistoiaalliance@sparkcomms.co.uk to arrange.

The Pistoia Alliance is a global, not-for-profit members’ organization made up of life science companies, technology and service providers, publishers, and academic groups. It was conceived in 2007 and incorporated in 2009 by representatives of AstraZeneca, GSK, Novartis and Pfizer who met at a conference in Pistoia, Italy. It overcomes common R&D obstacles by identifying the root causes, developing standards and best practices, sharing pre-competitive data and knowledge, and implementing technology pilots.