Adam Walker’s Pharma Prescribed Podcast

Gerrie Hawes on the HOPE Framework: How Behaviour, Not Strategy, Actually Changes Organisations | Pharma Prescribed Gerrie Hawes is a corporate behavioural psychologist who works in boardrooms and on stages, helping leaders turn strategy into behaviour people actually adopt. She's worked behind the scenes with most of the pharmaceutical companies you could name — a self-described "hidden person," which makes her a fitting guest for a podcast about hidden voices. She opens with a story that reframes the whole conversation. Coaching a global IT leader on her opening speech, Gerrie asked her a question no one asks an IT director: "Why do you work here — you could work anywhere?" The leader paused, reached into her handbag, and produced a family photograph. Lung cancer. "They're dead, and they're dead." She'd chosen that company because it was at the leading edge of the treatment. That, Gerrie told her, is what you tell your team — not the strategy, the why beneath it. From there Gerrie unpacks her HOPE framework — Happiness, Optimism, Playfulness, Empathy — a practitioner's model for the human dynamics that strategy decks miss. She explains why she hunts for a specific kind of laughter in the room (the edge between the learning zone and the panic zone), why happiness starts with the self but can't end there, and why empathetic leadership means understanding what drives other people, not assuming they're driven by what drives you. She's also clear-eyed on AI: the more it can do, the more the durable human advantage becomes the things it can't — playfulness, genuine empathy, reading the space between people. Plus boundaries, burnout, toxic cultures, upward empathy, and the quiet power of listening and introversion. A thoughtful, practical conversation about the behaviours that actually move organisations — long after the away-day is over. 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ks5oLfSDf0u9F1I8GUjti Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/adam-walkers-pharma-prescribed-podcast/id1829715970 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean: https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com Full transcript and episode notes: https://pharmaprescribed.com/episodes 🔗 RELATED EPISODE If Gerrie's take on empathy and safe spaces resonated, hear productivity author Graham Allcott (Think Productive) on KIND, psychological safety and the quiet power of kindness at work: ▶️ YouTube: https://youtu.be/1i1_TIZRBmI 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/04glB17p7bBWVmLjlwIO7z 🍎 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/graham-allcott-on-kind-psychological-safety-the-quiet/id1829715970?i=1000778402287 ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:35 Meet Gerrie Hawes 4:00 Purpose and anti-purpose 6:00 Inside boardroom culture 18:00 Extreme role modelling 20:00 The HOPE framework explained 24:00 HOPE vs the AI advantage 28:00 Happiness as a value 30:00 Boundaries build respect 33:00 When work turns toxic 34:00 Objectives and upward empathy 37:00 Playfulness vs burnout 40:00 Safe spaces for honesty 45:00 Listening and introversion 47:00 Quickfire round 👤 ABOUT GERRIE HAWES Corporate behavioural psychologist specialising in change leadership and culture across pharma, consulting and global organisations. She helps senior teams turn strategy into adopted behaviour, and coaches speakers one-to-one on confidence, clarity and reading a room. Creator of the HOPE framework (Happiness, Optimism, Playfulness, Empathy). UK-based, working across global time zones. 💼 Search "Gerrie Hawes" on LinkedIn 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast where leaders, innovators and hidden voices in healthcare open up. No soundbites, no spin. Just raw insight, one prescription at a time. Hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@pharmaprescribedpodcast 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwalkerbiometrics 🏢 https://uk.linkedin.com/company/pharma-prescribed-podcast #GerrieHawes #HOPEFramework #BehaviouralScience #Leadership #OrganisationalCulture #PharmaPrescribed #ChangeLeadership #EmpatheticLeadership #WorkplaceCulture #AIandWork #Burnout

Clive Bonny on Atrial Fibrillation, Blood Thinners & the "Sudden Death Syndrome" Nobody Checks For | Pharma Prescribed ⚠️ This episode discusses suicide and bereavement. If you're affected, please reach out to a professional or a crisis line — in the UK, Samaritans are available free on 116 123, day or night. Clive Bonny is a management consultant and business advisor of 36 years, specialising in responsible business standards, intellectual property protection and ethical, outcome-driven leadership. He's also a health advocate who lives with atrial fibrillation and is a prostate cancer survivor — and in this episode, business and biology meet. Clive and host Adam Walker discover how much they share: both live with AF, both lost a sibling to suicide, both were endurance athletes. That common ground makes for an unusually open conversation about what AF actually feels like, how it's diagnosed — often by accident — and why Clive calls it "sudden death syndrome": nearly a million people in the UK have it, and many don't know until it's too late. His practical message is simple: check your pulse, and if it's consistently low, ask for a test. Clive shares his own dramatic diagnosis — a resting pulse of 30 discovered on an operating table, two weeks in intensive care, heparin, cardioversion, a pacemaker and an ablation — the same ablation procedure Adam was himself about to undergo. Both discuss life on long-term anticoagulation (DOACs) and the different level of cardiac care that followed. The conversation ranges wider too: Clive's career innovating for Bayer and Hoechst, taking inventions through IP protection and clinical trials, robotic prostate surgery, and building social value through local volunteering. Honest, warm and genuinely useful — two patients comparing notes in public so others don't get caught out. 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ks5oLfSDf0u9F1I8GUjti Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/adam-walkers-pharma-prescribed-podcast/id1829715970 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean: https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com Full transcript and episode notes: https://pharmaprescribed.com/episodes ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Content warning 0:35 Intro 1:00 Meet Clive Bonny 1:30 Mission and values 3:00 Early influences 7:00 The open-minded connector 11:00 A career in pharma innovation 14:00 How the microcurrent device works 17:00 Living with atrial fibrillation 24:00 Adam's AF experience 26:00 Clive's prostate cancer story 32:00 Da Vinci robotic surgery 34:00 ESG and social value 37:00 Local volunteering wins 44:00 Life outside work 45:00 Golden rule 47:00 Closing and contact 👤 ABOUT CLIVE BONNY Management consultant and business advisor since 1990, specialising in responsible business standards, intellectual property protection, dispute resolution and cost-efficient operational strategy. Former innovation lead for Bayer and Hoechst. Board-level governance advisor and mediator. Health advocate living with atrial fibrillation and a prostate cancer survivor. 💼 Search "Clive Bonny" on LinkedIn https://consult-smp.com 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast where leaders, innovators and hidden voices in healthcare open up. No soundbites, no spin. Just raw insight, one prescription at a time. Hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com ▶️ Youtube https://youtu.be/6ssayU4ouNc 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwalkerbiometrics/ 🏢 https://uk.linkedin.com/company/pharma-prescribed-podcast ℹ️ Nothing in this episode is medical advice. Views on treatments and devices are personal experience only — always consult a qualified clinician about your own care. #CliveBonny #AtrialFibrillation #AFib #DOAC #Anticoagulants #ProstateCancer #PharmaPrescribed #PatientVoice #HeartHealth #MedicalDevices #ResponsibleBusiness

Ashish Rishi on The Patients Clinical Trials Leave Out — and the Evidence That Counts Them In | Pharma Prescribed Ashish Rishi is Founder and CEO of Unwritten Health, the Manchester-based patient experience data platform working to make life science's evidence reflect the people it's meant to serve. His mission is unsentimental — and it starts with his father. At 17, Ash watched his dad spend three years fighting for a GP referral for worsening back and bone pain. The eventual diagnosis was terminal prostate cancer, delivered to an 18-year-old and his mother — for whom English is a fourth language — in a two-minute conversation and a flyer, with no family network to turn to. His father lived six more years and passed away three months before Ash's graduation. That experience became a company. In this episode Ash explains "inclusion debt" — his term for how bias compounds at every stage of drug development: unmet need defined without the real patient voice, multi-billion-pound programmes built on focus groups of eight to ten patient experts, recruitment budgets thrown at social ads that reach the already-reachable, and value dossiers that carry only the majority narrative. By market access, it's too late to fix. The Patients Clinical Trials Leave Out — and the Evidence That Counts Them In His answer is Equity Engine: a 6,000-strong UK participant panel profiled across the social determinants of health, built through gurdwaras, mosques, temples, churches and community groups, generating longitudinal lived-experience data at a scale focus groups never could — and turning it into submission-ready evidence. Honest about being a "failed scientist," about burnout and anger, and about the trust he has to earn in every room. A powerful conversation about fixing inequity as an evidence and design problem, not just a moral one. 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ks5oLfSDf0u9F1I8GUjti Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/adam-walkers-pharma-prescribed-podcast/id1829715970 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean: https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@pharmaprescribedpodcast Full transcript and episode notes: https://pharmaprescribed.com/episodes ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:35 Meet Ashish Rishi 1:00 A father's diagnosis 3:00 From neuroscience to comms 4:00 The clinical trial wake-up call 7:00 The Demand Diversity movement 9:00 Building Equity Engine 12:00 Inclusion debt explained 15:00 UK data fragmentation 17:00 Barriers and misinformation 19:00 AI-powered patient insights 26:00 Neurodivergent-friendly trials 28:00 Quickfire round 30:00 Golden rule and wrap up 👤 ABOUT ASHISH RISHI Founder and CEO of Unwritten Health and creator of the Equity Engine platform. Neuroscience MSc and former health communications specialist. Sits on the scientific advisory board of IHI READ-Y (an EU Innovative Health Initiative / Horizon Europe programme advancing inclusive clinical research) and the equity committee of the US Prader-Willi Syndrome Association. Advocate for re-engineering health inequity as an evidence and design problem. 💼 Search "Ashish Rishi" on LinkedIn 🌐 https://www.unwrittenhealth.com 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast where leaders, innovators and hidden voices in healthcare open up. No soundbites, no spin. Just raw insight, one prescription at a time. Hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@pharmaprescribedpodcast 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwalkerbiometrics 🏢 https://uk.linkedin.com/company/pharma-prescribed-podcast #AshishRishi #UnwrittenHealth #InclusionDebt #HealthEquity #ClinicalTrials #ClinicalTrialDiversity #PharmaPrescribed #PatientExperience #SocialDeterminantsOfHealth #RWE #HealthInequality

