Fishawack Health: 2023

Fishawack Health

No. 3 Booths Park, Chelford Road, Knutsford, Cheshire, UK, WA16 8GS  

+44 161 528 9606 • [email protected] • fishawack.com

Quick Facts

Accounts

• Account wins: 31
• Active business clients: 41
  

Brands by 2022 sales

• Brand-product accounts held 59

 

Fueled by the accelerated opportunities in healthcare innovation and new product pipelines, leaders of the marketing division of Fishawack Health (FH) say they established a better, connected community for team members, clients, and the patients, consumers, and HCPs who benefit from their brands.   

“In 2022, FH’s Marketing team experienced strong growth including several significant agency of record (AOR) wins, 12 brand launches, a plethora of digital and technology launches and initiatives, and a surge of new work organically grown from satisfied clients,” executives say. “This growth was powered by collaboration across the North American and Global marketing divisions, along with interdisciplinary projects with FH’s core disciplines in Consulting; Medical Communications; and Value, Evidence, and Access, reflecting clients’ increasing appetite for a commercialization partner throughout a product’s entire life cycle.” 

According to managers, biopharmaceutical, medical technology, and wellness clients continue to seek out FH’s data-driven omnichannel marketing services, which combine data, creativity, science, and strategy to deliver solutions that improve health outcomes. In 2022, FH further bolstered these services by launching its Digital Experience Technology (DET) offering, which executives say provides solutions, strategies, and out-of-the-box and customizable platforms to drive powerful stakeholder engagement. 

“Welcoming policy specialist consultancy Avalere in June, the marketing team now has access to deep policy and health equity expertise, and proprietary real-world data to drive further insights including how these developments impact patient populations and their behaviors,” executives say. “These insights are fueling powerful marketing strategies and campaigns that solve a variety of client and stakeholder challenges, particularly as pipelines are impacted by the Inflation Reduction Act.” 

The leadership team states that FH’s strong U.S. and global marketing performance can be attributed to “a renewed focus on an inclusive culture built to nurture diverse leaders, supporting team members with education and career development opportunities, and continuing to put client delivery at the forefront.

“FH takes its inspiration from its foundational belief that ‘better health happens when we connect,’” executives say.

Recent accomplishments

Marketing teams operating out of the U.S. and UK experienced significant wins across complex therapy areas with high unmet needs, many of which capitalized on the team’s prowess for leveraging proprietary tools and data, including artificial intelligence to drive impactful experiences that meet patients’ and healthcare professionals’ needs in fast-paced, evolving, and data-heavy landscapes,” the leadership team says.  

These wins include new digital and AOR accounts in rare, oncology, and specialty categories, along with medtech and medical device accounts. 

“Biopharmaceutical company Ipsen chose FH to launch a unique drug for a rare condition,” executives say. “A busy year with Travere Therapeutics included launch strategy and planning for a rare kidney disease therapy. In support of one of its healthcare service clients, the FH team helped launch the Carelon brand in the U.S., which serves one in three Americans through partnerships with health plans, customers, government agencies, and care providers.”   

Managers maintain that current clients continue to expand work with FH, given its expertise in rare disease. 

“Building on its long-term relationship with argenx, campaign work continues to expand in the U.S. and globally,” executives say. “In a unique collaboration, UCB turned to both the U.S. marketing division of FH and its Medical group to develop an immersive campaign to help HCPs understand the science behind certain autoimmune diseases. The U.S. marketing team is also working with Novocure to create a digital ecosystem for an innovative medical device to treat glioblastoma. And a U.S. and global partnership with a top-five pharma company continues to collaborate on a blockbuster multiple myeloma therapy in support of its multiple myeloma portfolio and to reinforce its leadership in rare blood cancers.”

To support U.S. Marketing’s growth and future plans, new leaders joined the agency, welcoming Marcia Goddard as chief creative officer; Geoff Thorne as chief technology officer; John Burke as senior VP, strategy; Leif Fescenmeyer as senior VP, engagement strategy; Timothy Kuhlmann as senior VP, client services; and Paul Vega, senior VP, client services.

