The team
We are an evolution of the traditional market access consultancy. Our on demand stakeholder technology allows our consultants to access real world insights faster than ever before, and with increased accuracy. The result is the agility to continuously test and develop value and evidence, that optimises go-to-market strategies and patient access.

We are a team of highly experienced market access professionals and leading industry and policy stakeholders from around the world. Our experience spans from within industry, government and strategic consultancy, covering value development and communication, evidence generation and opportunity assessment.

Market access 2.0!
Nick Stringfellow
Senior Analyst

Nick’s educational background comprises of a BSC in Biology and a Biotechnology and Enterprise MSc, both awarded at the University of Manchester. During his bachelor’s, Nick gained lab experience while investigating the effects of the parasite Trichuris muris on intestinal myofibroblast activation using fluorescent microscopy. His Masters research focussed on a bioinformatic analysis of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms within human YKL-40 gene and how these may contribute to disease conditions through alteration of the protein’s tertiary structure. This gave Nick an appreciation of the importance of both laboratory and desk-based research in uncovering scientific breakthroughs.

His Masters also had a heavy focus on the commercial aspects of the life sciences industry in the form of a business project with the aim of bringing a novel electronic biosensor to market. Everything from product design, clinical trial requirements, regulatory processes, market selection and product launch had to be reported on, culminating in a final business pitch. Nick found the process to be highly stimulating and this led him to pursue a career in market access.

“I am passionate about working at the forefront of scientific breakthroughs and am excited to see the impact I can have on the commercialisation of new medicines. I believe I will find it rewarding both intellectually but also morally, knowing that I was able to contribute to the medical access of some of the most neglected diseases.”

Stuart Hurst
Executive Advisor (Launch Excellence)

Stuart has over thirty years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry. During this time, he has worked across sales, marketing, public affairs and market access. Stuart started his pharmaceutical career as a Regional Manager with Servier before moving to Astra (before the merger with Zeneca) where his roles included NHS Facilitator (an early market access role) and regional controller.

Stuart had a number of roles at Pfizer, starting in Sales Management before setting up the Market Access team, one of the first in the UK at the time. Stuart then moved to Pfizer’s Government Affairs team in Brussels, before joining Eli Lilly as Head of European Public Affairs. There he was responsible for a cross-functional team covering Government Affairs, Communications, Policy Development, Patient Advocacy and Corporate Responsibility.

More recently, Stuart has focussed on rare diseases. Firstly with Synageva as VP, European Market Access & Government Affairs, where he took an ultra-orphan medicine from phase III results to being ready for pricing & reimbursement submission in all major markets in nine months. He then joined Akcea as Head of Global Market Access, Pricing and Reimbursement and established the function at global and country level, prior to the launch of an ultra-orphan in mid-2019.

Stuart is now working as an Independent Consultant supporting biotech companies looking to commercialise medicines for rare diseases internationally. His work includes commercial strategy & sequencing, global market access capacity and competency development, market access due diligence and talent acquisition.

Chris Teale
Executive Advisor (Rare and Advanced Therapies)

Chris brings with him 25+ years practical and academic experience within the pharmaceutical industry, across both Marketing and R&D having been Director of Global Pricing and Market Access (Oncology) at Astra Zeneca, Director Health Economics, Pricing, Reimbursement and Access at Allergan, Commercial Planning Manager at Fisons, and Portfolio Planning Manager at Novartis in Switzerland.

For the past 10 years he worked in Consultancy (Bridgehead International, GfK, and Ipsos) and in 2023 founded TealeHealth Ltd, a consultancy providing expert Advisory, Access, and Analytic support on Advanced Personalised Therapies.

Chris brings significant experience of identifying and overcoming hurdles along the whole value chain – clinical development, manufacturing, distribution, regulatory assessment, health technology assessment, market access, pricing, marketing, and product uptake. He specialises in helping companies understand the value and sustainability of their differentiation relative to the competition and the evidence requirements to underpin this.

Chris has a mathematics and operational research background having studied at Newcastle and Loughborough universities, and at INSEAD Business School in France. He is an occasional lecturer on health economics and pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement at Kings College London and University of California (San Diego), a member of ISPOR (International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research) and PMSA (Pharmaceutical Management Science Association).

Dr Gary Owens
Executive Advisor (US)

Dr Owens served as the Vice President of Medical Management and Policy at Independence Blue Cross (IBC) for 22 years with responsibilities for medical and pharmacy management, technology evaluation and medical policy.

Among his accomplishments at IBC was the development of their medical policy process with on-line access, and the launch of a coordinated care management approach to medical and pharmacy management. He was also in charge of the 2006 launch of FutureScripts, IBC’s wholly owned Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM). Forming his own consulting practice in 2007, Dr Owens provides strategic and tactical consulting services to a wide range of clients including pharmaceutical manufacturers, device manufacturers and other developers of new technology.

He has presented extensively on managed care, including at conferences of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), the National Association of Managed Care Physicians (NAMCP), and the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care. He has written 120 articles and editorials on managed care, pharmacy, and biotechnology, which have been published in American Health and Drug Benefits, The Journal of Managed Care Medicine, The American Journal of Managed Care, Journal of Managed Care and Speciality Pharmacy and Disease Management.

Dr Owens is the Past Chair of the Arthritis Foundation of Eastern PA and he was a former member of the Foundation’s Northeast Regional Board of Directors. Dr Owens was the first physician to serve (2014-2018) as a Board member of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy.

Our values inform our decisions and behaviours, shape our culture, and are used everyday to guide us when working to achieve our mission.

Our values

We empower our
team to thrive

 

Motivating | Inclusive | Knowledgeable

 

We support our team to grow, both professionally and personally, with a strong emphasis on maintaining a healthy work-life balance. We genuinely appreciate every individual team member, and aim to inspire a sense of purpose in all their work.

We care

 

 

Committed | Inspired | Understanding

 

We are committed to supporting the life sciences sector, to improve patient care in areas of unmet need. We extend our values and aspirations to our clients, so that together, we understand and appreciate the needs of the patients who benefit from our research.

We achieve things that
we are proud of

 

Collaborative | Experienced  Courageous

 

We empower clients our with technology and support them with our expertise. As a trusted partner, we act with uncompromising integrity and dedication, and can be relied upon to deliver high quality insights and informed advice.

We have fun

 

 

Friendly | Supportive | Vibrant

 

We nurture an environment where we encourage, appreciate and take care of each other; because fun happens when people are trusted. We are selective when finding new people to join us, to ensure we maintain the welcoming and inclusive culture.