Louise Callin on dementia, photos sparking conversation & making care more human | Pharma Prescribed Louise Callin — founder and CEO of ReelLife Conversations — joins Adam Walker for a warm and moving conversation about dementia, human connection and building technology that makes care more human, not less. After nearly 30 years leading technology and transformation for global corporations including American Express, Louise left to build something with more direct impact. Her mother's dementia journey inspired the idea: photos aren't a memory test, they're a conversation waiting to happen. ReelLife Conversations uses AI to turn family photographs into dementia-friendly conversation prompts — analysing each picture for colours, objects and places, then linking one photo naturally to the next. She's since secured venture capital investment and is building partnerships across the UK and internationally. Adam and Louise met at a conference — and her energy is unmistakable. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/search/Louise+Callin+pharma+prescribed/episodes ⚠️ SWAP Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/search?term=Louise+Callin+pharma+prescribed ⚠️ SWAP Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ Youtube → https://youtu.be/wq1GShCpCYE 📖 WHAT WE COVER - The superpower Louise didn't know she had — linking one photo to the next in real time - Why photos should never be a memory test: "Do you remember when?" versus "I remember when" - The green top story — how colour, not context, unlocks connection - Turning physical albums into digital assets that work for dementia - Accessible design with no standard to follow: fear-free buttons, no menus, opens straight to use - How the app works: facial recognition, family admin naming, AI conversation prompts - Why each photo links to the next to support natural conversation flow - The carer as the third leg of the stool — and why social care struggles with retention - Louise's mum's journey — and how love led her to quietly cover up early symptoms - Why dementia statistically affects women more — as patients and as primary carers - Dr.Tommy Wood on sleep, supply and stimulation — the non-pharmacological approach - Securing VC investment for a values-driven, volume-based, low-subscription model - Sailing, mind maps and "common sense is not very common" ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:00 Meet Louise Callin — founder of ReelLife Conversations 1:30 Mission: technology that makes care more human 2:00 Her mother's dementia journey and the inspiration 2:30 Photos spark conversation — the coffee table superpower 4:00 Why the carer couldn't use the photos alone 5:00 Colours, objects and places — not just faces 6:00 Photos are a conversation waiting to happen 8:00 No memory tests: "Do you remember" versus "I remember" 9:00 The green top and turning language around 11:00 From analogue albums to digital assets 12:00 Accessible design for dementia — no written standard 13:00 Fear-free buttons and opening straight into use 14:00 Designed for two people, side by side 15:00 The family admin portal and uploading photos 16:00 Facial recognition, naming and location data 17:00 AI conversation prompts — the game changer 18:00 Linking each photo to the next 19:00 The carer as stimulus — the third leg of the stool 20:00 Every journey is unique — Uncle Geoff's story 22:00 Louise's mum: covering up early symptoms out of love 24:00 Social connection as critical — not surfacing memories 26:00 From corporate life to founder — securing funding 28:00 The volume model: small subscription, huge need 30:00 A values-driven business 31:00 Women and caregiving — menopause, sleep and stress 34:00 Women outliving men and the caregiving needle 35:00 Dementia at the forefront, like mental health before it 36:00 From pharmacological to non-pharmacological care 37:30 Quick-fire: I matter too 38:30 The water, sailing and a fish in a previous life 40:00 Golden rule: common sense is not very common 41:00 reellifeconversations.com and closing thanks 👤 ABOUT LOUISE CALLIN Founder and CEO of ReelLife Conversations, a social care technology company helping families, carers and providers create meaningful conversations for people living with dementia. Nearly 30 years in technology and transformation. 🌐 https://www.reellifeconversations.com 💼 Search "Louise Callin" on LinkedIn 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Long-form conversations with leaders in clinical research, digital health and mental wellbeing, hosted by Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwalkerbiometrics #LouiseCallin #ReelLifeConversations #Dementia #DementiaCare #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #SocialCare #NonPharmacological #CaregiverSupport #WomenAndDementia #DigitalHealth #HumanConnection #Alzheimers #DementiaFriendly #Wellbeing

Andreas Beust on how a small CRO covers the globe without growing | Pharma Prescribed Andreas Beust is CEO and Managing Director of GCP Service International, a Bremen-based CRO working across medicinal products, medical devices and in vitro diagnostics. He's also President of ACROS — the Association of International CROs — and a guest lecturer at the University of Bremen. He started on the biostatistics desk. He's now running the company, elected by a leader who — not yet 50 — went looking for a successor because clinical research moves too fast to leave succession to chance. In this episode Andreas makes complex things accessible, which is his stated mission. He explains the ACROS model: ten similarly-sized, like-minded CROs from the US to Europe, the Middle East, India, China and Australia, who agree that once a partner joins, their country is off-limits to the others. It lets a small CRO run trials globally — 20 concurrent studies across Spain, Italy and Portugal through one trusted partner — without ballooning into the kind of large, rigid, expensive organisation that can't serve smaller sponsors. Grow together, not bigger. He's refreshingly frank on AI: a lot of overpromise and underdeliver, quarter-of-a-million-per-seat licence fees that no small or mid-size company can pay, and real but modest gains in medical writing, programming and knowledge capture — always human in the loop. And he's honest about the thing that actually drives growth: discomfort. Curiosity, listening first, and putting yourself in the shop window of the unknown. An optimistic, grounded conversation about how the human end of this industry actually works — and how to break into it. 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ks5oLfSDf0u9F1I8GUjti Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/adam-walkers-pharma-prescribed-podcast/id1829715970 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean: https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com Full transcript and episode notes: https://pharmaprescribed.com/episodes ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:35 Meet Andreas Beust 3:00 From the biostats desk to CEO 7:00 Podcasting, curiosity and listening first 11:00 Breaking into clinical research 16:00 Advice for young talent 21:00 Hiring for attitude 23:00 Leading without ego 26:00 A flexibility mindset 27:00 Building the ACROS alliance 30:00 The presidency and the mission 35:00 A communal growth model 37:00 AI in clinical trials — a reality check 42:00 Compliance, costs and human in the loop 44:00 Hope amid uncertainty 46:00 Quickfire round 50:00 Final takeaways 👤 ABOUT ANDREAS BEUST CEO and Managing Director of GCP Service International (Bremen). President of ACROS, the Association of International CROs. Guest lecturer at the University of Bremen. Biologist by training who joined GCP Service in the biostatistics department and rose to lead the company through its international expansion. Advocate for accessible clinical research and for training new talent from the ground up. 💼 Search "Andreas Beust" on LinkedIn 🌐 https://www.gcp-service.com 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast where leaders, innovators and hidden voices in healthcare open up. No soundbites, no spin. Just raw insight, one prescription at a time. Hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com ▶️ https://youtu.be/GxVq88C6ChA 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwalkerbiometrics 🏢 https://uk.linkedin.com/company/pharma-prescribed-podcast #AndreasBeust #GCPService #ACROS #CRO #ClinicalResearch #ClinicalTrials #PharmaPrescribed #AIinPharma #ClinicalTrialCareers #GCP #ContractResearch

