Author: Press Release

Makara Health creates Joint MD role as Louise Sharp steps into CEO position

PRESS RELEASE |

UK-based international healthcare communications agency, Makara Health, has announced the promotion of Katie Bright and Helen Laurence into Joint Managing Director (JMD) roles as Louise Sharp becomes Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Following the bolstering of the senior team in recent years and the continued success of the agency, the new roles have been created to share and manage ongoing growth across its five core functional offerings of medical education, learning and development, brand and promotion, PR, and patient education. The change will also create additional space for Louise to support the business strategically, drive new business and become more active within the broader medical communications industry.

Katie will step up from her role as Deputy Managing Director and will continue to actively support and develop business infrastructure, as well as overseeing the L&D and brand functions, and the in-house creative and digital teams. Helen, who was previously Executive Director – PR and Medical Education, will continue to oversee those functions, as well as shaping marketing strategy, and working with the Executive Director of Scientific Strategy to support the agency’s team of experienced scientific writers.

Both will continue to work closely with the leadership and management teams to ensure Makara maintains its core values of integrity, intelligence and kindness.

Katie and Helen have both worked at Makara since the early days and know the business inside out. They bring considerable and diverse experience with them from their careers prior to Makara and have different but complementary skills sets. I am thrilled to see them step into this joint role and look forward to continuing to build and grow the agency together for the benefit of our clients. I also look forward to playing a more active role in the wider medical communications industry in my new position.

Louise Sharp

It’s a huge privilege to take on the role of Joint Managing Director at Makara, working with such a truly talented group of individuals. I’m also thrilled to be taking on the role in partnership with Helen, who has been an inspiring and valued colleague and friend ever since we both joined the agency around 7 years ago.

Katie Bright

As long-term members of the team, Katie and I are lucky to have been part of the Makara journey and are united in our determination to continue to offer our clients the excellent service they have come to expect, while maintaining a flexible and inspiring culture for our people. We are delighted to have recently received a Best Companies accreditation as an Outstanding Place to Work and that’s an accolade we intend to live up to!

Helen Laurence

Makara Health accelerates growth with new hires, and management and leadership team restructure

PRESS RELEASE |

Salisbury, 21 March 2022 – UK-based international healthcare communications agency,
Makara Health, continues to strengthen its offering with the creation of new roles, senior hires and promotions to better support the agency’s next phase of growth.

As a result of phenomenal expansion (160% year-on-year growth over the last three years), new Business Unit Director roles have been created to lead and grow the following functions:

  • Dr (Med) Ekta Rohra has been promoted to Business Unit Director, Digital
  • Helen Rodway has been promoted to Business Unit Director, Learning and Development
  • To further support the Learning and Development offering, Kim Bond has been promoted to eLearning Lead
  • Gurjit Chahal has been promoted to Business Unit Director, PR
  • Dr Annlou Pendse has joined the team as Business Unit Director, Medical Education

Annlou joined the team earlier this year, having previously worked at Langland, to bring her medical education expertise to this newly created role. With her strong scientific background, and more than 15 years’ experience in healthcare communications, Annlou has led teams to deliver European and emerging market multi-country communication programmes across a broad range of therapy areas.

As part of the company’s future growth and development strategy, Makara Health has also restructured its leadership team to more clearly define responsibilities:

  • Katie Bright has been promoted to Deputy Managing Director
  • Helen Laurence has been promoted to Executive Director, PR and Medical Education
  • Diana Evans has been promoted to Executive Director, Patient Education and Head of UK Business Operations
  • Dr Shula Sarner has been promoted to Executive Director, Scientific Strategy

“By introducing new management and leadership roles, we have deepened our expertise in our core offerings and bolstered our integrated propositions for clients. Our strategic changes set Makara Health on a path to the future and are important steps towards continuing to attract and retain talent and clients,” said Louise Sharp, Founder and Managing Director, Makara Health.

