Nicolas Touchot has been promoted to Managing Director
Easton Associates, LLC (EA), a global healthcare consulting firm, is proud to announce the promotion of Nicolas Touchot, Ph.D. to Managing Director effective February 18, 2008. Dr. Touchot, who joined the firm in 2001, has more than twenty years of consulting experience in the life sciences industry. He possesses in-depth expertise on European markets, particularly for innovative pharmaceutical and biotechnology products as well as medical devices.
Robert Friedman, Easton Associates Co-Founder and Managing Director, states that promoting Dr. Touchot to Managing Director "recognizes his enormous contributions to EA in terms of project execution, client development and overall leadership of our European efforts. His expertise, in concert with that of our EU Principals, Kerstin Waterloh, Ph.D. and Manfred Caeser, Ph.D., provides EA with a strong foundation to serve our clients in the EU."
"I am looking forward to building on our successes to date in the European market," says Dr. Touchot, who is based in Paris.
"With solid presence on the ground in Europe, we will continue to enhance the scope of our consulting expertise to the benefit of both our EU and US clients.."
Prior to joining Easton Associates, Dr. Touchot was a Principal at The Wilkerson Group (TWG) in London. Following TWG’s acquisition by IBM, he played a significant role in integrating The Wilkerson Group with IBM Global Services and in managing the EU Healthcare Practice. Previously, Dr. Touchot was part of the European management of Johnson & Johnson Interventional Systems where he specialized in market development and clinical testing. Earlier in his career, he worked as a research scientist for Princeton University and at INSERM.
In his twenty years as an advisor to healthcare industry executives, Dr. Touchot has been published in several industry trade journals and has been a frequent speaker on marketing and strategy issues. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Villitech, a French biotechnology focusing on the development of innovative approaches for the treatment of obesity.
"Dr. Touchot’s in-depth expertise in the healthcare sector and his proven track record of success will serve to accelerate the growth of our EU business," commented Charles Giuliani, Director of Operations.
Dr. Touchot holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Pierre et Marie Curie University in France and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Sept 17, 2007
Paul Zhang has been promoted to Principal
Easton Associates, LLC (EA), a leading global healthcare consulting firm, announced today that Paul Zhang has been promoted to Principal
Paul joined the firm as a Consultant in February 2002. Since then, he has had increasing responsibility in managing a diverse set of engagements serving clients in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries. His therapeutic areas of expertise include ophthalmology, gastroenterology, oncology and CNS Therapeutics.
Commenting on the appointment, Michelle Hasson, Managing Director and co-founder of EA said, Paul has an outstanding record of accomplishments, and is a colleague whom I have known and respected for many years. His diverse experience and strong industry knowledge position him well for this important role.”
Prior to joining EA, Paul spent seven years in the pharmaceutical industry. He started his professional career in the oncology discovery unit at Bristol-Myers Squibb. After receiving his MBA in 1999, Paul joined Knoll Pharmaceutical, and was responsible for strategic planning for their pain franchise, as well as new products including Meridia®. Paul was a Senior Manager at Pharmacia Corporation where he managed the pipeline valuation function for its primary care products.
Paul holds an M.B.A. degree from Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Manage ment, an M.S. degree from Rutgers University and a B.S. degree from Nanjing University in China.
July/Aug 2007
How To Price Cancer Drugs By: George Farrington, PhD, Michelle Hasson, Erin Garvey Olsen, Manfred Caeser, PhD
Competitors and payors will force drug companies to justify their prices based on value delivered. With oncology as an example, here’s one way to match the two. Read Full Article (pdf)
Apr 9, 2007
Dr. Stephen E. Yoder Brings Extensive Global Healthcare Expertise to Easton Associates, LLC
Easton Associates, LLC (EA), a leading global healthcare consulting firm, announced today that Stephen E. Yoder, MD, MBA, has joined the firm as Principal.
Over the past ten years, Dr. Yoder held a succession of positions at the global headquarters of Pfizer, Inc. Most recently, he served as Director, Worldwide Marketing, in the Cardiovascular-Metabolic Disease Therapeutic Area (CVMD), where his activities focused on product, market and advocacy development and implementation, external communications, launch planning, intelligence assessments, and atherosclerosis portfolio strategy. Prior to that, he was Director, New Product Development, within the CVMD Therapeutic Area, where he led commercial activities within integrated cross-disciplinary teams for internal Phase 2 global development and external co-development programs, along with commercial assessments for in-licensing and acquisition opportunities. He initially came to Pfizer as Director, Corporate Strategic Planning & Policy, where he provided staff support to the Pfizer senior management team, while also leading projects focused on long-range corporate planning, formulating strategies in critical technologies, including genomics, and developing healthcare public policies to support innovation.
Prior to joining Pfizer, Dr. Yoder was a Senior Manager within the Global Healthcare Practice of Arthur D. Little Management Consulting. His work with a range of pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, diagnostic, and medical device clients included new product development and marketing strategies, portfolio analysis and strategy, due diligence, and other opportunity assessments in every major therapeutic area.