Graham Allcott on Kind, Psychological Safety & the Quiet Power of Kindness | Pharma Prescribe Graham Allcott — bestselling author of How to Be a Productivity Ninja and Kind: The Quiet Power of Kindness at Work — joins Adam Walker for a conversation about why the ruthless-boss archetype is scientifically wrong. Graham founded Think Productive, now operating across the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. His latest book won the 2025 Leadership Book of the Year from the Institute of Leadership and a Business Book Award. His argument is simple and evidence-backed: kindness builds trust, trust builds psychological safety, and psychologically safe teams outperform everyone else. Adam and Graham first met at the Sussex University Kindness Conference. This is the conversation that followed. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/04glB17p7bBWVmLjlwIO7z?si=WfiLpCsPQuatGlGcV2_NQQ Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/graham-allcott-on-kind-psychological-safety-the-quiet/id1829715970?i=1000778402287 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/episodes/dd83fbdb-4053-468f-8486-9e346073b5f6/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast-graham-allcott-on-kind-psychological-safety-the-quiet-power-of-kindness-pharma-prescribed Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ Youtube → https://youtu.be/1i1_TIZRBmI 📖 WHAT WE COVER - Why we got the success archetype wrong — Mr Burns, Dragon's Den and the myth of the ruthless leader - "Trust and kindness are our rocket fuel" — the company value that became a book - How trust eliminates due diligence — and the Apple purchase analogy - Why organisations without shareholders find kindness easier: Timpson, Richer Sounds, Reed - James Timpson: "The easiest way to make the numbers go up is to flog everybody" - Why charities are often the least kind places to work - The biggest source of accidental unkindness is busyness - The kindness window: why the opportunity closes the moment you notice it - Slowness isn't about speed, it's about savouring - Erling Kagge, the South Pole and the apple that connected him to the tree - How Seth Godin blurbed the book — and the watermark that nearly stopped it - Kindness starts with you: abundance versus scarcity - DJing jazz, funk and soul at Brighton Sundae ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:00 Meet Graham Allcott 1:30 The mission: thinking differently about work 2:00 Why the success archetype is scientifically wrong 3:00 Meeting at the Sussex Kindness Conference 4:00 The bridge between productivity and kindness 4:30 "Trust and kindness are our rocket fuel" 5:00 Culture without a water cooler 6:00 Psychological safety and what the research shows 8:00 Trust eliminates due diligence — the Apple analogy 9:00 What happens when trust is lost 10:00 Scandinavian workplaces, hygge and Copenhagen 12:00 The shareholder problem — family businesses do it better 13:00 James Timpson on flogging everybody 15:00 Common threads across kinder organisations 17:00 Kindness to customers, not just employees 18:30 The charity sector reality check 21:00 Attention, meetings and How to Fix Meetings 22:00 Nancy Kline's Time to Think 23:00 Podcasting and the attention economy 25:00 Busyness and kindness — do they mix? 27:00 The kindness window and the London Tube seat 28:00 Item four — the praise you never gave 29:00 Busyness as a badge of honour 30:00 Adam's back surgery and rebuilding slowly 32:00 Carl Honoré and the slow movement 33:00 Slowness is savouring, not speed 34:00 Erling Kagge, the South Pole and the apple 36:00 Seth Godin and Beyond Busy 38:00 The advice that named the book 39:00 The watermark that nearly stopped the blurb 40:00 "Blurbs help the author walk taller" 42:00 Kindness starts with you 44:00 Abundance versus scarcity 45:00 "There is enough. I am enough." 46:00 Rev Up for the Week 47:00 Quick-fire: book the ticket 47:45 DJing at Brighton Sundae 48:30 Golden rule: stay curious 👤 ABOUT GRAHAM ALLCOTT Author, speaker and entrepreneur. Founder of Think Productive. Author of How to Be a Productivity Ninja and Kind: The Quiet Power of Kindness at Work — 2025 Leadership Book of the Year. Resident DJ at Brighton Sundae. 🌐 https://www.grahamallcott.com 📧 Rev Up for the Week — free Sunday newsletter 🎧 brightonsundae.com 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Long-form conversations with leaders in clinical research, digital health and mental wellbeing, hosted by Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwalkerbiometrics #GrahamAllcott #Kind #KindnessAtWork #ThinkProductive #ProductivityNinja #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #PsychologicalSafety #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #SethGodin #Busyness #SlowMovement #Trust #Wellbeing

Adam Walker interviews namesake Adam Walker; GMP, Sepsis & 900k NHS Doses a Year | Pharma Prescribed Two Adam Walkers, one conversation. This week the host is joined by his namesake — Adam Walker, Qualified Person, Head of Development and Innovation at the North East and North Cumbria Medicines Manufacturing Centre, and co-founder of the Help Me GMP educational platform. Adam qualified as an NHS pharmacist in 2003 and quickly realised the clean room, not the ward, was where he could do the most good. In this episode he explains the quiet revolution underway in NHS pharmaceutical manufacturing: a new hub-and-spoke model, one of four national aseptic pathfinder hubs, and a brand-new facility in Northumberland going live in 2027 — built to produce around 150,000 chemotherapy doses and up to 750,000 ready-to-administer antibiotic doses a year. The patient impact is immediate. A ready-made antibiotic bag pulled from a fridge means the one-hour door-to-needle target for suspected sepsis is met, and nurses get 12–15 minutes per dose back for patient care. Then the conversation turns personal. Adam shares his "why" — his mother's Grade 4 metastatic bowel cancer diagnosis in 2003, her remarkable response to the FOLFOX regimen, and the nine extra years it bought: his wedding, meeting his first son. It's why he gets up in the morning. He also opens up on mentorship, Annex 1, and building Help Me GMP for the "TikTok generation" of pharma professionals. Two disciplines — GMP and GCP — one shared mission: getting the right medicine to the patient at the right time. 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ks5oLfSDf0u9F1I8GUjti Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/adam-walkers-pharma-prescribed-podcast/id1829715970 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean: https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com Full transcript and episode notes: https://pharmaprescribed.com/episodes Youtube: https://youtu.be/2MoNyxxkDiE ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:35 Meet Adam Walker (QP) 1:00 Finding pharma manufacturing 9:00 Development & innovation: the NENC hub 15:00 Patient impact and the sepsis window 18:00 A personal why: his mother's cancer and FOLFOX 21:00 Mentors and career shapers 27:00 The Help Me GMP mission 31:00 Creating content with AI — the GMP way 33:00 Quick fire round 36:00 Golden rule and wrap up 👤 ABOUT ADAM WALKER (GUEST) Qualified Person and pharmaceutical quality leader. Head of Development and Innovation at the North East and North Cumbria Medicines Manufacturing Centre, leading the build of next-generation NHS manufacturing facilities. Co-founder of Help Me GMP, delivering free, practical GMP training worldwide. NHS pharmacist since 2003, specialising in GMP manufacturing, aseptic processing and medicine supply. 💼 Search "Adam Walker Help Me GMP" on LinkedIn 🌐 https://www.whatisgmp.com ▶️ Help Me GMP on YouTube 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast where leaders, innovators and hidden voices in healthcare open up. No soundbites, no spin. Just raw insight, one prescription at a time. Hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@pharmaprescribedpodcast 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ 🏢 https://uk.linkedin.com/company/pharma-prescribed-podcast #AdamWalker #HelpMeGMP #GMP #NHS #AsepticProcessing #MedicinesManufacturing #PharmaPrescribed #PatientSafety #Chemotherapy #Sepsis #QualifiedPerson #Pharma

Lisa Kerr on why 95% of eligible patients never join a clinical trial | Pharma Prescribed Lisa Kerr is Head of Patient Engagement at Evinova, AstraZeneca's health tech business — a PhD chemist who climbed to global project director, hit a cliff edge, and came back with a mission. In this episode Lisa talks openly about the divorce, the clinical depression, and the three months as an outpatient at the Priory that reshaped her career. She founded AstraZeneca's Safe Space employee resource group after one Workplace post she thought would end her career — and built mental health navigation tools that scaled globally. She then turns that lived experience on the industry itself: only 5–7% of eligible patients ever join a clinical trial, and that number has barely moved in a decade despite digitisation and healthcare transformation. Lisa explains the EACH framework, why patients are the real investors in a trial (time, health, trust — given for free), and why AI has just destroyed pharma's last excuse for not designing trials with patients. Honest, funny, and unusually direct. No soundbites, no spin. 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ks5oLfSDf0u9F1I8GUjti Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/adam-walkers-pharma-prescribed-podcast/id1829715970 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean: https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com Full transcript and episode notes: https://pharmaprescribed.com/episodes ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:35 Meet Lisa Kerr 1:30 A mission built on lived experience 2:50 From PhD chemist to global project director 4:20 The cliff edge: divorce, depression, the Priory 5:50 "Ask people how they are twice" — the colleague who saved her 8:50 The mental health access crisis 11:40 Building Safe Space at AstraZeneca 16:10 The navigation tools that scaled globally 20:10 Purpose, energy and humour 22:45 Lessons from the Priory 26:40 Patient engagement: being the voice in the room 29:10 The EACH framework and patients as consumers 30:50 Why only 5–7% of eligible patients ever join a trial 32:35 When the system fails even the well-informed 35:30 AI kills the industry's last excuse 38:10 Misinformation, hallucination and pharma's silence on social 41:50 Quick fire round 44:20 Where to find Lisa 👤 ABOUT LISA KERR Head of Patient Engagement at Evinova (AstraZeneca). PhD chemist, 20+ years across global pharma and health tech. Founder of AstraZeneca's Safe Space ERG and the Evinova I&D network. Advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, neurodivergent communities and trauma survivors. Charity trustee. Singer in rock and pop covers band The Torrists. 💼 Search "Lisa Kerr" on LinkedIn 🎸 The Torrists — on Instagram and Facebook 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast where leaders, innovators and hidden voices in healthcare open up. No soundbites, no spin. Just raw insight, one prescription at a time. Hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com ▶️ https://www.youtube.com/@pharmaprescribedpodcast

