PM360 Announces 2023 Trailblazer Award Winners

Top Companies, Marketers, CEOs, Products, and Initiatives Were Honored During Gala on October 3^rd

NEW YORK, Oct. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night at a gala event held at Gotham Hall in New York City, PM360 announced the winners of its 15^th annual Trailblazer Awards. In total, PM360, a leading life sciences marketing industry trade publication, recognized 73 winners 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.

"Our industry is dedicated to helping make patient's lives better, healthier, and longer, so we feel a responsibility to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible accomplishments of the people and companies behind truly ground-breaking and astonishing work," says Anna Stashower, CEO and Publisher of PM360. "This year's winners have helped usher in significant changes in birth control, depression, surgical intervention, obesity, atopic dermatitis, breast cancer, myasthenia gravis, locally advanced basal cell carcinoma, and so many more disease areas. We are beyond impressed by the various contributions they made developing, launching, marketing, and ensuring access to these much-needed medications."

The over 400 attendees were treated to more than an award ceremony. Comedian Johnny Lampert kept the audience laughing as the night's emcee and a DJ kept the dance party going 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 recipient is Jim Weiss, Founder & Chairman, Real Chemistry. Over his 36-year career, Weiss has been involved in a number of firsts, including helping launch the first monoclonal antibody drugs for cancer; the first treatments for cystic fibrosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); the first PillCam, promoted on NBC's Today for its use for colon cancer screening; and, while at Genentech, the first biopharma website that incorporated corporate, product, and patient-oriented content into one destination. Later in his career he transitioned to the agency side and launched Weisscom Partners in 2001, which ultimately evolved into Real Chemistry. Now, Real Chemistry is at the forefront of applying analytics, data, and artificial intelligence to the biopharma and healthcare industry and, in 2022, the company achieved its 21st consecutive year of double-digit growth.

Weiss has also made substantial efforts to give back to the community at large. He founded and sponsors the Weiss Center for Social Commerce at Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communication, providing students with communications skills to accelerate their career. During COVID-19, he committed more than $400,000 of agency funds and staff time to support the Black Coalition Against Covid, which helped triple the percentage of Black Americans willing to get the vaccine. He also partners with The LAGRANT Foundation to increase the number of ethnic minorities in advertising, marketing, and public relations.

"Jim Weiss recognized the value of applying data analytics and AI to healthcare back in the infancy of those technologies and has since built Real Chemistry into a powerhouse agency that is working to solve some of our industry's greatest challenges," says Anna Stashower, CEO and Publisher of PM360. "His work both inside Real Chemistry and outside as a trusted advisor for cancer organizations, venture capitalist firms, startups, and more is driving the kind of innovation worthy of our Lifetime Achievement Award."

Some of the other big winners include Novo Nordisk as this year's Pharmaceutical/Biotech Company of the Year, while Ethicon was named the Medical Device/Diagnostics Company of the Year and argenx took home Specialty Pharma Company of the Year. Additionally, Biolumina was named the Advertising Agency of the Year and IQVIA was given the honor of Supplier/Vendor of the Year. In addition, James Robinson, the former CEO, Urovant Sciences, was named the Life Sciences Manufacturer CEO of the Year while Ken Begasse Jr., Founder and CEO, ConcentricLife, was named the Advertising Agency or Supplier/Vendor CEO of the Year. As for the Brand of the Year, Regeneron & Sanofi's DUPIXENT® (dupilumab) Injection took home that honor.

PM360 will publish profiles of this year's Trailblazer winners in its November issue and on its website.

This year's PM360 Trailblazer winners include:

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD RECIPIENT 
Jim Weiss, Founder & Chairman, Real Chemistry

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: PHARMACEUTICAL/BIOTECH
Novo Nordisk

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: MEDICAL DEVICE/DIAGNOSTICS
Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson MedTech Company

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: SPECIALTY PHARMA/BIOTECH
argenx

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: ADVERTISING AGENCY
Biolumina

COMPANY OF THE YEAR: SUPPLIER/VENDOR
IQVIA Digital Enablement Center of Excellence

LIFE SCIENCES MANUFACTURER CEO OF THE YEAR
James Robinson, former CEO, Urovant Sciences (absorbed by Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals)

ADVERTISING AGENCY OR SUPPLIER/VENDOR CEO OF THE YEAR
Ken Begasse Jr., Founder and CEO, ConcentricLife

MARKETER OF THE YEAR 
Conor Fogarty, Marketing Director, Neuroimmunology Franchise, Genentech, Inc.

MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR SILVER WINNER
Specialty Dermatology (Sun Pharmaceuticals and Agency Partner: Calcium)

MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR GOLD WINNER
VYVGART Brand Launch Team (argenx and Agency Partners: closerlook, a part of Fishawack Health, Snow Companies, Princeton10, Syneos Health, minds + assembly)

BRAND OF THE YEAR
DUPIXENT® (dupilumab) Injection (Regeneron & Sanofi)

MOST INNOVATIVE NEW PRODUCT
AITA™ Smart System (Ethicon, Inc.)

PRODUCT LAUNCH OF THE YEAR
NEXTSTELLIS (Mayne Pharma and EVERSANA INTOUCH)

RELAUNCH/REVITALIZATION OF THE YEAR
VRAYLAR (AbbVie Inc. and Publicis NY)

BRAND CHAMPION AWARD WINNERS 

Autoimmune/Rheumatology: Katrina Sergeev Gary, Sr. Director US Marketing and Patient Engagement, argenx US, Inc.
Cardiology: Bradley A. Yavornitzki, Senior Product Manager, U.S. Marketing, Bristol Myers Squibb
Central Nervous System: Sue Loungaphay, Director, Consumer Marketing, Strategic Marketing, Horizon Therapeutics
Data Strategy/Marketing Analytics: Steve Davenport, Senior Director, U.S. Commercial Data Management & Strategy, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Dermatology: Claudia Beqaj, Executive Director, Dermatology, Boehringer Ingelheim
Diabetes/Metabolic Disorders: Vivian Chatih, Associate Brand Director- RYBELSUS®, Novo Nordisk Inc.
Diversity/Multicultural: Anna Czene, Vice President, Corporate Communications & DEI Lead, CareDx, Inc.
Gastrointestinal: Lindsay Bensko, Director, IBD Education and Engagements, Takeda Pharmaceuticals
Global Marketing: Lisa Green, Director, Global Marketing ‑ Rare Diseases, Chiesi Global Rare Diseases
HCP Engagement: Jibin John, Sr. Manager, HCP Marketing - Dermatology, Regeneron
Hematology/Oncology: Michelle Richards, Vice President, Head of Marketing, Mirati Therapeutics
Infectious Disease/Vaccine Development: Arianna Edwards, Associate Director, Marketing, Dynavax Technologies
Innovation/Digital Strategy: Alex Popov, Director, Digital Health Solutions, Novartis
Managed Markets/Payer Strategies: Adri E. Tolstrup, Sr. Director, Obesity Market Access Strategy, Novo Nordisk
Medical Device/Diagnostics: Brett Sarnoff, Vice President of Marketing Medical Device & Pharma Systems, North America, B. Braun Medical, Inc.
Men's Health: Nuvan Augustin Dassanaike, Senior Vice President Digital and Marketing Strategy & Operations, Accord BioPharma
Nephrology/Urology: W. Akil Hunte, Director, Patient Empowerment, FILSPARI Marketing Team, Travere Therapeutics
Ophthalmology/Optometry: Maaza Martin, Senior Director, Marketing, Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Patient Engagement: Dana Anselmo, Patient Voice Strategy, Engagement & Experience Design, Genentech
Rare Diseases: Dinesh Vannan, Director, Marketing, Rare Disease Portfolio, Chiesi Global Rare Diseases
Respiratory: Beth Bell, HCP Marketing Director - COVID-19, U.S. Respiratory & Immunology, AstraZeneca
Women's Health: Rui Yang, Marketing Strategy Lead - Breast Cancer, Novartis

INITIATIVE WINNERS

APP/DIGITAL SOLUTION OR SUITE SILVER WINNER
GoodRx for Providers (GoodRx)

APP/DIGITAL SOLUTION OR SUITE GOLD WINNER
Discover TD Solution (Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. and Level Ex)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DATA ANALYTICS INITIATIVE SILVER WINNER
Infused Brands Lead-Generation Initiative (Horizon Therapeutics)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE/DATA ANALYTICS INITIATIVE GOLD WINNER
The Perfect Marriage of Curated Data + Specialized Large Language Model in Drug-GPT™ (Talking Medicines)

CONSUMER WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE SILVER WINNER
NAVIgATE IgAN (Travere Therapeutics and Fishawack Health)

CONSUMER WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE GOLD WINNER
Un-apologize: A Whitney Cummings Comedy Special (TherapeuticsMD, Weber Shandwick, Resolute Digital, theSkimm, and McCann NY)

DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
Wegovy® "This is Me" DTC :90 Launch TV Spot (Novo Nordisk and ConcentricLife)

DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
2022 Fluzone HD Navigator Ad Campaign (Sanofi, Havas, and InStep Health)

DIRECT-TO-PATIENT CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
VRAYLAR (AbbVie Inc. and Publicis NY)