“It’s great to see Makara Health continue to grow to a team of over 70 while maintaining our commitment to agile working. We have demonstrated we can successfully operate a virtual working model at scale, delivering award-winning work while promoting flexibility and balance for our people. This has allowed us to attract a wide range of talented and experienced individuals, regardless of where they live. Coinciding with this news, we have launched our new logo and brand identity, to reflect the modern, integrated agency we are today.”

Full list of new team members and promotions in the last three months:

  • Annlou Pendse, Business Unit Director, Medical Education
  • Lauren Wildman, Project Manager, Medical Education
  • Claire Paling, Associate Director, PR
  • Beth Gaffey, Project Manager, PR
  • Caroline Nesbitt, Project Director, Learning and Development
  • Chris Williams, Senior Medical Writer
  • Emily Bailey, Senior Medical Writer
  • Charlotte Hill, Medical Writer
  • Victoria Green, Scientific Associate
  • Anamaria Popescu, Digital Front-End Developer
  • Linda Villegas, HR Coordinator

Makara expands women’s health portfolio with new client wins

PRESS RELEASE |

Salisbury, 11 August 2021 – UK-based international healthcare communications agency, Makara Health, has won new clients to bolster its women’s health portfolio.

The new wins include the osteoporosis and contraception portfolio for Theramex, a specialist women’s health company.

Andrew Bradley, Head of Communications, Theramex, said “Makara Health impressed us with their strategic thinking, passion and deep understanding of women’s health. Its great to be collaborating with senior healthcare consultants and we look forward to a long-term partnership.”

Outside of women’s health, Makara Health has won the UK PR and communications business for Lupin Healthcare in asthma and COPD.

Makara Health’s team continues to grow with 12 new hires including Francesca Kolbe who joins as a Scientific Director providing strategic and scientific input into publications, medical affairs and commercial programmes at Makara Health.

Other additions includes Donna Gregory, who joins as an Associate Director from dna Communications. Donna brings a breadth of experience having worked in central government and the voluntary sector before moving to agency-side.

Founder and Managing Director, Louise Sharp said, “It’s great to see Makara Health going from strength to strength with new client wins and the expansion of our talented team to support this. As a woman-owned business with a majority female senior team, it is particularly gratifying to gain more work in women’s health – an important and often overlooked area.”

Full list of new team members

Account team:

  • Francesca Kolbe has a background in cardiovascular research and 17 years’ healthcare communications experience.
  • Donna Gregory joins as an Associate Director from dna Communications. Before moving agency-side, Donna headed up communications for a national charity and was part of the media centre team at the Department of Health.
  • Eva McCartney joins as an Account Director who brings 20 years’ experience in the international pharmaceutical industry, leading traditional and digital marketing campaigns and cross-functional, multi-national teams.
  • Georgina Wardell is a Project Director who has over 12 years experience working in pharmaceutical, digital, and healthcare agencies including earthware and Roche.

Scientific, creative and client services teams:

  • Harriet Bell joins as Senior Medical Writer
  • Claire Beeby joins the team as a Senior Medical Writer
  • Sarah Burrows joins as a Senior Medical Writer
  • Georgia McGlasson as a Scientific Associate
  • Yarden Cohen Jones as a Scientific Associate
  • Craig Lowe joins as a Creative Services Manager
  • Christina Burgess joins as a Senior Designer
  • Lauren Wildman joins as a Project Coordinator
  • Julie Case joins as an Accounts Assistant
  • Sarah Lyles joins as a HR Manager

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About Makara Health

Makara Health is an international healthcare communications agency delivering innovative, creative and inspiring engagement solutions that change minds and behaviour.

Curious by nature, we constantly ask ‘What if…?’ to explore possibilities that might otherwise be missed and create the right environment for belief-led behaviour change.

Thanks to the range of specialisms within Makara, we are able to offer our clients bespoke programmes combining brand advertising, medical education, patient engagement, PR and training. We find the right solutions for your brand or challenge then tailor our senior team to your needs, objectives and vision.