Alen Lalic on Engineering Clinical Trial Enrollment with Predictive AI | Pharma Prescribed Alen Lalic — founder and CEO of Clinical Trial Scan, Olympic fencer and patent-pending inventor of Dyno AI — joins Adam Walker for one of the most data-driven conversations on the Pharma Prescribed Podcast. Alen's path to clinical trials started with Facebook ads, a friend called Artyom, and $5–7 million in advertising spend across 50 studies. When margins got squeezed, he didn't walk away — he took control of the funnel, built a predictive AI that calculates the true cost per enrollment before a study starts, and filed a patent on the methodology. His golden rule: just show up. Kobe Bryant said it best. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/3sRsBTqdRbRK7sTzhjSWi1?si=TQgkyijsS-WTX7OXGwoC0g Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/alen-hadzic-on-engineering-clinical-trial-enrollment/id1829715970?i=1000775363752 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ Youtube → https://youtu.be/02tkkvXY4VU?si=-6PyzKLqEqWK-E-T 📖 WHAT WE COVER - $5–7M in Facebook ad data across 50+ clinical trials — and what it revealed - Dyno AI: predicting the true cost per enrolled patient before you spend a dollar - The seven funnel steps from ad click to enrollment — and why each probability matters - Monte Carlo simulations for enrollment cost forecasting - Why a 10% deviation in one funnel step can double your cost per patient - Hot leads vs cold databases: why speed to call changes everything - 70% answer rate across nine calls — but only if you call in the evening - The Colombia call centre: American Colombians running three call blocks a day - Why most AI in clinical trials doesn't work — and how Alen's actually does - Olympic fencing, coach Alexey Cheremsky and waking up at 4am - Bosnian father, French literature PhD mother and never listening to advice - Recording a death metal album while scaling a clinical trial startup - Patent pending on the cost per enrollment methodology ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:00 Meet Alen Lalic — founder of Clinical Trial Scan 2:00 Former Olympic fencer, musician, writer, drummer 3:00 How sport and consulting gave him a unique perspective 4:00 Finding clinical trials through Spravato and COVID 5:00 Affiliate marketing: running ads for the biggest recruitment vendors 6:00 $5–7M in advertising data across 50+ studies 7:00 Margins squeezed — so he took control of the funnel 8:00 Understanding the real cost per enrollment 9:00 Why questionnaire design kills your ad performance 10:00 Cost per lead by city: $66 Detroit, $52 Miami 12:00 The algorithm, keywords and why simple ads outperform 13:00 Dyno AI: protocol upload to funnel prediction 14:00 The seven funnel steps — call to enrollment 16:00 Dropout, concierge and speed to call 17:00 Why cold databases fail and hot leads win 18:00 48-hour contact window — the critical threshold 19:00 End-to-end delivery and site-centric pricing 20:00 Small funnel deviations = massive cost changes 21:00 Colombia call team: bilingual, driven, three blocks a day 24:00 Initiation fees, difficulty scores and transparent pricing 25:00 AI hype reality check — "we are not an AI company" 26:00 Why small databases won't save your study 27:00 How Dyno's AI actually trains and improves 28:00 Monte Carlo simulations and confidence intervals 29:00 Expanding: Colombia, Brazil and LATAM 31:00 Mentors: coach Cheremsky, parents, the clinical trials community 34:00 Quick-fire: let life do the work — stop forcing outcomes 36:00 Show up, good attitude, bring yourself 37:00 Music: Iron Maiden changed everything — recording an album 38:00 Golden rule: show up — Kobe Bryant said it best 41:00 dyno.clinicaltrialscan.ai and closing thanks 👤 ABOUT ALEN LALIC Founder and CEO of Clinical Trial Scan. Creator of Dyno AI (patent pending). Former Olympic fencer. Columbia University. Vlerick Business School. 🌐 https://dyno.clinicaltrialscan.ai 💼 Search "Alen Lalic" on LinkedIn 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Long-form conversations with leaders in clinical research, digital health and mental wellbeing, hosted by Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamwalkerbiometrics #AlenHadzic #ClinicalTrialScan #DynoAI #PatientRecruitment #ClinicalTrials #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #CostPerEnrollment #MonteCarlo #DigitalAdvertising #FacebookAds #OlympicFencer #LifeSciences #ClinicalResearch #PatentPending

Dr. Pat Boulogne on Functional Medicine, Fasting Since 17 on Zero Medications @71 | Pharma Prescribed Dr.Pat Boulogne — performance optimisation strategist, functional medicine expert and bestselling author — joins Adam Walker for one of the most practical wellbeing conversations on the Pharma Prescribed Podcast. Dr.Pat is 71, takes zero medications, works 14-hour days with full mental clarity, and has spent 30+ years helping high performers close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Her father wanted her to be an electrical engineer. She chose to become an engineer of life and health instead. Her approach is pharma unprescribed. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Xda2P6nkvkSzHwKyRr02f?si=8sT0tSfNQf-E1m6MApUnwQ Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/dr-pat-boulogne-on-functional-medicine-fasting-since/id1829715970?i=1000774232267 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast 📖 WHAT WE COVER - 71 years old, zero medications, 14-hour days — how she does it - Root cause medicine vs symptom masking: the sleep medication story - Intermittent fasting since age 17 — before anyone called it that - How to pair foods so your body isn't stressed — and why timing matters - Alkaline tide: why you crash after lunch and what to do about it - The three brains: lizard, mammalian and conscious — and how they talk - Why affirmations only work if you ask "why" at the end - The organic broccoli dating analogy — and the woman who stole it - "If it's brown, don't eat it in the morning" - Adam's back surgery, the body keeping score and the V-shaped trees - Be true to yourself — the golden rule ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:00 Meet Dr.Pat Boulogne — performance optimisation strategist 2:00 Mission: saving lives through physical, mental and emotional health 3:00 From electrical engineering to engineer of life and health 4:00 71, zero medications, sharp brain — how 5:00 University of Michigan and the question that got her uninvited 6:00 Outside-the-box medicine and why she never looked back 7:00 85% of headaches are metabolically involved 8:00 The sleep medication story: first full night in weeks 9:00 Intermittent fasting since 17 — one meal a day 10:00 Water intake calculated by body weight 11:00 Brain performance: when to study, eat and exercise 12:00 Alkaline tide: why food makes you crash 13:00 In-a-Gadda-da-Vida: exercise to a heartbeat 14:00 Bread, self-regulation and pushing away from the table 15:00 Scarpetta la piatra: how Italians eat bread right 16:00 Microbiome, labels and knowing your food sources 17:00 Corn syrup, ultra-processed foods and why labels lie 18:00 Injured gut: probiotics won't save you 19:00 Dairy: raw milk vs dead milk — source matters 21:00 Body signals: bloating, cramps and what they mean 22:00 Foot adjustment: five days pain-free after 20 years 23:00 Adam's back surgery and the body keeping score 25:00 Three brains: lizard, mammalian and conscious 26:00 Affirmations plus "why" — rewiring the mammalian brain 28:00 The V-shaped trees, the ring and Adam's daily ritual 30:00 Golfer's pickup and protecting your pelvis 32:00 "I open the fridge and look in the medicine cabinet" 34:00 Organic broccoli is like dating — the story 36:00 Food as medicine: lifestyle not diet 37:00 "Play with your grandkids or watch them?" 39:00 Quick-fire: go to school sooner, say what you think 40:00 Honesty, integrity, action — and cooking 41:00 Golden rule: be true to yourself 👤 ABOUT DR. PAT BOULOGNE Performance optimisation strategist. Functional medicine expert. Author of Why Are You Sick, Fat, and Tired? 30+ years clinical experience. 📚 Amazon UK and US 💼 Search "Dr Pat Boulogne" on LinkedIn 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Long-form conversations with leaders in clinical research, digital health and mental wellbeing, hosted by Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #DrPatBoulogne #FunctionalMedicine #PerformanceOptimisation #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #IntermittentFasting #RootCause #Wellbeing #Nutrition #ThreeBrains #Affirmations #OrganicFood #Microbiome #GutHealth #HealthyAging

