60 seconds with Jake James, Analyst

Q: Tell us about you

A: I am a pharmacologist by degree class, with a Bachelor’s in Pharmacology and Physiology, and a Master’s in Drug Discovery from University College London. My Master’s focused on Pharma Management as a core module, and this interested me to investigate the economic side of the industry. My thesis explored medicinal cannabis and the potential impact cannabinoid therapies could have on the pharmaceutical industry, this led me to working at a cannabis consultancy for a year. Market access interests me because it allows me to combine my knowledge as a pharmacologist with real world application of health economics, to deliver medicines to patients.  

Outside of work I play basketball and English pool in a league. I love theme parks and I’m a great fan of Alton Towers and Disney Land in Florida. I love going to new places, and I’m hoping to go to New York next Christmas, hopefully I’ll manage to get to a Knick’s game when I’m there!

Q: What is your role at Lightning Health?

A: I am an Analyst at Lightning Health. I support consultancy projects by obtaining key stakeholder opinions regarding pricing, reimbursement, and prescription behaviours. As an Analyst, I conduct primary and secondary research, analyse the data, and use the insights generated to make recommendations to our clients. My previous experience in data analysis and research techniques throughout my academic career and beyond equip me well for this role. 

Q: Tell us more about your interests in Neurology.

A: During my Bachelors degree I completed a dissertation on Parkinson’s disease and global DNA methylation using Exendin-4 as a treatment on specific cell lines. Parkinson’s disease has a significant disease burden with an historically low number of treatment options. My interest in neurology was furthered when I studied Lipinski’s rule of 5, where I started to understand why traditional small molecule drugs don’t penetrate the blood-brain barrier.  

The transformative potential of innovative therapies and personalised medicine to significantly improve health outcomes is important for diseases with poor therapy options, such as Parkinson’s disease. It is a career aspiration of mine to work on an innovative treatment option for Parkinson’s, and be part of the team that helps to get it reimbursed around the world for patients to widely access it! 

Article published 27 January 2022.