RWE – Real World Evidence

Mariann joined Medaffcon’s Medical Team in June 2016.

Mariann holds a PhD in Science and has experience in medical research on diabetes and long-term complications at Folkhälsan Research Center and at the Nephrology Outpatient Clinic of the University of Helsinki.

Mariann has also gained experience in commercialising research innovations, after working as a part-time consultant at Biotech Start-Up Management.

Mariann completed her Master of Science degree at the Department of Biosciences of the University of Helsinki in 2007. She majored in Physiology and had Biochemistry as a minor.

In the field, Mariann is particularly interested in health-promoting changes enabled by digitalisation, both with regard to pharmaceutical companies and social services. Development of new medicinal products and  improvement of treatment provide the work with an extremely interesting dimension.

Mariann’s strengths at Medaffcon include her strong scientific expertise as well as the ability to analyse diverse health data in an appropriate manner and to work as a goal-oriented team player.

Jaana began her career in the pharmaceutical industry as a Medical Advisor in different therapeutic areas, after which she became a Medical Affairs Manager. Jaana’s areas of responsibility have included, inter alia, sales permission, pharmacovigilance and marketing support functions. In 2006, Jaana became a Medical Director, assuming responsibility for all medical functions in the Finnish affiliate of the company she represented. After this, Jaana has worked in different Medical Advisor/Director positions in different companies.

Jaana established Medaffcon in 2009 after working in the pharmaceutical industry for almost ten years. Jaana’s most essential input in Medaffcon’s team is her wide-ranging experience and knowledge in different fields of the pharmaceutical industry, as well as the ability to think innovatively. Jaana’s key areas of interests include creating and maintaining cooperation between different activities and actors in the pharmaceutical industry. Jaana is also a member of the Board of the Finnish Association of Pharmaceutical Physicians.

Outi Isomeri joined Medaffcon’s Medical Affairs team in December 2017. Outi holds plenty of experience from outpatient pharmaceutical service, particularly customer service and review of customer needs, after working as a pharmacist since 2009.

Outi holds a Master of Science degree in Technology, and she completed her Master’s thesis and advanced studies at the HEMA (Healthcare Engineering, Management and Architecture) institute at Aalto University, where she studied, inter alia, the management and arrangements in special healthcare. In addition to industrial engineering, her degree included health economics and analytics. Outi has worked as an analyst in different projects at NHG.

In the field, Outi is interested, in particular, in the future possibilities in individualised pharmaceutical treatment, the use of existing knowledge for the benefit of all and the possibilities to provide her own contribution for the benefit of a more functional pharmaceutical service in Finland. ”I strongly believe that there is a lot to improve in the operational models of our field, and I want to be part of analysing and planning those.” Furthermore, Outi holds an interest in market analyses and the assessment and monitoring of the overall costs of diseases.

Outi’s strengths include her diversity both as an employee and in terms of educational background. Outi is analytical, hard-working and customer-oriented professional in the pharmaceutical industry.

Päivikki joined Medaffcon’s Medical Affairs team in September 2017.  She has a PhD in cancer biology and worked for almost ten years as a researcher in the field. Since 2006, Päivikki has worked in different specialist positions with sales, quality, registration and research in Medical Device, pharmaceutical and CRO companies. Before joining Medaffcon Päivikki worked in Finnish Clinical Biobank Tampere, where she was responsible for the construction and development of the biobank’s quality system and operative processes.

Päivikki is intrigued by the constant development of the healthcare industry. In addition, she is interested in the possibilities and concrete benefits for developing a more effective and individualised treatment through cooperation between different actors, such as biobanks and research institutions.

At Medaffcon, Päivikki’s strengths include her solid scientific expertise as well as her wide-ranging experience in the project leader role in both academic and company-led research and product development projects. Päivikki works with a positive mind in a customer-oriented manner and makes for a reliable team player.

Maija joined Medaffcon’s team in January 2017. Maija holds a title of docent in molecular medicine and has vast research experience, especially on cancer genomics and translational research towards individualized treatment possibilities. In addition, Maija has excellent pedagogic skills and comprehensive project leader capabilities obtained from several collaborative efforts with academia and pharmaceutical industry. At Medaffcon, Maija oversees part of the biobank and register-based studies that utilize real-world data to improve patient health care. In addition to her role as a senior scientific advisor, Maija is acting as a development manager.