Andy York on AI, Data Science & Why 80% Accuracy Isn’t Good Enough | Pharma Prescribed Adam Walker sits down with Andy York — statistician, clinical data science leader, and former VP of Clinical Data Science at Novo Nordisk — for a masterclass in where pharma's data revolution has been, where it's heading, and why the AI hype needs a reality check. With over 30 years spanning Roche, Covance, and Novo Nordisk, Andy now advises Verisian, a company building next-generation AI and traceability tools for clinical reporting. He brings rare historical depth and hard-won perspective to one of the industry's most pressing questions: can we actually trust AI with patient safety? In this episode: Why 80% AI accuracy equates to a process out of control — and what the Six Sigma reality check means for drug development The journey from paper CRFs and carbon copies to EDC, CDISC standards, and AI-assisted programming SAS vs R vs Python — what the shift to open source really means for regulatory submissions How guardrails, not raw AI, are the key to hitting 95%+ accuracy in clinical reporting The future of statistical programming: from code developers to validators Why pharma's AI revolution will realistically take a decade — and what to do in the meantime Career advice for the next generation entering clinical data science Whether you're a statistical programmer, data scientist, biometrician, or simply curious about AI's real role in drug development, this conversation will challenge your assumptions and sharpen your thinking. 🎙️ Pharma Prescribed is hosted by Adam Walker, biometrics consultant and independent voice in clinical research and healthcare leadership. 🔗 Listen on all platforms: pharmaprescribed.com 📧 Connect with Adam: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 Introduction 01:00 Meet Andy York — Career & Mission 02:00 Why Pharma? The Noble Cause Behind the Data 04:30 Lessons From 30 Years — Advice for Newcomers 05:30 From Paper CRFs to EDC: How Data Collection Evolved 07:00 Standards, CDISC, SAS & the Programming Revolution 08:30 AI in Pharma — The Reality Check 10:00 The 80% Problem & Six Sigma Thinking 11:00 Guardrails: How to Make AI Reliable in Clinical Reporting 13:00 Human in the Loop — The FDA's Stance on AI Submissions 15:00 Parallel Streams & Freeing Up Resource Through Automation 17:00 Expanding Drug Indications With AI Efficiency 18:00 Conference Trends — The Move From SAS to R 20:00 Open Source vs Validated Systems — Regulatory Perspectives 23:00 SAS, R, Python — The Right Language for the Right Job 24:30 Future Roles: From Programmer to Data Scientist 27:00 The Next Generation — Gamers, AI Natives & Skills for Tomorrow 29:00 Science Fiction Becoming Science Fact 30:30 Verisian's Roadmap — What's Coming Next 32:30 Andy's Closing Advice for Programmers at Every Stage 🏷️ TAGS clinical data science, statistical programming, AI in pharma, drug development, clinical trials, SAS vs R, open source pharma, CDISC standards, regulatory submission, FDA AI, Novo Nordisk, Verisian, biometrics, data science careers, pharma podcast, clinical research, Adam Walker, Pharma Prescribed, Andy York, EDC, SDTM, ADaM, PharmaVerse, R consortium, double programming, AI accuracy, patient safety, pharmaceutical industry, clinical data management, real world evidence, pharma careers

Dermot Whelan on Burnout, Anxiety & the Science of Mindfulness | Pharma Prescribed Dermot Whelan — broadcaster, comedian, bestselling author and certified meditation teacher — joins Adam Walker for one of the most personal and practical conversations on the Pharma Prescribed Podcast. This episode holds a special place — meeting Dermot in Prague in early 2025, in the middle of my own grief, was one of the moments that led to this podcast existing. Dermot left his radio show at Today FM at the height of its ratings to dedicate himself full-time to making mindfulness accessible. In this conversation, he shares the panic attack in 2007 that changed everything, why stress has terrible marketing, and the simple tools — including Navy SEAL box breathing — that can shift your nervous system in just 16 seconds. Adam opens up about his own breakdown following his father's stroke, and how meeting Dermot at a conference in Prague in early 2025 became a turning point. Raw, warm, and full of practical frameworks you can use today. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wcigm9yKnpbvD86nGPRRV Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-dermot-whelan-broadcaster/id1829715970?i=1000771679527 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - Why Dermot walked away from radio at the peak of his career - The 2007 panic attack that woke him up — and what he learned from it - Why stress has terrible marketing (and the study that proves it) - The 'busyness badge of honour' and how modern society got addicted to overwhelm - The DRAMA framework: a science-backed filter for choosing hobbies that actually reset you - Box breathing: the 16-second Navy SEAL technique for immediate calm - Why your heart is a better compass than your brain - What Everest Base Camp taught Dermot about values and simplicity - The moment Adam asked Dermot for a hug — and why vulnerability changes everything ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Meet Dermot Whelan 3:40 Audience Softening and Curiosity 7:20 Early Anxiety Signs 11:00 Adam Shares His Breakdown 14:40 Reframing Stress as Helpful 18:20 Modern Busyness and Noise 22:00 Everest Base Camp Reset 25:40 Advice to a Younger Self 29:20 Skateboards and the DRAMA Framework 33:00 Protect Your Reset Rituals 36:40 Heart as Compass 40:20 16-Second Box Breathing 44:00 Gratitude and Farewell 👤 ABOUT DERMOT WHELAN Dermot Whelan is one of Ireland's most recognised broadcasters and the author of the bestselling books Mind Full and Busy and Wrecked. A certified Masters of Wisdom and Meditation teacher, he hosts The Mind Full Podcast and has helped thousands reframe stress and reclaim their wellbeing. 🌐 https://www.dermotwhelan.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dermotwhelanofficial/ 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast for people who want the conversations the life sciences industry rarely makes time for — hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. New episodes every week covering clinical research, digital health, mental wellbeing and leadership. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #DermotWhelan #Mindfulness #BusyAndWrecked #MentalHealth #Meditation #Burnout #BoxBreathing #PharmaPrescribed #Wellbeing #StressManagement

Sharmila Hume on Brain Injuries, Suicide Prevention & the Body's Hidden Signals | Pharma Prescribed ⚠️ This episode discusses suicide, traumatic brain injury, and grief. Please take care if these topics are difficult for you. Sharmila Hume — known as the "Biomedic Detective" — joins Adam Walker for one of the most profound and wide-ranging conversations on the Pharma Prescribed Podcast. Originally trained as a telecoms engineer, Sharmila rebuilt her life after her own battle with ME and fibromyalgia, then spent months in Mexico rehabilitating her brother Arnie after a near-fatal head-on collision with a drunk driver. When Arnie later died by suicide, Sharmila connected the dots between his unaddressed traumatic brain injury and his death — and turned that grief into a mission. Today she runs the Headstrong campaign and her Bioperformance System, using German bioresonance technology to treat the body as a communication network — identifying and clearing the disruptions that conventional medicine misses. This is a conversation about what we overlook, and what it costs us. Adam also opens up about the death of his sister Naomi by suicide, and the striking connections between viral meningitis, brain function, and the mental health crisis that followed. Recorded during Mental Health Awareness Week. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/search/Sharmila%20Hume%20pharma%20prescribed/episodes Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/search?term=Sharmila%20Hume+pharma+prescribed Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - Sharmila's diagnosis with ME and fibromyalgia at age 15 — and how it sparked everything - The 2009 phone call that changed her family's life: Arnie's near-fatal crash in Mexico - Two months of improvised rehabilitation in a foreign country — with a surgeon's blessing - The Will Smith film Concussion that unlocked the connection between TBI and suicide - What bioresonance technology actually does — explained clearly, no jargon - Why viruses, heavy metals and modern technology disrupt the brain's regulatory systems - The link between post-viral infection, long COVID, mood changes and suicide risk - Why "it's all in your head" is the most dangerous thing a doctor can say - How grief and trauma are stored physically in the body — and how to release them - "Receipts for love are grief and anxiety" — the Scott Galloway quote that stopped Adam cold - Why mental health cannot be resolved without first addressing physical health - The DRAMA of Sharmila's golden rule: never stop learning ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & Trigger Warning 2:15 Meet Sharmila Hume 8:40 Brain Science Meets Innovative Care 21:30 Rethinking Recovery 35:00 What's Next — Headstrong & the Future 👤 ABOUT SHARMILA HUME Sharmila Hume is a healthcare practitioner, biomedic detective and creator of the Bioperformance System. Trained in telecoms engineering, she transitioned into healthcare after her own recovery from ME and fibromyalgia and her experience rehabilitating her brother following a catastrophic road accident. She leads the Headstrong campaign to raise awareness of the long-term impact of brain injuries on male mental health and suicide prevention. 🌐 https://www.holistichub.uk 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bioperformance_uk/ 💼 LinkedIn: Search "Sharmila Hume" 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast for people who want the conversations the life sciences industry rarely makes time for — hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. New episodes every week covering clinical research, digital health, mental wellbeing and leadership. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #SharmilHume #BrainInjury #SuicidePrevention #MentalHealth #TBI #Bioresonance #Headstrong #LongCovid #MEfibromyalgia #PharmaPrescribed #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #AdamWalker

