Throughout her career, Gretchen has worked with and advised a range of companies, from early-stage innovators to pharmaceutical leaders. As an entrepreneur, she also built the European office of MacDougall Biomedical Communications as Managing Director. In addition to four years on the management team of Ingenium Pharmaceuticals, her expertise is grounded in her career at Feinstein Kean Healthcare (Boston) where at the end of her tenure she oversaw the entire Corporate Practice, advising over 50 biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients.
Gretchen Schweitzer founded Trophic Communications in 2017 bringing with her 25+ years as a strategic communicator and investor relations specialist in the global biopharmaceutical industry. With the company name inspired by ‘trophic factors,’ or molecules that are critical in the growth, survival and differentiation of neurons, Gretchen built the organization with the vision of cultivating, supporting and distinguishing life science companies at all stages of development.
Every emerging life science venture must understand how to effectively craft its brand story and communicate its narrative with the right audience and at the right time in the journey.
Early stage life science ventures are usually 100% preoccupied with securing investment. Investors are essentially buying a brand and that goes for you the founder as much as your venture. One common mistake founders make is, they leave things too late.
You need a communication strategy for the founder and the venture - from day one, even before you emerge from stealth mode:
You must plan ahead
Publish with caution
Be media friendly
And, as you are pitching investors (who ultimately are focused on getting a return), it is critical to remember that one has to strike the balance between the wants and needs of the investors, while also focusing on sharing the right message for a myriad of stakeholders, including patients, physicians, potential partners and potential employees.
This session we will focus on: