NEW YORK, NY, September 23, 2022: PM360, a leading life sciences marketing industry trade publication, announced the winners of their 14th annual Trailblazer Awards during an event held at Gotham Hall in New York City on Thursday, September 22, 2022. The awards recognize outstanding companies, CEOs, products, marketers, brand managers, and cutting-edge initiatives within the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and diagnostics industries. In total, 72 winners were named across eight overall categories: Companies of the Year, CEOs of the Year, Products of the Year, Marketer of the Year, Marketing Team of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Brand Champions, and Initiatives.
“After everything our industry accomplished these past two years during the pandemic, they deserved a celebration worthy of their accomplishments and we were overjoyed to be able to deliver that with the return of our in-person gala,” says Anna Stashower, CEO and Publisher of PM360. “This year’s winners have continued to showcase the power of innovation to deliver better care with first-in-class treatments for rare diseases like generalized myasthenia gravis, groundbreaking diagnostic capabilities using CRISPR technology, and advances made in lung cancer, kidney disease, overactive bladder, actinic keratosis, and much more. Not to mention how creativity, powerful messaging, and ingenious applications of technology further help to deliver these treatments and devices to people who need them most.”
More than 400 attendees gathered in Gotham Hall for the announcement of the winners featuring comedian Johnny Lampert as the emcee and the celebration that followed including a dance party that lasted until midnight.
Each of the winners were judged and selected by the PM360 Editorial Advisory Board, a cross section of experts from across the industry. The judges are asked to evaluate the following criteria for each category: Company of Year (innovation, talent development, and social responsibility); Brand Champions (innovation, leadership, communication, analytical, and organizational skills); Initiatives (content, format, success in reaching targeted audience, and overall quality); Marketer of the Year (the individual who best exemplifies the most insightful, forward-thinking, and transformative marketing ideas and actions in the industry); Marketing Team (the team who best exemplifies those same qualities); Products of the Year (innovation in treating patients, the uniqueness of the branding strategy, and their ultimate and contribution to the overall healthcare system); CEOs of the Year (ability to thrive in all aspects of leadership including establishing a company culture, displaying a unique vision for their company, and earning respect from industry colleagues due to their morals, reputation, and character); and Lifetime Achievement (an industry veteran who has transformed the business through leadership, wide-ranging influence, and original contributions.)
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award Winner was Steven Michaelson, Founder & Chairman, Calcium. Michaelson is responsible for founding two leading creative agencies—Wishbone in 1998 and Calcium in 2012—both known for their strategic and creative firepower. Under his leadership, Calcium has thrived, steadily gaining clients, employees, and award recognition, including being named an “Agency of the Year” finalist or winner by at least one industry publication each year from 2017 to 2022. Steven also serves on the board of Haven Kids Rock (a music program supporting at-risk children in the New York City child welfare and foster care systems) and is a major donor and fundraiser for the USTA Foundation, whose mission is to bring tennis and education together to open opportunities for under-resourced youth.
“Throughout the time I have known Steven, I have watched as he has transformed the way agencies in this industry operate,” says Anna Stashower, CEO and Publisher of PM360. “At both Wishbone and Calcium, he established a culture where employees were both inspired and nurtured while delivering award-winning campaign after award-winning campaign. He has already established a legacy of what agency leadership should look like—and his career is not even over yet.”
Some of the other big winners include Amgen as this year’s Pharmaceutical/Biotech Company of the Year, while Sherlock Biosciences was named the Medical Device/Diagnostics Company of the Year and Travere Therapeutics took home Specialty Pharma Company of the Year. Additionally, EVERSANA INTOUCH was named the Advertising Agency of the Year and GoodRx was given the honor of Supplier/Vendor of the Year. Meanwhile, the first-ever crop of CEOs of the Year included Kevin Ali from Organon, Bryan Hanson from Zimmer Biomet, Timothy R. Wright from MIMEDX, Faruk Capan from EVERSANA INTOUCH, and Christopher Paquette from DeepIntent. Meanwhile, Horizon Therapeutics’ TEPEZZA was named the first-ever Brand of the Year and argenx’s VYVGART won Most Innovative New Product.
Stay tuned for full profiles of this year’s Trailblazer winners in PM360’s October issue and on its website.