Bilal Bham on Life Sciences Strategy, Human Perspective & Building Amodaia | Pharma Prescribed Bilal Bham — founder and CEO of Amodaia — joins Adam Walker to explore what it really takes to guide a biotech, pharma or medtech company through its most critical decision points. Bilal brings nearly two decades of life sciences experience across regulatory affairs, medical affairs, market access, marketing communications and fundraising. But what sets him apart is the lens through which he approaches all of it: lived experience. His own journey with Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease, alongside family mental health challenges and his experience as an autistic leader, has shaped a consultancy built around the belief that science and human perspective are inseparable. This is a conversation about the gap between clinical data and commercial reality — and what it takes to close it. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/6gPpTo25uSfdcVQCtcBw2X Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-bilal-bham-ceo-of-amodaia/id1829715970?i=1000769475494 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - What Amodaia does and why integrated consultancy beats siloed departments - Navigating regulatory, medical affairs and market access as a unified strategy - Why patient-first thinking must drive commercial strategy — not follow it - Bridging the gap between clinical data and the human story payers and providers need to hear - Fundraising realities for emerging biotechs at critical decision points - How lived experience with chronic illness and neurodiversity shapes Bilal's leadership - Why the most important question in drug development is still: does this improve a patient's life? ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:00 Meet Bilal Bham — founder of Amodaia 2:00 The mission: helping biotechs survive & reach patients 3:30 From medical writing to cross-functional consultancy 5:00 "Telling them their baby's ugly" — diagnosing client friction 7:00 The consultation process: NDAs, diagnostics & trust building 9:00 Trust, loyalty, respect — Amodaia's six core values 11:00 Shared experience: redundancy as the spark for independence 12:30 Losing his father, returning home & going freelance 15:00 Growth strategy & the AI reset reshaping life sciences 17:30 Building proprietary AI vs off-the-shelf tools 20:00 Breaking pharma silos — why pillars beat silos 22:00 The AI stack: Claude, ChatGPT, Scite, Perplexity & beyond 24:30 Scaling lean — seven-figure revenue without a big headcount 26:30 It takes a village: mentors inside and outside the industry 30:00 Self-education through audiobooks — dead time to active time 32:30 Empathy as a leadership principle — "it costs nothing to be nice" 33:00 Living with autism, ADHD & the power of neurodiversity 37:30 Masking, diagnosis & finding a methodology that works 40:00 Routine as regulation — bookending the day 42:00 Quick-fire round 44:00 Closing reflections 👤 ABOUT BILAL BHAM Bilal Bham is the founder and CEO of Amodaia, a senior-led life science consultancy supporting biotech, pharma and medtech teams across regulatory affairs, medical affairs, market access, marketing communications and fundraising. With nearly two decades in life sciences, he brings both strategic rigour and a human perspective shaped by his own experience with Graves' disease, thyroid eye disease and life as an autistic leader. 💼 LinkedIn: Search "Bilal Bham Amodaia" 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast for people who want the conversations the life sciences industry rarely makes time for — hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. New episodes every week covering clinical research, digital health, mental wellbeing and leadership. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #BilalBham #Amodaia #LifeSciences #Biotech #PharmaStrategy #MarketAccess #RegulatoryAffairs #PatientFirst #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #HealthcareLeadership #Neurodiversity

Adam Baumgart on RBQM, AI in Clinical Trials & 38 Years of Hard-Won Pharma Wisdom | Pharma Prescribed Adam Baumgart — biometrics and risk consultant with 38 years across AstraZeneca, Covance and beyond — joins Adam Walker for a masterclass in risk-based quality management, the future of clinical trials, and what it actually takes to build a career worth having. Adam fell into clinical research in 1988 when data was collected on non-carbon required paper. He's watched the industry move from paper forms to web-based entry, integrated databases, and now AI-driven analytics. Along the way he discovered a passion for RBQM — and spent four years leading the risk-based monitoring initiative at Covance that transformed how clinical trials are overseen. This episode is part technical deep-dive, part career masterclass, and part honest conversation about mentorship, loss, men's mental health and the Monday morning accountability group that changed both Adam's life and the host's. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/6XT6cpwCmk4eo3KookDaMA Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-adam-baumgart-from-paper-to/id1829715970?i=1000767784416 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - RBQM explained simply: the four pillars of quality by design, risk management, quality control and quality assurance - Why 38 years of broad experience is what made RBQM click — and how to accelerate that understanding - From paper forms in 1988 to AI copilots in 2025: the technology evolution in clinical data - Critical to quality factors: the one place every company should start before anything else - How to reduce 60 active risks down to 20 manageable ones — and why that changes everything - The skills young people need now: critical thinking, data science, UX awareness and relationship building - Why programming experience — even two years of it — makes you a fundamentally better clinical trial professional - Mentors that shaped him: from Glaxo Med Africa to an inspiring father-in-law who was a post-war refugee - 10 years teaching clinical data management for ACDM — and why giving back matters - Ryan Parke's Monday morning men's accountability group: what it is and why it works - Visualization, discipline and learning to follow your passion without guilt - Operation Cyclops: cataloguing a comic collection started in 1976 ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:00 Meet Adam Baumgart — biometrics & risk consultant 2:00 Mission: transforming RBQM across the industry 3:30 RBQM explained in plain English — the four pillars 7:00 How a career spanning 38 years led to this passion 9:00 From agrochemical field trials to clinical data management 11:00 Lean Six Sigma, the 2014–2017 guidance changes & the RBQM spark 13:00 Mentors: Glaxo Med, Covance & an extraordinary father-in-law 16:00 Giving back through ACDM — 10 years of teaching 19:00 From paper to pixels: the technology evolution since 1988 22:00 Why trials are exponentially more complex than they used to be 23:00 Key skills for the next generation: critical thinking & data science 25:00 UX design, relationship building & not being intimidated by brilliant people 27:00 The value of two years programming — and why it still pays off 30:00 Building RBQM from scratch: where to start 31:00 Critical to quality factors — filtering out the noise 33:00 Ryan Parke's Monday morning men's group & the power of accountability 37:00 Visualization, discipline & being forgiving of yourself 39:00 Quick-fire round 43:00 Closing reflections & how to connect 👤 ABOUT ADAM BAUMGART Adam Baumgart is a biometrics and risk consultant with 38 years of experience across clinical research organisations and pharma, including leadership roles at AstraZeneca and Covance. He is an advisor at ZS Associates and Alcedo Consulting, a volunteer expert on RBQM for the Association for Clinical Data Management (ACDM), and a passionate advocate for risk-based approaches to clinical trial quality. 💼 LinkedIn: Search "Adam Baumgart" 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast for people who want the conversations the life sciences industry rarely makes time for — hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. New episodes every week covering clinical research, digital health, mental wellbeing and leadership. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #AdamBaumgart #RBQM #ClinicalTrials #RiskBasedQualityManagement #ClinicalData #PharmaLeadership #PharmaPrescribed #LifeSciences #ClinicalResearch #AstraZeneca #Covance #ACDM #MensHealth #AdamWalker

