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

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.

“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

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.”

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.”