DIRECT-TO-PATIENT CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
HEMGENIX DTP Campaign "A New World" (CSL Behring and AbelsonTaylor)

HCP EDUCATION SILVER WINNER
GenePossibilities (Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Evoke Mind+Matter)

HCP EDUCATION GOLD WINNER
UDENYCA Interactive 3D Augmented Reality Presentation of Device Setup and Use (Coherus Biosciences and Confideo)

INTERACTIVE/IMMERSIVE MARKETING PROGRAM SILVER WINNER
Galderma shows how to #XpresYourself at NYC Pride 2022 (Galderma and Real Chemistry)

INTERACTIVE/IMMERSIVE MARKETING PROGRAM GOLD WINNER
Inequality You Can't Ignore (The Chrysalis Initiative and EVERSANA INTOUCH)

PATIENT/CONSUMER EDUCATION SILVER WINNER
"At Your Cervix" Cervical Cancer Awareness Campaign (Goshen Health and SFC Group)

PATIENT/CONSUMER EDUCATION GOLD WINNER
Hello Talk Unbranded Educational Program Series (Takeda and Snow Companies)

PERSISTENCE/ADHERENCE PROGRAM SILVER WINNER
THRiV™, omni-channel, intelligent patient management platform (MedAdvisor Solutions)

PERSISTENCE/ADHERENCE PROGRAM GOLD WINNER
Delivering robust engagement through a purpose-built rare disease patient support program (Inizio Engage)

PODCASTS SILVER WINNER
Science Will Win Podcast – Season 2 (Pfizer, Real Chemistry, and Wonder Media Network)

PODCASTS GOLD WINNER
Targeting the Toughest Diseases (Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Bloomberg Media Studios, and Weber Shandwick)

POINT OF CARE SILVER WINNER
"Stand for H.E.R: Advancing Breast Cancer Health Equity at the Point of Care" (Susan G. Komen and PatientPoint)

POINT OF CARE GOLD WINNER
Pharmacy Alerts in the ePrescribing Workflow (OptimizeRx)

PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
CIMERLI Campaign "Similar but Uniquely Different" (Coherus BioSciences and AT Nutrient)

PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Eucerin Sun (Beiersdorf and Deerfield Agency)

PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE SILVER WINNER
The science of SpA on exhibit at the RheuMuseum (UCB, Inc. and Fishawack Health)

PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE/ONLINE INITIATIVE GOLD WINNER
NORD: A Beautiful and Rare Chance (National Organization for Rare Disorders and Elevate Healthcare)

SALES AID SILVER WINNER
HEMGENIX Sales Aid "A New World" (CSL Behring and AbelsonTaylor)

SALES AID GOLD WINNER
Access Genius "Pull-through Solutions" (Precision Value & Health)

SELF-PROMOTION/CORPORATE CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
"We were into health when New York wasn't" (NY Festivals Health and Ogilvy Health)

SELF-PROMOTION/CORPORATE CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
GoodRx Manufacturer Solutions (GoodRx)

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
TikTok #LUMIFYEyeDance Challenge (Bausch + Lomb)

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Raise Awareness During Asthma Peak Week (Amgen, AstraZeneca, and imre Health)

UNBRANDED CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
Got Booster? (Pfizer and VMLY&R Health)

UNBRANDED CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Love Letters for Cancer Screening Campaign for Women of Color in New York City (Genentech, Harrison & Star, Cien Plus, and Weber Shandwick)

VIDEO/TV CAMPAIGN SILVER WINNER
mBC Unspoken (Gilead Sciences and Evoke MicroMass)

VIDEO/TV CAMPAIGN GOLD WINNER
Moderna's Jeopardy! Second Chance Tournament (Moderna and Hearts & Science)

About PM360
PM360 is the premier, must-read magazine for marketing decision makers in the pharmaceutical, biotech, diagnostics, and medical device industries. Published monthly, PM360 is the only journal that focuses on delivering the full spectrum of practical information necessary for product managers and pharmaceutical marketing professionals to succeed in the complex and highly regulated healthcare environment.

The journal's targeted and insightful editorial focuses on issues that directly impact critical decision making, including: Planning and implementation of cutting-edge strategies, trends, the latest technological advances, branding/marketing, advertising/promotion, patient/professional education, sales, market research, PR, and leadership. Additionally, the "360" in the title signifies the span of this critical, how-to info with personal and career insights for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.

By providing the full circle of enriching content, PM360 is truly an indispensable tool for busy and productive marketing professionals to stay at the top of their game.

Contact: 
Andrew Matthius
Senior Editor, PM360
646-300-8113
[email protected] 

SOURCE PM360