Helen Palk on 30 Years of NHS Nursing, COVID Vaccines & Human Side of Healthcare | Pharma Prescribed Helen Palk — general practice lead nurse with nearly 30 years in the NHS — joins Adam Walker for one of the warmest and most grounded conversations on the Pharma Prescribed Podcast. Inspired by her grandmother, an army nurse who cared for injured troops during the Second World War, Helen's path began behind a pharmacy counter and took her through urology, theatre recovery, midwifery and finally to general practice in the southeast of England — where she has been ever since. This is a conversation about what nursing actually looks like from the inside: the intimacy, the consent, the emergencies that change your mind about a career, the COVID vaccine hubs that ran on sheer goodwill, and why a smile is still the most powerful clinical tool in the room. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/0WHPgLyUjB6FNpa4dv4VCC Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-helen-palk-lead-practice-nurse/id1829715970?i=1000766643013 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - How her grandmother's wartime nursing shaped Helen's entire career from childhood - Why getting into nurse training in the 1990s was fiercely competitive — and completely different to today - The realities of midwifery: 15-hour shifts, delivering 100 babies to qualify, and a baby named after her - The emergency that nearly made her quit — and why she stayed - Why she left midwifery for general practice and never looked back - The intimacy of everyday nursing: consent, patient anxiety and the power of a warm bedside manner - The paradox of NHS staffing: newly qualified midwives unable to find jobs despite a national shortage - Continuous professional development and revalidation — why nursing never stops being a learning profession - Six years before you're truly confident: honest advice to new graduate nurses - Volunteering for COVID vaccine hubs — the numbers, the nerves and the housebound home visits - What the pandemic taught her about teamwork, personal risk and gratitude - The future of the NHS: what worries her and what gives her hope ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:34 Meet Helen Palk 3:08 Mission: bringing back old-fashioned bedside nursing 4:42 Grandmother's wartime influence & getting into nurse training in the 90s 6:17 Why midwifery? Training routes, ward life and finding her fit 7:51 The midwifery path — 18 months of training and 100 deliveries to qualify 9:25 Midwifery realities: 15-hour shifts, sleep deprivation and a baby named Helen 11:00 The emergency that nearly made her quit — and the lessons it taught 12:34 Finding her home in general practice: variety, confidence and teamwork 14:08 Intimacy, consent and patient comfort in everyday procedures 15:42 Putting patients at ease — the clinical power of warmth and a smile 17:17 Consent in practice: Gillick competence, documentation and protecting everyone 18:51 CPD, revalidation and mentoring new nurses 20:25 COVID vaccine clinics — how it started with an email 22:00 Volunteering to vaccinate: stepping up when the NHS needed it most 23:34 Early hub nerves and learning on the job at pace 25:08 Housebound vaccine runs — taking the jab to those who couldn't come in 26:42 Team bonds, gratitude and moments that stay with you 28:17 Lessons learned and personal risk during the pandemic 29:51 Working alongside Milo — and the joy animals bring to healthcare 31:25 Looking back with fond memories — the good and the hard 33:00 The future of the NHS — staffing, funding and what worries her 34:34 Advice for new nurses: it takes six years to feel truly confident 36:08 Teamwork, purpose and why attitude makes all the difference 37:42 Quick-fire round 39:17 Animals, joy and life outside the surgery 40:51 What she'd tell her younger self 42:25 Golden rule and farewell 44:00 Final thanks and closing reflections on a life in service 👤 ABOUT HELEN PALK Helen Palk is a registered general nurse and midwife with nearly 30 years of experience as a general practice lead nurse in the southeast of the UK. Inspired by her grandmother's service as an army nurse in WWII, she has dedicated her career to maintaining the tradition of compassionate bedside care within the NHS. 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast for people who want the conversations the life sciences industry rarely makes time for — hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. New episodes every week covering

Steven Thompson on AI, Clinical Trial Activation & Why 85% of Trials Are Delayed | Pharma Prescribed Steven Thompson — founder of Next Trial AI — joins Adam Walker to explain why 85% of clinical trials are delayed before a single patient is enrolled, and what he's building to fix it. Steven spent two decades in high-stakes regulatory environments: first with American Airlines on FAA compliance, then with Embraer in Brazil, then building data engineering pipelines for oncology and vaccines at Biogen and Takeda. When his father died of cancer — after going through an informed consent process based on static eligibility data that couldn't predict whether he'd even tolerate the trial — it became personal. Now, from his base in Brazil, Steven is building the infrastructure that makes clinical trials predictable. Trial ready in 30 days. Zero rejection packets. AI that is provably right — not probably right. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/0w2wWweDIb8K95Q5Yymjef Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-steven-thompson-ceo-of-nextrial/id1829715970?i=1000763824689 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - Why 85% of clinical trials are delayed — and it's not the science, it's the paperwork - IRB rejection rates of 25–30% and sponsors burning $55,000 a day on delays - Why 97% of capable physicians are locked out of clinical research — and how AI unlocks them - From American Airlines FAA compliance to pharma: why regulations are architecture, not constraint - The story of Steven's father: static eligibility data, an unknowable trial trajectory, and a choice he could have made differently - Trial activation intelligence: from 60–120 days to 30 days using deterministic, auditable AI - "Provably right, not probably right" — why probabilistic AI is a regulatory liability - Physics-informed trajectory modelling: patients aren't data points, they're differential equations - Stanford/Harvard formal verification frameworks and what they mean for FDA and MHRA submissions - Brazil's 200 million patient records, willingness to collaborate, and why it's becoming a clinical research powerhouse - Meet Selena — Next Trial AI's coordinator-facing AI persona - The human in the loop: what it actually means in practice - The jobs question: will AI replace clinical trial coordinators? - The roadmap: pay-for-outcomes models and what's next ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 2:56 Steven's mission — building infrastructure that makes trials predictable 5:52 From aviation compliance to pharma purpose 8:48 His father's cancer trial — the moment it became personal 11:44 Next Trial AI explained — trial activation intelligence 14:40 Physics-informed verified AI — provably right, not probably right 17:36 The team: physicists, rocket scientists and brilliant people in Brazil 20:32 Brazil's healthcare data opportunity — 200 million patient records 23:28 The role of AI in clinical trials — what changed when ChatGPT arrived 26:24 Human in the loop — what it really means in practice 29:20 Results: faster activation, better screening, fewer rejections 32:16 Meet Selena — Next Trial AI's coordinator-facing AI persona 35:12 Jobs, the future and personal balance 38:08 Roadmap: pay-for-outcomes models 41:04 Quick-fire round 44:00 Conclusion and final thoughts 👤 ABOUT STEVEN THOMPSON Steven Thompson is the founder of Next Trial AI and an expert in high-stakes regulatory environments, having spent over two decades building infrastructure for American Airlines, Biogen and Takeda. Based in Brazil for the last eight years, he specialises in trial activation intelligence, physics-informed prediction engines and human-centred design for clinical research. 🌐 https://www.nexttrial.ai 💼 LinkedIn: Search "Steven Thompson Next Trial AI" 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast for people who want the conversations the life sciences industry rarely makes time for — hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. New episodes every week covering clinical research, digital health, mental wellbeing and leadership. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #StevenThompson #NextTrialAI #ClinicalTrials #AIinPharma #TrialActivation #ClinicalResearch #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #ArtificialIntelligence #DrugDevelopment #RBQM #FDA #MHRA #BrazilHealthcare #LifeSciences

Amelia Wrighton on suicide loss, grief & the charity that helped Adam's family | Pharma Prescribed ⚠️ This episode discusses suicide loss and grief. Please take care. If you need support: Samaritans → 116 123 (UK, free, 24/7) Amelia Wrighton — co-founder and CEO of Suicide&Co — joins Adam Walker for the most personal conversation on the Pharma Prescribed Podcast. Amelia lost her mother to suicide at 19. She navigated that grief alone, without signposting, without counseling, suppressing everything until alopecia and a mental health crisis forced her hand. A decade later she met her co-founder Emma — who had lost her father — and the parallels in two completely different lives were the catalyst for Suicide&Co. For Adam, this episode is deeply personal. He lost his sister Naomi to suicide in September 2024. Suicide&Co supported his family from day one. This is his first public conversation about it. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/6JUbyszkVEyOrpvOU32tDi Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-amelia-wrighton-ceo-co-founder/id1829715970?i=1000755087303 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ Youtube → https://youtu.be/H4TwyOJEUzs?si=9KRvQkrR9s64HSLK 📖 WHAT WE COVER - Amelia's journey: losing her mum at 19, silence, alopecia, and finding counseling 18 months later - Why suicide grief is different: shock, stigma, complexity and the disappearing friends - The body keeps the score: how trauma shows up physically in grief - Why talking to a counselor is different from talking to a friend — and why both matter - The hand-in-front-of-face metaphor: moving grief from overwhelming to visible - What Suicide&Co actually offers: the help hub, app, early support and counseling pathways - Why people don't seek help — and what makes them feel deserving of support - Suicide contagion explained: what it is and what actually helps - Asking the question: does talking about suicide increase risk? - High-risk groups, perinatal mental health and who the system misses - Adam's tribute to Naomi — and the orange connection ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & trigger warning 2:05 Podcast intro and guest 4:11 Meet Amelia Wrighton — turning loss into action 6:17 Amelia's mission and the Suicide&Co story 8:22 Losing her mum and the silence after suicide 10:28 Finding help and healing — counseling 18 months later 12:34 Why suicide grief feels different: shock, stigma and complexity 14:40 Trauma lives in the body — alopecia and the body's score 16:45 The power of talking therapy over friendly conversations 18:51 Rebuilding life around loss — not erasing it 20:57 The Suicide&Co support model: hub, app and counseling 23:02 Day one support and feeling deserving of help 25:08 Language, shame and Adam's own mental health history 27:14 Double bereavement and rebuilding daily life 29:20 Why people avoid counseling and how to make help-seeking normal 31:25 Suicide contagion explained 33:31 Asking the question — does it increase risk? 35:37 Protective factors and what actually helps 37:42 Gender, perinatal mental health and who the system misses 39:48 Quick-fire reflections 41:54 Orange connection — Adam's tribute to Naomi 44:00 Closing thanks and final reflections 👤 ABOUT AMELIA WRIGHTON Amelia Wrighton is co-founder and CEO of Suicide&Co, the UK charity supporting everyone bereaved by suicide. She lost her mother in 2011 and co-founded the charity in 2020. 🌐 https://www.suicideandco.com 📱 Download the free Suicide&Co app 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Long-form conversations with leaders in clinical research, digital health and mental wellbeing, hosted by Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #AmeliaWrighton #SuicideAndCo #SuicideLoss #SuicideBereavement #MentalHealth #GriefSupport #TalkingTherapy #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #SuicidePrevention #Bereavement #MentalHealthUK

