VIVA! catches up with DigiPharm Australia 2011 speaker, Veronique Toully, Managing Director, UCB Australia

PHARMA’S ROLE IN CONNECTING HEALTH SPECIALISTS WORLD-WIDE

Many Australian neurologists and rheumatologists are already ‘digitally-oriented’ and embracing new technologies to learn, engage and collaborate, says UCB Australia’s Veronique Toully.

Following six years with UCB based in Belgium, including a Vice-Presidency role in 2009 within UCB Global Marketing – Ms Toully took the reigns as Managing Director at UCB Australia in February 2010, where she recognised a growing need to maximise digital media tools at local and international levels.

“An essential component of information-sharing is the ability to connect with industry peers at an international level, and to identify and debate emerging research and data in real-time,” Ms Toully says.

“We recently worked with our colleagues from UCB UK to bring together Australian and British rheumatologists via live-streaming.

“We want to leverage digital media and our position as a global company to facilitate the sharing of clinical evidence and contribute to improve clinical practice says Ms Toully.

“This is how we, as a pharmaceutical company, are leveraging the growing use of digital in the healthcare sector.”
Ms Toully says companies can learn from their international counterparts when embracing new technologies, but it’s important to adapt digital media programs to the local audience first.

“UCB has developed and embraced social media strategies, and it is up to each country affiliate to tailor the strategy to country specific needs.

“At UCB Global Marketing, our social media team has worked with the US-based company, PatientsLikeMe, to create a free online community for people living with epilepsy. Focused on learning from patients’ real-world experiences, the community allows members to connect with each other to share their personal insight on their disease. It’s truly a patient-centric initiative which helps more and more patients benefiting from each other,” Ms Toully says.

“The international community has already shifted towards a digital approach in healthcare, and the Australian health industry isn’t too far behind.”

Veronique Toully has more than 20 years experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry. She trained as a Doctor in Veterinary Medicine, holds an MBA (HEC, Paris) and a Diploma in Health Economics from the University of York (UK).

Veronique is presenting at the Digital Pharma Marketing Australia 2011 conference in Sydney on Monday, November 28. Registrations are still open.