We're 'all in' - are you?
We are tackling the big challenges.
Professional recognition and development support.
Securing budget.
Demonstrating impact.
We are here for patient engagement professionals.
Regardless of background – industry, advocacy group, solutions provider, or other.
Regardless of location.
Regardless of ‘seniority’.
Organisational Training & Development
Patient Engagement Frameworks
Career Progression
Expertise & Best Practice
Setting Industry Standards
Affiliate Consultancy
Not-for-Profit
The ISPEP Hub: The Home for Patient Engagement Professionals
With unprecedented access to a global network of patient engagement professionals from industry, advocacy groups, CROs and more, plus case studies and dedicated discussion groups, there's something for everyone on the ISPEP Hub.
What does ISPEP offer?
“There are so many people out there doing good stuff, and I love the concept of bringing professionals together. We are out there in what feels like a big landscape all alone, so to have the opportunity to be constantly engaging with like-minded people who are going through the same as you is incredibly powerful. Thank you to ISPEP for creating that space.”
– Professor Lara Bloom (The Ehlers-Danlos Society and Penn State College of Medicine), ISPEP Member
“The world is waking up. While pharma drags its feet, patients suffer the consequences. They don't have time for incremental improvements. For them, every extra day means unmet needs and dwindling hope. There’s no excuse for pharma playing it safe and staying in stale, outdated comfort zones. Indeed, doing things the old way is no longer prudent, with regulators increasingly expecting meaningfully patient-focused drug development.”
– Paul Simms (Impatient Health), ISPEP Expert in Residence
“The easy stuff’s been done. Now it’s up to us as a collective to bring what we know, share what we know, and come together to tackle the challenging stuff. And that’s the magic of ISPEP.”
– Robert Mitchell-Thain (PBC Foundation), ISPEP Member
“If you try to understand what it's like to live with a certain condition from many different aspects, then you can actually use those insights all the way from very early on; from developing your target product profile, through to clinical trials, then market access and beyond.”
– Liselotte Hyveled (Novo Nordisk), ISPEP Member
You can create a win for the patients, a win for the industry, and a win for society – that's what I really believe we can do if we do patient engagement well.
Rasmus Hjorth (James Lind Care), ISPEP Member
Manager, ISPEP Ambassador Programme
Helena Binder
Helena works as a patient engagement professional, helping pharmaceutical companies include the patient voice in their work by designing and facilitating workshops, writing and reviewing patient focused materials, coordinating research and speaking at events. A EUPATI Fellow, living with Asthma, Helena also shares her experiences from a personal perspective. Helena is delighted to be working with ISPEP, helping to set up and coordinate the Ambassador Programme, ensuring a truly global alliance dedicated to professionalising patient engagement.
Managing Editor
Olivia Kersey
Olivia is a Patient Affairs specialist driving meaningful improvements to clinical trials, health(care) research, and patient outcomes. Combining a sharp strategic focus with lived experience as a Sibling Carer and expertise in medical science, patient-focused drug development, and patient communication, Olivia is ideally positioned to advance research and care towards a more impactful and humanised future.
Social Media Manager
Tanya Sadhwani
Tanya is a digital marketing strategist with over 7 years of experience shaping content and communication in the health, wellness, and longevity space. With a background in patient-centric storytelling and brand strategy, she brings a sharp focus on translating complex ideas into accessible, engaging narratives. Tanya’s work sits at the intersection of insight and impact—driving behaviour change, advancing health literacy, and supporting meaningful engagement across audiences.
Chief Executive Officer
Alex Charge
A global life sciences executive, specialising in strategic transformation, innovation, and patient-centric approaches in healthcare, medicines development and clinical trial optimisation.
Alex brings extensive leadership experience in pharmaceutical, CRO and solution organisations, and is an active industry voice advancing patient-focused drug development, inclusive research, and equitable healthcare.
With experience in Global Clinical Operations, she has led initiatives in Clinical Innovation, Digital Health, DCT/Hybrid Strategy and Business Process Transformation to advance and accelerate access of medicines to patients.
Founder / Chief Patient Officer
Emma Sutcliffe
A global leader in patient-focused medicine development, a medical biochemist, and a psychotherapist and volunteer counsellor, Emma is a true example of where science meets empathy. From starting her career as a medical writer working in HIV, Emma has gone on to win a multitude of awards and speak at countless conferences as a champion for patient
engagement over the past 30 years.
With experience working across biopharma, agencies, and now more recently a patient organisation, Emma is a firm believer in the importance of patient engagement professionals coming together - regardless of background or 'title' - to learn from each other, co-solve challenges, and advance best practices.
Check out our latest posts!
Check out our Fast Facts!
Fact:
“Many patient advocacy organisations today are led by professionals, are meaningful and empowered stakeholders in the development of treatments, and have a large impact on research” – Stein et al., 2018
Fact:
Patient partnerships have been found to be valuable throughout the research process, from planning research to conducting studies and disseminating results (PCORI, 2023).
Fact:
“More than 50% of doctors said that, all else being equal, they were more likely to prescribe medication from a pharma company they considered more patient-centric.” – Lubkeman, 2020
Fact:
“Many patient advocacy organisations today are led by professionals, are meaningful and empowered stakeholders in the development of treatments, and have a large impact on research” – Stein et al., 2018
Fact:
Patient partnerships have been found to be valuable throughout the research process, from planning research to conducting studies and disseminating results (PCORI, 2023).
Fact:
“More than 50% of doctors said that, all else being equal, they were more likely to prescribe medication from a pharma company they considered more patient-centric.” – Lubkeman, 2020
View more here.
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