This year’s PM360 Trailblazer winners include:
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT
Steven Michaelson, Founder & Chairman, Calcium
COMPANY OF THE YEAR: PHARMACEUTICAL/BIOTECH
Amgen
COMPANY OF THE YEAR: MEDICAL DEVICE/DIAGNOSTICS
Sherlock Biosciences
COMPANY OF THE YEAR: SPECIALTY PHARMA/BIOTECH
Travere Therapeutics
COMPANY OF THE YEAR: ADVERTISING AGENCY
EVERSANA INTOUCH
COMPANY OF THE YEAR: SUPPLIER/VENDOR
GoodRx
CEO OF THE YEAR: PHARMACEUTICAL/BIOTECH
Kevin Ali, Chief Executive Officer, Organon & Co.
CEO OF THE YEAR: MEDICAL DEVICE/DIAGNOSTICS
Bryan Hanson, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Zimmer Biomet
CEO OF THE YEAR: SPECIALTY PHARMA/BIOTECH
Timothy R. Wright, Chief Executive Officer, MIMEDX
CEO OF THE YEAR: ADVERTISING AGENCY
Faruk Capan, CEO, EVERSANA INTOUCH
CEO OF THE YEAR: SUPPLIER/VENDOR OR SERVICE PROVIDER
Christopher Paquette, Founder and CEO, DeepIntent
MARKETER OF THE YEAR
Gulden Mesara, Chief Communications, Culture, and Experience Officer, City of Hope
MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR SILVER WINNER
The Wegovy Brand Team (Novo Nordisk and Agency Partner: Concentric Health Experience)
MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR GOLD WINNER
DHIVY Marketing Team (Avion Pharmaceuticals and Agency Partner: Calcium)
BRAND OF THE YEAR
TEPEZZA (Horizon Therapeutics and AREA 23, An IPG Health Company)
MOST INNOVATIVE NEW PRODUCT
VYVGART® (argenx)
PRODUCT LAUNCH OF THE YEAR
GEMTESA® (Urovant Sciences, Inc., Area 23, An IPG Health Company, EVERSANA INTOUCH, Slate 360, and Carbon91)
RELAUNCH/REVITALIZATION OF THE YEAR
Ameluz (Biofrontera and Elevate Healthcare)
BRAND CHAMPION AWARD WINNERS
Autoimmune: Shikhar Agarwal, Vice President, Head of U.S. Marketing, argenx
Cardiology: Victoria Datta, Marketing Director, CVRM – FARXIGA, AstraZeneca
Central Nervous System: Teddy Morrissey, Associate Director, Migraine, AbbVie
Dermatology: Leslie Hopkins, Associate Director, Marketing, Biofrontera Inc.
Diabetes/Metabolic Disorders: Elizabeth Grice, Associate Director, U.S. Patient Marketing Metabolics, Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease
Diversity/Multicultural: DJ Sethares, DOVATO Global Senior Marketing Director, ViiV Healthcare
Gastrointestinal: Chris Quesenberry, Chief Commercial Officer, Evoke Pharma
Global Marketing: Erin Schallhorn Powers, Vice President of Marketing & Product Strategy, BVI Medical
HCP Engagement: Josh John, Director, Cardiovascular Marketing (Heart Failure), Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Hematology/Oncology: Alicia A. Stout, MSW, Assistant Director, Key Customer Marketing, Astellas Pharma US, Inc.
Infectious Disease/Vaccine Development: Michael Steigerwald, Deputy Director, Specialty Products, Grifols USA, LLC
Innovation/Digital Strategy: Matt Goff, Digital Marketing Lead, Coherus BioSciences
Managed Markets/Payer Strategies: Gregory Lyles, Vice President, Market Access, Akili Interactive
Medical Device/Diagnostics: Amy Lyons, VP of Marketing, Sherlock Biosciences
Men’s Health: Stephenie Atkins, Product Director, Prostate Cancer Professional Promotion, Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Nephrology/Urology: Joe Ndukwe, Director, KOL Marketing, Urovant Sciences, Inc.
Ophthalmology/Optometry: Rashmi Singh, Marketing Director, FOTE Portfolio, Santen Pharmaceutical
Orthopedics/Musculoskeletal Disorders: Michael Nagro, Vice President Gout Marketing, Horizon
Patient Engagement: Mike Cleary, Associate Director, Entyvio Patient Marketing, Takeda
Rare Diseases: Maria Pandolfo, Vice President, Patient Services, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals
Respiratory: Mike Michael, Associate Vice President, Marketing, United Therapeutics Corporation
Women’s Health: Heather Blaber, Vice President of Marketing, Puma Biotechnology, Inc.