Dr. Yoder received a Medical Degree from the University of Virginia, as well as a Masters of Business Administration, with a major in Health Care Management, from the Wharton School. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, and has held past clinical teaching appointments at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard Medical School.
In welcoming Dr. Yoder, Dr. Nicolas Touchot, Partner, commented, "Steve brings significant experience in international healthcare services. He has managed activities across the continuum of pharmaceutical innovation and commercialization, and through his experience and involvement with a range of scientific and professional organizations, enjoys a high profile and an excellent reputation. We are pleased to have Steve on our team."
"I am very excited about having the opportunity to bring all that I have learned over the past 20 years in patient care, healthcare consulting, and the global pharmaceutical industry to the Easton Associates team," said Steve. "EA offers a unique mix of expertise, experience, and focus that is highly valuable at a time of rising healthcare industry challenges and change, and I look forward to contributing to the success of our clients and firm."
Mar 15,2007
Easton Associates LLC (EA) Adds Experienced Consultant George L. Farrington, Ph.D.
Easton Associates, LLC (EA), a leading global healthcare consulting firm, announced today that George L. Farrington , Ph.D., has joined the firm as Principal.
For more than 25 years, Dr. Farrington has been a trusted advisor to senior executives in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology sectors on issues of strategy, business opportunities, and the use of technology to improve business performance. Dr. Farrington has carried out a broad range of product and market strategy development, portfolio optimization and commercial planning projects in most major therapeutic areas.
Prior to joining EA, Dr. Farrington was a Partner in the Health and Life Sciences consulting practice at Accenture, where he played a critical role in building the medical products practice. He led the team that developed the recently launched Latitude system for remote patient/device monitoring at Guidant – an effort viewed as critical to supporting and growing Guidant’s share in the $10 billion Cardiac Rhythm Management market.
Earlier, Dr. Farrington was instrumental in developing and growing the pharmaceutical practice at The Wilkerson Group (TWG). Following the acquisition of TWG by IBM, Dr. Farrington was responsible for merging resources into a cohesive pan-European consulting group, guiding TWG/IBM in the expansion of its consulting practice in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. At TWG, Dr. Farrington worked with several members of EA’s current leadership team.
“We are thrilled to be working with George again. He has an exceptional reputation and an unparalleled depth of knowledge in both the medical device and pharmaceutical markets,” said Kristine Lowe, Managing Director of EA. “His experience will be an invaluable asset to both EA and our clients. We are pleased to welcome him to our growing team and look forward to the significant contributions he will undoubtedly make to the firm and to our clients.”
“It’s a very exciting time to be working with this team again,” said George. “EA’s collaborative work style is one with which I am very familiar and it feels like coming home again. I am honored to be a part of this company and have a chance to contribute to the company's growth.”
Oct 18-19, 2006
Easton Associates co-sponsor of the 2006 Windhover Neuroscience Therapeutic Alliance Series
Easton Associates, AstraZeneca, Merck, and NI Research sponsored the 2006 Windhover Neuroscience Therapeutic Alliance Series in Atlanta. This meeting brought neuroscience Business Development and R & D professionals together in the hopes of fostering drug commercialization partnerships
Robert Friedman and Paul Zhang, representing Easton Associates, moderated the Windhover’s Top 10 Licensable Neuroscience Projects session. This session discussed the key attributes of the top 10 licensable neuroscience projects including: biological targets, first indication(s), competitor compounds, clinical results to date, intellectual property, and existing partnerships
Oct 15, 2006
Robert J. Easton Steps Down as Company Chairman
Effective October 15 2006 , Robert J. Easton stepped down as Chairman of Easton Associates to pursue other interests within the healthcare industry. The firm will continue under the leadership of its Managing Directors, Robert Friedman, Michelle Hasson, Kristine Lowe, and Marie Cassese. Dr. Nicolas Touchot will continue to lead the firm’s European office.
For over twenty-five years, Mr. Easton has been recognized as a world-wide leader in healthcare consulting. His accomplishments include leading and building two top medical consulting firms, the Wilkerson Group from 1985-2000 and Easton Associates since 2000. As a healthcare consulting executive, Mr. Easton has mentored a generation of management consultants; influenced the decision-making of healthcare professionals, worldwide; and supported the needs of hundreds of clients throughout the United States , Europe , Asia and the Middle East . Mr. Easton holds a M.B.A. from Harvard University and an undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Rice University . Currently, Mr. Easton also serves as a Director of CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals; eXegenics, Inc.; Cepheid; and Special Limited Partner of Advanced Technology Ventures.
Sep, 2006
Easton Associates continues to expand its European presence and global capabilities
Dr. Kerstin Waterloh, MBA, PhD joins EA following several successful years
as team leader for the lifesciences division of IKB Private Equity, a German-based
investment bank. Dr. Waterloh has extensive consulting experience having previously
worked with the Wilkerson Group, IBM Healthcare Consulting, and as an independent
consultant to lifescience focused companies. Kerstin will be based in Munich,
Germany and will assist EA in broadening its European presence while leveraging
her extensive consulting, management, and advisory board experience.