Makara is a certified WEConnect International women’s business enterprise. WEConnect International is a global network that connects women-owned businesses to qualified byers around the world.

Want to find out more? Email us at whatif@makarahealth.com or call +44 (0) 23 81 247 327. For more information visit www.makarahealth.com

Makara bolsters leadership team on back of award wins

PRESS RELEASE |

Salisbury, 09 February 2021 – UK-based international healthcare communications agency,
Makara Health, has appointed 11 additional people to its rapidly growing team, including Diana Evans who joins the leadership team as Director.

Diana comes with both agency and in-house experience, including her latest role at Napp Pharmaceuticals as Head of Communications. Diana will spearhead Makara’s patient engagement offering.

“Having started my healthcare communications career in agency and then moved to  in-house pharma roles, I’ve seen the challenges on both sides. I chose to join Makara because I know they give their clients unrivalled expertise and creativity in a collaborative way and that’s how they have become a multi-award winning agency. Leading our patient engagement offering is both a privilege and a challenge – effectively communicating with and learning from patients to deliver truly patient centred programmes should be at the core of everything we do,” comments Diana Evans.

“I wanted to deliver top quality, engaging and intelligent communications with like-minded individuals – and that’s what you get from Makara.”

Other additions to the team include Gurjit Chahal, who joins from 3 Monkeys Zeno as an Associate Director, a new digital designer and three further members of the senior writing team, amongst others.

The recruitment drive follows a successful run of award wins at the end of 2020 for Makara, including three PMEA Awards, one of which was Support Agency of the Year, and the PharmaTimes Communications Team of the Year (International Challenge).

“I am so proud of our growing team and excited about what 2021 has in store for Makara,” comments Louise Sharp, Founder and Managing Director of Makara. “Diana’s significant experience within the industry, coupled with her focus on patient engagement, puts us in an even stronger position to support our clients in meeting the evolving needs of patients during this period of rapid change.” 

Full list of new team members:

Account team:

  • Diana Evans, who has held in-house roles at both Napp and GSK, worked in agencies including Ogilvy and Cohn & Wolfe and started her career at a charity The Patients Association.
  • Gurjit Chahal, joins the PR and comms function as Associate Director. She has over 10 years experience and has previously worked at 3 Monkeys Zeno, Clark Health, Red Consultancy and Tonic Life Communications.
  • Johanna Leifland, brings her advertising experience to the agency having worked at Woolley Pau Gyro and DDB Remedy.
  • Kunbi Ayo-Okanlawon joins the medical educational side of the business as Senior Project Manager.
  • Sarah Bundock who joins as Project Manager, bringing a focus on patient engagement.
  • Mary Fraser who joins as Project Manager, supporting Makara’s Learning and Development work.

Digital, creative and scientific services:

  • Peter Davies joins the team as Creative Projects Manager.
  • Coleen Cahill joins as Digital Designer.
  • Jennifer Tasker joins as Senior Medical Writer.
  • Jacqi Pan joins as Senior Medical Writer.
  • Gemma North joins as Scientific Coordinator.
  • Becky Pamplin joins as Senior Copywriter.

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About Makara Health

Makara Health is an international healthcare communications agency delivering innovative, creative and inspiring engagement solutions that change minds and behaviour.

Curious by nature, we constantly ask ‘What if…?’ to explore possibilities that might otherwise be missed and create the right environment for belief-led behaviour change.

Thanks to the range of specialisms within Makara, we are able to offer our clients bespoke programmes combining brand advertising, medical education, patient engagement, PR and training. We find the right solutions for your brand or challenge then tailor our senior team to your needs, objectives and vision.

Makara is a certified WEConnect International women’s business enterprise. WEConnect International is a global network that connects women-owned businesses to qualified byers around the world.