INITIATIVE WINNERS
APP/DIGITAL SOLUTION OR SUITE SILVER WINNER
AMI facial anatomy app (Allergan Medical Institute and MedTrix Healthcare LLC)
APP/DIGITAL SOLUTION OR SUITE GOLD WINNER
PIK Nav – Mutation Testing Video (Novartis and DDB Health)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DATA ANALYTICS INITIATIVE SILVER WINNER
Pharmafusion
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DATA ANALYTICS INITIATIVE GOLD WINNER
Ticking Lyme Bomb Detector (The Global Lyme Alliance and EVERSANA INTOUCH)
CONSUMER WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE SILVER WINNER
Narcolepsy Disrupts™ (Avadel Pharmaceuticals and Fingerpaint)
CONSUMER WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE GOLD WINNER
Phexxi “House Rules” Campaign (Evofem, Real Chemistry, McCann Health NJ, McCann Health Engagement, and Mediahub)
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
“Long Live Long Island” Consumer Rebranding Campaign (Catholic Health and Real Chemistry)
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
The Acessa Procedure City-Specific Advertising (Hologic and SFC Group)
DIRECT-TO-PATIENT CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
Treat What Happened Yesterday (Sun Pharmaceuticals and Fingerpaint)
DIRECT-TO-PATIENT CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Genetic testing in AHP: supporting families to faster diagnosis (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Snow Companies)
HCP EDUCATION SILVER WINNER
Patient Builder Program (Janssen Biotech, Inc. and Bionical Solutions)
HCP EDUCATION GOLD WINNER
Rheumatology PEAK Education Platform (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Synapse Medical Communications)
INTERACTIVE/IMMERSIVE MARKETING PROGRAM SILVER WINNER
BCR AAAAI booth experience (BioCryst and Evoke Mind+Matter)
INTERACTIVE/IMMERSIVE MARKETING PROGRAM GOLD WINNER
HOLOGRAPHIC AR PATIENT PROFILES ~ Moments That Matter ~ Meet Emma and Robert (Boehringer Ingelheim, Confideo, and AREA 23, an IPG Health Company)
PATIENT/CONSUMER EDUCATION SILVER WINNER
Breathless Ballad Challenge: Raising Awareness of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Through the Power of Song (Boehringer Ingelheim and Ogilvy Health)
PATIENT/CONSUMER EDUCATION GOLD WINNER
Rising Love (BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. and GSW, Powered by Syneos Health)
PERSISTENCE/ADHERENCE PROGRAM SILVER WINNER
VYVGART Education Line (argenx and Snow Companies)
PERSISTENCE/ADHERENCE PROGRAM GOLD WINNER
Connecting Patients and Prescribers Through ConnectiveRx In-Workflow Solutions (ConnectiveRx)
PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
SAPHNELO: Defy Lupus Launch Campaign (AstraZeneca and VMLY&R Health)
PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Medication Transformed (Azurity Pharmaceuticals and CrowdPharm)
PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE SILVER WINNER
novoMEDLINK HCP Services Hub (Novo Nordisk and Toolhouse)
PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE GOLD WINNER
Ameluz: When Danger Lurks Below the Surface (Biofrontera and Elevate Healthcare)
SALES AID SILVER WINNER
WAKIX Core Visual Aid: Where Science and Patient Centricity Meet (Harmony Biosciences and Synchrony Healthcare Communications)
SALES AID GOLD WINNER
Vpak SmartBrochure (SkinCure Oncology, Unherd Creative, and Vpak Media)
SELF-PROMOTION SILVER WINNER
Return On Imagination Branding Campaign (AbelsonTaylor)
SELF-PROMOTION GOLD WINNER
20 Patients—Snow Companies’ 20th Anniversary Celebration (Snow Companies)
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
Results Matter (Atlantis Health)
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Equelle “Menopause My Way” Campaign (Pharmavite LLC and AbelsonTaylor)
UNBRANDED CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
MG United Cookbook (argenx and closerlook, a member of Fishawack Health)
UNBRANDED CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Getting Out of the Rough (AstraZeneca, JPA Health, and CMI Media Group)
VIDEO/TV CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
Know Narcolepsy Personal Story Video Series: Real-life Experiences From People Living With Narcolepsy (Harmony Biosciences, Synchrony Healthcare Communications, BTK Communications Group, and Snow Companies)
VIDEO/TV CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
“Good Stories” by GoodRx