Aug, 2006
For the third year in a row, Easton Associates is recognized in the Vault Guide to the Top 50 Management and Strategy Consulting Firms
Vault, Inc., a leading provider of professional services company information,
advice, and career management services, named Easton Associates as one of the
top management and strategy consulting firms in its Guide to the Top 50 Management
Consulting firms, 2007 edition. This follows on inclusion in the Vault’s
Guide to the Top 50 Management Consulting Firm 2005 and 2006 editions. These companies
were selected because of their prominence in the consulting industry and their
interest to job seekers.
Some excerpts from the Vault's write-ups of Easton Associates include:
“Easton Associates boasts more than 20 years of uninterrupted focus
in the healthcare area, as well as a network of relationships that allows the
consultancy to keep its finger on the healthcare pulse…”
“Serving heavy-hitting clients in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology,
diagnostics, and medical devices, Easton has developed long-standing relationships
with clinicians who help the firm evaluate new product and business concepts…”
“Eastonites enjoy extensive exposure to both clients and senior management…”
Jul, 2006
Easton Associates Chairman, Robert Easton, receives the Jerry Goldsmith Award for Excellence from the Diagnostics Marketing Association
The American Association of Clinical Chemistry and the Diagnostics Marketing
Association (DxMA) established the “Jerry Goldsmith Award for Excellence”
to be awarded annually to an individual as recognition of his/her contributions
to the DxMA and the diagnostics industry.
Jul, 2006
EA Hosts Diagnostics Industry Leaders Meeting during the American Association of Clinical Chemistry Conference
Easton Associates hosted a meeting of leaders in the diagnostics
industry during the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry
in Chicago. Here is a sample of the attendees’ predictions for the future:
Vice President, Marketing, a US molecular diagnostics company: “In
cancer, within 10 years worldwide, and less in the US, genomic profiling will
become the standard of care for the vast majority of newly diagnosed patients.
Properly valuing tests will require letting go of the CPT system and moving to
value-based based pricing.”
CEO, a US diagnostics company: “Next year we will see diagnostics
companies build on the work of leading molecular and specialty diagnostics companies
in highlighting the value of new, specialized diagnostic tests.”
Chairman and President, a European diagnostics company: “We will
see customized medicine make great advances, tests that select the right therapy
for the right patient.”
Chairman and Founder, a multinational diagnostics company: “We will
see earlier detection of diseases such as cancer, and will be able to pre-diagnose,
pre-treat and prevent many more illnesses.”
Easton Associates: “Tomorrow’s winners will be tests that provide
clinically useful differential diagnosis of people already known to have a serious
disease and can select appropriate therapy or non-therapy for them.”
Apr, 2006
Panel Discussion, “Successors to the Blockbuster Model” as part of the Biotechnology Industry Organization Annual Meeting
Easton Associates invited and orchestrated a panel discussion
of leaders in the biopharmaceuticals industry to discuss business models for future
success in the wake of the decline of the blockbuster model.
Panel members consisted of industry executives with responsibility for assessing
and making investments in drugs for clinical trials or in-licensing and in companies
with early-stage compounds, offered its views on the following questions:
What is the prognosis for R&D productivity and industry revenue growth
over the next ten years?
What's wrong with the way companies are making investments today in clinical
trials and in licensing?
What business models will succeed the blockbuster model and produce better
returns?
Which companies are best positioned to make these changes - biotechs, big
pharma or mid-sized pharma companies?
What can clinical and business development executives do to identify and apply
a new business model?
What evidence is there that successors to the blockbuster model are producing
results?
Jan, 2006
6th Annual Easton Associates Healthcare Industry Leader Luncheon held at the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, CA
Easton Associates hosted a meeting of industry leaders in pharmaceuticals,
biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostics at the 25th Annual JP Morgan Healthcare
Conference in San Francisco. Participants included 20 CEOs, CFOs and Corporate
Development heads from pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and diagnostic
companies. Each participant was asked to describe their one most important learning
of the past year, and give one prediction on industry trends over the next five
years.
Oct, 2005
Panel Discussion, “Marketing and Strategy: Niche versus Blockbuster Drugs” as part of a symposium titled “The Future of Healthcare and the Biotech Industry: Risky Business?”
Paul Zhang, Senior Engagement Manager at EA, joined a panel of industry experts
to discuss market and strategy approaches for niche versus blockbuster drugs at
a symposium hosted by the Johnson School Healthcare and Biotech Club at Cornell
University, NY
The annual Healthcare & Biotechnology Symposium is aimed
at generating discussions and debates on the values and risks of the biopharmaceutical
industry. The two main themes at the symposium are: choosing between niche products
and blockbuster drugs, and the tradeoffs of mergers & acquisitions vs. strategic
alliances. Participants of the panel include senior industry executives from major
pharmaceutical and biotech companies, as well as consulting firms and investment
banks deeply involved in the healthcare space.