Want to find out more? Email us at whatif@makarahealth.com or call +44 (0) 23 81 247 327. For more information visit www.makarahealth.com

For further information contact:

Chrissie Hartgill +44 (0) 23 81 247 327

chrissie@makarahealth.com

Makara expands senior team with addition of new Scientific Services and Creative Directors

PRESS RELEASE |

Salisbury, 25 September 2020 – UK-based international healthcare communications agency,
Makara Health, continues to expand its team with eight new hires as it heads into the last quarter
of 2020:

  • Shula Sarner joins Makara Health from Lucid, where she held the position of Executive Scientific Director. She will be joining the Makara leadership team as Director, Scientific Services, further shaping the company’s scientific offering working with a growing team of expert medical writers. Shula has over 18 years of medical communications experience following a successful career in academic research and biotech. She combines a thorough knowledge of scientific and clinical processes with an understanding of healthcare professional behaviour and strategic insights.  
  • Neil Padgett joins the team as Makara’s new Creative Director. He brings over 20 years of experience in leading multi-award winning creative healthcare campaigns at international levels. He will spearhead Makara’s creative team working alongside another recent hire, Senior Designer Jamie Hickton.
  • Makara has also made new hires across of a range of functions to support it’s ongoing growth:
    • Two new additions to the account-handling team with Laura Carswell as Project Director and Louise Bains as Project Manager
    • Catherine Tighe joins as Senior Medical Writer
    • Lee Barnes joins Makara’s rapidly growing digital team as Junior Digital Developer
    • Gina Gough joins the Client Services team as Project Coordinator 

“2020 has been an exciting year for Makara and we are pleased to expand our team in all areas of the business. The pandemic has undoubtedly brought with it a number of challenges across the industry but the agile working structures and senior team that we already had in place put us in a strong position to tackle these challenges head on and, fortunately, we have seen continued growth throughout this period,” comments Louise Sharp, Founder and Managing Director of Makara Health.

“As an agency focused on delivering excellence in engagement, it has been rewarding to work closely with our clients to evolve approaches to communicating with their customers. Our new hires will ensure we can continue to deliver innovative yet pragmatic solutions for clients as we move into 2021.”

“I’m delighted to be joining Makara during this period of rapid growth, and at such an interesting time for our industry,” comments Shula on her new position. “Having had a chance to see some of the innovations Makara has spearheaded and the support it has provided to its clients, and ultimately to patients, in adapting to the unique challenges we’ve all faced, I’m really excited to get to work together with the talented team in continuing to shape the future of engagement.”

Makara takes on new staff to support team and clients as business continues to grow

PRESS RELEASE |

Salisbury, 19 May 2020 – UK-based international healthcare communications agency, 
Makara Health, has continued to grow its team with six new hires:  

  • Martin Cannings is the latest addition to the expanding digital team, joining as Senior Digital Developer. He brings 11 years of experience as a developer in health communications, having worked at FCB Health Europe for the last two years, and Halesway Ltd. prior to that. 
  • Additionally, Makara has brought in three new Account Directors to support the increasing client demand for virtual solutions to enable stakeholder engagement, including:
    • Fiona Downes, who brings 10 years of experience in healthcare communications at Cello Health,
    • Kim Bond, who has delivered communications solutions for NHS organisations and professional bodies, amongst others, and
    • Alex Adnitt, who has a strong background in healthcare advertising and medical communications following roles at Interactive Pharma Solutions, Roundhouse Healthad and McCann Torre Lazur. 
  • To support the wider team, Rebecca Pratley joins as HR Manager, with over 17 years of experience in similar roles. Her initial focus will be on employee engagement and wellbeing given the challenging external environment. 
  • The final addition is Sam Carter who joins as Finance Manager. Sam brings with him significant experience in finance services from outside the industry. 

“Whilst it’s been a strange time for all of us, I’m very encouraged by the rate at which Makara continues to grow in all areas of the business,” commented Louise Sharp, Owner and Managing Director of Makara Health.

“We are committed to providing a seamless service to new and existing clients in the current climate, as well as supporting our people through what may be an unsettling time for some. Our agile model has enabled us to navigate the current challenges and we look forward to evolving with the needs of our clients in the months ahead.”