For this article, I had the honor of interviewing two distinguished women scientists whose innovative ideas, tenacity, and vision transformed the field of diabetes research. Their scientific work advanced our understanding of diabetes and the development of new treatments. But these successes came at a time when there were very few women scientists. The unique…

NET cancer — or neuroendocrine tumor cancer — isn’t well known. It isn’t branded by the color pink and it doesn’t have a month dedicated to raising awareness. It isn’t associated with a controversial habit such as smoking that ignites passion on both sides of the conversation. When Steve Jobs and Aretha Franklin passed away…

Medical writers in the biopharmaceutical industry write and edit regulatory documents that support the development and approval of new medicines. These documents strictly adhere to the regulations of different health authorities around the world, so there’s no room for creative writing! But good medical writers need skills beyond good grammar, punctuation, and style. Write Clear, Concise,…

Clinical trials, especially for patients with rare diseases like neuroendocrine tumor (NET) cancer, play a critical role in expanding access to innovative treatments beyond limited standard-of-care options. Medicines that have not yet been approved by Health Authorities such as the US FDA are tested in clinical trials. But it can be difficult for patients to…

The biopharma industry suffers from an image problem. Exorbitant drug prices, out-of-control healthcare costs, and the opioid crisis paint the industry as greedy and valuing profit over patients. Even the rapid development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 only provided a short-lived boost. One way biopharma companies are working to improve public perception of the industry…

Years ago, when I worked on a communications campaign for a cardiovascular product, I advised the team to include a few points about the company to support the product-specific messages. The team pushed back, saying they wanted to focus on the product brand, and did not see the value of diluting their efforts with corporate…

When I first started working in the biopharmaceutical industry, I recall one executive proclaim, “We’re going to have to scour the world to find enough patients for this trial!” Recruiting patients into clinical trials has always been challenging. Some diseases under study were rare, so there were few patients to recruit. Some patients were skeptical…