“To further unify our capabilities and drive new opportunities, CEO Jon Koch hired Mario Muredda, former CEO of Harrison and Star, as president of marketing,” executives say. “In his new role at FH, Muredda will unite the agency’s U.S. and global marketing strategies and solutions, ensuring they remain at the forefront of clients’ needs and the needs of their stakeholders through the orchestration of connected and personalized experiences that blend scientific knowledge with strategic creativity.” 

Additionally, in January, Elly Price joined as managing director of global marketing. “As part of Muredda’s leadership team, Price will work closely with several other highly experienced marketing executives to drive further collaboration across geographies,” executives say. 

Managers point out that throughout the year, FH received industry award honors for multiple disease awareness and education campaigns that helped healthcare professionals understand the science and pathophysiology behind an autoimmune disease, and support and empower patients through their rare disease journeys. 

“In addition to these creative wins, two U.S. leaders, Afshan Hussain and Kristin Morris, received industry honors for their inspiring leadership and philanthropic dedication,” executives say. “In 2022, Hive and Pollen Health, a healthcare communication business that forms part of FH’s Global Marketing division, was also awarded the prestigious Great Place to Work award, including awards for Best Workplaces for Wellbeing and for Women.”

Structure and services

According to the leadership team, FH is “purposefully built to be a commercialization partner” for the biopharmaceutical, medical technology, and wellness industries.  

“Interdisciplinary thinking is at the heart of how FH works,” executives say. “Alongside the marketing capabilities are consulting; medical communications; and policy, access, value and evidence; and the expansion of its client-facing technology services under the banner of digital, experience, and technology. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, teams are empowered to bring a variety of lenses to meet each client’s commercialization needs, breaking down silos and accelerating the development of novel solutions.”

“In today’s constantly changing market, we believe the future of successful commercialization is the integration of data and personalization,” Muredda says. “We combine insight, strategy, creativity, and technology to personalize experiences at scale. We harness the power of digital to make interactions more relevant, more meaningful, more human.” 

Future plans

It’s an exciting time in the evolution of our marketing offering at FH, as we bring together our foundational expertise in science, analytics, creative, and digital technology to create brands that are intelligently dynamic, stay relevant, and provide growth by improving people’s health,” Koch says. “During the past year, FH has continued to attract impressive healthcare marketing talent and has garnered terrific feedback from our clients, which is a testament to our team members’ exceptional expertise. By further uniting our global and North American offerings, we can more effectively and efficiently deliver as an
analytics-driven brand agency of record for our clients and a growing and interconnected network of stakeholders that span the breadth of healthcare professional, patient, caregiver, and consumer audiences.”

According to the leadership team, FH’s goal for 2023 is to continue to support its team members with career opportunities and mobility and to deliver exceptional results for clients.

Philanthropy/citizenship

Giving back continues to be an important part of the FH culture,” says U.S. Chief Commercial Officer Annemarie Armstrong. “The Fishawack Gives Back program provides an opportunity to unite teams under the shared vision of a healthier world and builds the connections that make it happen.” FH supports rare disease communities and Rare Disease Day, established by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), which represents patients and families affected by rare diseases in the United States.  

The key philanthropic initiatives in 2022 highlighted by executives include partnering with the H.A.T. (Helping Around Town) Packs program to help fill weekend hunger gaps for local school children and their siblings and hosting a Bedtime Bundle Drive for Fostering Hope, an organization that provides resources to foster children and families. “Our teams collected over 100 pairs of pajamas, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and books to refill their supplies for the upcoming year,” managers say.

The agency also was involved in Developing a Wishing Well campaign, inspired by Earth Day, which supported local charities dedicated to protecting water sources and preventing the transmission of waterborne diseases. “The environmental activity complements the company’s global efforts to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2030,” executives say. 

Other activities included collaborating with local non-profit Sweet Celebrations to make Halloween special for a group of foster children, who are often unable to celebrate the holiday; and participating in an ongoing volunteer shift at People Serving People, an emergency shelter serving children and families experiencing homelessness.

Muredda states he is passionate about making a difference as well, and was recently elected board chair of Dream Foundation, a dream-granting organization serving terminally ill adults and their families.