Scott Schliebner on DCTs, Patient-Centric Trials & 30 Years of Pharma Innovation | Pharma Prescribed Scott Schliebner — founder of Ascent Biostrategies and veteran of nearly 30 years across biotech, CROs and nonprofit life sciences — joins Adam Walker for a candid, longitudinal view of how drug development actually evolves. And how often it refuses to. From being one of the first to transition a clinical team from paper CRFs to electronic data capture, to building DCT infrastructure at PRA Health Sciences before COVID made it suddenly essential, Scott has watched innovation after innovation hit the wall of a deeply conservative industry. His verdict? Patching on technology doesn't work. What does is putting patients in the room before the protocol is written. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/29BK9r2g5nZACCgU3onEGw Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-scott-schliebner-healthcares/id1829715970?i=1000755085914 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - From academic grant writing to pharma: the moment Scott realised research needed to matter to more than a handful of academicians - The great-grandfather who played professional baseball and immigrated from Germany — and why the name Schliebner gives everyone pause - Building one of the first clinical teams at Seattle Genetics (now Pfizer) during the paper-to-EDC transition - Why even essential innovations take a decade to land in pharma - Decentralised clinical trials: the promise, the COVID pivot, the hype and the quiet retreat - Science 37: the Harvard Business School case study on what not to do - Site technology fatigue — what happens when coordinators are managing 12 studies on 12 different platforms - Why protocols written in a conference room are the wrong way to design a trial - The Apple camera analogy: consumer-driven design vs. sponsor-driven clinical trials - Patient advisory groups, patient burden assessment tools and what it actually looks like to put patients first - From oncology to rare disease: why the patient voice changes everything - Mentorship, the current biotech downturn and why this is actually the moment to invest in relationships - Quick-fire round: advice for the next generation entering life sciences ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:50 Meet Scott Schliebner 3:40 Career journey — from academic lab to pharma industry 5:30 From academia to pharma: the pivotal grant-writing moment 7:20 The name, the roots and a great-grandfather who played baseball 9:10 The evolution of clinical trials over 30 years 11:00 Paper to EDC: the decade-long battle to go digital 12:50 Decentralised trials — building DCT infrastructure before COVID made it urgent 14:40 COVID hits and suddenly everyone wants what we were building 16:30 Why DCTs stalled — sponsor scepticism, site fatigue and Science 37 18:20 Technology fatigue and what real innovation actually looks like 20:10 Putting patients first — and why protocols written without them fail 22:00 Enrollment delays and the cost of designing trials without patients 23:50 Patients shape endpoints: the Apple camera analogy 25:40 The importance of patient involvement from day one 27:30 Creating patient advisory groups — what it takes in practice 29:20 From oncology to rare disease: how the patient voice changes 31:10 Building patient advisory boards that actually influence trial design 33:00 Developing patient-centric tools for sponsors and sites 34:50 The trial burden assessment tool — what it measures and why it matters 36:40 Mentorship and how Scott got his start 38:30 Paying it forward during the biotech downturn 40:20 Quick-fire reflections 42:10 Advice for the next generation entering life sciences 44:00 How to connect with Scott and closing thanks 👤 ABOUT SCOTT SCHLIEBNER Scott Schliebner is the CEO and founder of Ascent Biostrategies, a biopharma advisory firm focused on clinical development, regulatory planning and patient-centric innovation. With nearly 30 years across biotech, CROs and nonprofit life sciences — including senior roles at TFS Health Sciences, PRA Health Sciences and Seattle Genetics — he is a recognised patient advocate and strategic thinker helping emerging biotechs accelerate their pipelines. 💼 LinkedIn: Search "Scott Schliebner" 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Pharma Prescribed is the podcast for people who want the conversations the life sciences industry rarely makes time for — hosted by biometrics consultant Adam Walker. New episodes every week covering clinical research, digital health, mental wellbeing and leadership. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #ScottSchliebner #AscentBiostrategies #ClinicalTrials #DecentralisedTrials #DCT #PatientCentric #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #Biotech #DrugDevelopment #ClinicalResearch #EDC #PRAHealthSciences #LifeSciences #PharmaInnovation

Helene Quie on MedTech Regulation, Danish Innovation & Getting Devices to Patients | Pharma Prescribed Helene Quie — cell biologist turned MedTech CEO — joins Adam Walker for a wide-ranging conversation about what it really takes to get a medical device from concept to market. Helene founded qmmed Consulting in 2006 after senior roles at Cook Medical, where she entered an industry she describes as "cowboy land" — a Wild West of medical device regulation that has since evolved into one of the most complex risk-based frameworks in global healthcare. From hospital beds to artificial hearts, from software apps to cardiac stents, she has spent 30 years helping manufacturers navigate the 2,000 documented steps between a good idea and a patient benefit. Adam lived and worked in Copenhagen from 2015 to 2017 — this episode is also a warm conversation about Denmark's extraordinary MedTech ecosystem, its flat culture of sharing, and what the rest of the world could learn from it. 🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR PREFERRED APP Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Vw9A4ld9PocmNMNAj64GY Apple Podcasts → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pharma-prescribed-with-helene-quie-from-concept-to/id1829715970?i=1000754443092 Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1a43eb87-b83e-441d-9a87-321263e3f821/adam-walker%E2%80%99s-pharma-prescribed-podcast Podbean → https://pharmaprescribed.podbean.com/ 📖 WHAT WE COVER - Why MedTech regulation started as the Wild West — and how it matured - The staggering diversity of medical devices: hospital beds, artificial hearts, phone apps and MRI machines under one framework - Risk-based regulation: why manufacturers must argue their own clinical strategy rather than follow a fixed path - The 2,000 documented steps between innovation and commercialisation - Use cases and market fit: why your device might work in Denmark but not in Germany - Why companies fail after clinical trials — and how to avoid it - Training the next generation through storytelling and open knowledge sharing - The Danish MedTech ecosystem: Novo Nordisk, Cook Medical, flat organisations and Viking ambition - Hygge, wellbeing at work and what Adam observed at Novo Nordisk in Copenhagen - "Roots and wings" leadership — giving people foundation and freedom - AI in medical devices: the regulatory frontier - Europe MDR, post-market surveillance and the future of evidence generation ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction & podcast mission 1:31 Meet Helene Quie 3:02 Her mission in MedTech 4:33 Devices vs pharma trials explained 6:04 The evolution of medical device regulations — from cowboy land to today 7:35 Navigating the diversity of medical devices 9:06 Risk-based regulation — the manufacturer's burden of justification 10:37 The importance of risk assessment and documentation 12:08 Use cases and market fit — thinking beyond your sandbox 13:39 Strategic planning for clinical trials across hospital systems 15:10 Training the next generation through experience and storytelling 16:41 Why sharing knowledge is the only way to make magic 18:12 The Danish MedTech ecosystem — smart people, flat structures 19:43 Denmark's MedTech culture and the Viking spirit of reaching out 21:14 Hospital-industry partnerships in Copenhagen 22:45 Denmark's work culture and what other countries can learn 24:16 Adam's experience living and working in Copenhagen 25:47 Wellbeing at Novo Nordisk — a different way of working 27:18 Hygge: the Danish concept that changes how teams collaborate 28:49 Building strong relationships in business 30:20 Roots and wings leadership philosophy 31:51 CEO decisions — what to take on and what to let go 33:22 The hardest decisions as a CEO 34:53 The future of MedTech and AI integration 36:24 Europe MDR, post-market data and storytelling through evidence 37:55 AI in medical devices — the emerging regulatory frontier 39:26 Quick-fire: personal values 40:57 Patterns and golden rule 42:28 Closing and how to connect 44:00 Final reflections 👤 ABOUT HELENE QUIE Helene Quie is a cell biologist and founder and CEO of qmmed Consulting, a global MedTech consultancy and CRO based in Copenhagen. With 30 years at the intersection of science and regulation — including senior roles at Cook Medical — she helps MedTech pioneers across Europe translate breakthrough ideas into market-ready, compliant products. 🌐 Search "qmmed Consulting" or "Helene Quie" on LinkedIn 🎙️ ABOUT PHARMA PRESCRIBED Long-form conversations with leaders in clinical research, digital health and mental wellbeing, hosted by Adam Walker. 🌐 https://pharmaprescribed.com 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-walker-2327951/ #HeleneQuie #MedTech #MedicalDevices #qmmedConsulting #EuropeMDR #MedTechRegulation #ClinicalTrials #PharmaPrescribed #AdamWalker #Denmark #NovoNordisk #CookMedical #HealthcareInnovation #AIinMedTech #LifeSciences