Senior leaders from patient organisations and from the pharmaceutical industry came together to discuss best practice in patient partnerships at the inaugural Patient Partnership Index Conference.
Hosted by OVID Health MD Jenny Ousbey – chair of the judges for the Index and co-founder of the initiative – the virtual event was held on the 7th October and featured key figures from companies who achieved the coveted GOLD-standard in this year’s Patient Partnership Index, alongside the patient organisations they have worked with.
Over the course of two hours, the event highlighted important lessons and ideas that featured across successful entries to the Index, provided insights into the characteristics of impactful and innovative patient partnerships, and examined the challenges and opportunities for pharma and patient organisations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking after the Conference, Jenny said: “It’s fantastic to have seen such passion and effort in putting patients at the heart of pharma. Our speakers provided excellent, thought-provoking insights into the many ways patient partnerships have evolved and the next steps for patient-centred partnerships. I’m already very excited for the Index 2021 and proud that OVID Health is leading this conversation as a health communications agency.”
Jess Mills, Founder of the Tessa Jowell Foundation and daughter of the late Labour peer Baroness Tessa Jowell, opened the Conference with a keynote Q&A.
Speakers from the pharmaceutical industry on the event’s two panels included Nicole Farmer (General Manager for Sanofi Genzyme in UK & Ireland), Dr Giancarlo Notarriani (General Manager for Intercept Pharmaceuticals) and Amanda Cunnington (Director at Janssen UK).
A number of patient organisations were also represented, with the CEOs of MS Trust, the UK Sepsis Trust and Crohn’s & Colitis UK amongst the participants.
The Patient Partnership Index was launched in May 2020 by OVID Health and PharmaTimes to showcase pharmaceutical and biotech companies who have demonstrated and acted upon a commitment to patient-centricity in their patient communications, engagement and advocacy.
The other Judges for the Index were Selina McKee (Editor of PharmaTimes), Richard Davidson (CEO of Sarcoma UK) and Jill Pearcy (Director of Code Engagement at the ABPI), who awarded the top entries for 2020 GOLD, SILVER or FINALIST standard.
The Patient Partnership Insights report from OVID Health will contain ideas and themes from the initiative and the Conference and will be released later this year. To request a copy of this report or for more information on the Conference please contact hello@ovidhealth.co.uk.
Pre-registration for the Patient Partnership Index 2021 is now open, and all life science companies are invited to take part and help raise the bar even further for industry. Sign up here on the Patient Partnership Index website.