Markella is part of Evaluate’s competitive intelligence (CI) consulting practice, where she works on a wide range of projects to support CI teams in pharma companies to ensure they stay on top of the latest developments and are able to deliver timely insights to their stakeholders. I caught up with Markella to learn about what makes her tick, including being involved in clinical trials for world-class drugs and how the pharmaceutical industry’s gain was music’s loss.
- What do you think is going to have the biggest impact on the pharma industry in the next five years?
Generative AI is increasingly a part of many aspects of healthcare and the pharma industry. Despite geopolitical, economic and ethical headwinds, the trajectory of AI is upwards. And while the focus of AI in biopharma has so far been on the drug discovery/research, pre-clinical and clinical development side, I think there will be more activity on the regulatory and commercial part of the value chain. I believe we are in the midst of a turning point in history and I am both optimistic and excited to see all the potential applications of this tool in our industry. - What’s the biggest challenge facing pharma and biotech companies at the moment
It’s hard to point to one challenge as being the biggest, but one that’s top of mind for many of our clients, particularly in competitive intelligence is making sense of data – which is often where our team comes in. Specifically, helping companies understand what data is most important for them, interpret ever-increasing data into insights and translate that into implications for their company. Companies that know how to get to actionable intelligence are in a better position to anticipate and prepare for hurdles ahead and fail early, fail faster or pivot. - Which areas of the industry are you most fascinated by? Why?
Oncology remains a very important therapy area for me and although we have seen incredible progress over the years in some indications such as breast, melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, there is still so much more that needs to be done in other indications where survival rates are low and patients have very little options (i.e. pancreatic cancer, glioblastoma, ovarian etc.). I am optimistic that with certain new technologies such as bispecific antibodies coming of age, there will be progress in those areas. And while a lot of my work has been focused on oncology over the years, I am very excited about the CNS space especially as a result of some of the recent projects I’ve been involved with. - Other than working for Evaluate (of course!), what’s your career highlight to-date?
Being involved in several Phase II and III drugs that made it to the market and improved patient care. I am proud to say I have a few of those under my belt such as Kadcyla, Dupixent (dupilumab), Quinlock (ripretinib), Collategene, among others.
Most recently, I have been involved in government projects and it has been an extremely rewarding and eye-opening experience to see how some of those programmes run. We are currently supporting the US Department of Defense (DOD) and industry partners with a unique Phase II trial that will help veterans suffering from PTSD. Our work, a true collaborative project and partnership with the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command has already resulted in four potential treatments tested in this trial and there are plans to identify more in the future depending on the trial’s progress. I am proud to say that our work is enabling patients get access to drugs in a segment that is not being served by conventional R&D. - What’s the best thing about your role?
The first thing is that I am surrounded by intelligent, driven and inspiring colleagues and I manage extremely talented, humble and good human beings! The second is the variety of work in the projects I get to pitch, close and deliver. No one project is exactly the same and clients always keep me on my toes. There is never a dull moment in consulting! - What’s your favourite drink?
Red wine. I confess I am no wine buff or connoisseur, but it means I am easily pleased. I love all types of red wine! - Tell us an interesting fact about yourself
I could read music before I could read the alphabet. I started playing the piano when I was five and wanted to be a piano teacher up until I was introduced to biology, at which point I became completely fascinated and curious about the cell and decided to go into the life sciences.