Maija’s strengths include solid scientific experience and wide connections to the different stakeholders of the research and health care community. She is particularly enthusiastic about the potential of widening RWE data sources and efforts that promote individualized health care.

Maija obtained her PhD in 2000, after which she continued her studies as a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institutes of Health (NIH, Maryland, USA) (2001-2002). Thereafter she has worked as a scientist and senior scientist at the VTT Medical Biotechnology and University of Turku (2002-2010), and as a senior researcher at the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, FIMM, University of Helsinki (2008-2017).

Milla joined Medaffcon’s team in February 2019. Milla obtained her PhD in cell biology from Utrecht University in the Netherlands in 2012. The aim of her PhD research was to develop single-domain VHH antibodies that activate or inhibit protein kinase C epsilon in cells. She did part of the research at the Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Helsinki. From 2014 until 2019 she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Neurobiology at the University of Helsinki, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences.

Milla is especially interested in working with clinically relevant scientific data, in the possibilities of precision medicine, and in collaborating with the different stakeholders of the health care sector.

Milla’s strengths include a solid scientific background, excellent organizational skills, and a diverse and international educational background.

Werneri Tuompo joined Medaffcon’s Medical team as a Trainee in November 2017. Werneri studies Biomedicine at the University of Eastern Finland in Kuopio. At Medaffcon, Werneri is involved in the project reviewing the individualised treatment of cancer, whereby his work relates to outlining Finnish biobanks. In the field, he is interested in the constantly changing circumstances, multiprofessional working environment and the possibilities brought by digitalisation in improving health.

Iiro joined Medaffcon in March 2017 as a Biostatistician. For the past four years he’s worked as a research assistant, analysing clinical and genetic patient data as part of a study on the factors impacting the appearance and progression of complications in type 1 diabetes (in FinnDiane research group). Iiro holds a Master of Science degree in Technology.

In the field, Iiro is particularly interested in the large data amounts revealed with the revolution of technology and in how the information received from the data can potentially be utilised to draw concrete conclusions, both in order to understand the nature of diseases and to advance the goals of the pharmaceutical industry and patient treatment. Iiro’s strengths include his strong statistical expertise and the ability to understand the challenges and possibilities involved in “Big Data”.

Samuli joined Medaffcon in November 2018. Samuli acquired a Master’s in Statistics at the University of Helsinki specializing in bioinformatics in September 2018. Before joining Medaffcon, Samuli has 2 years’ worth of experience in research as a research assistant at the University of Helsinki, where he contributed to unravelling the genetic and epigenetic background of psychological phenotypes (Depsy-group).

Samuli is especially interested in producing influential research data based on information on real-world patients. He is also interested in applying varying statistical and machine learning methods. Samuli has a broad theoretical and methodological understanding as well as experience in working with big data. He is a problem solver and has an analytical take on work.

Tanja joined Medaffcon’s team in November 2016. She completed her MSc in Health Economics at the University of York and graduated in 2013. Tanja did her dissertation placement  at the University of Otago (Wellington, New Zealand). Previously, Tanja has also completed a Master’s degree in the field of Economics and Business Administration. Already during her previous degree, she acquainted herself with the methods of health economics, as she was writing her Master’s thesis under the supervision of a health economist at the University of Rennes (Rennes1, France) in 2010.

Tanja has gained her most recent work experience as a researcher at the National Institute for Health and Welfare. In addition, Tanja has experience in working in an international research group, in instructing course exercises in health economics as well as in working in financial administration and customer service.

Tanja would particularly like to utilise her educational and professional knowledge in health economics in her future work projects. Tanja thinks that there is need for health economics and its development in Finland, now in particular, as the social and healthcare system is under reform. It is necessary to be aware of how scarce resources are allocated at the level of both the society and an organisation. Tanja has a special interest in economic evaluation and comparison of processes in healthcare.

Tanja’s strengths include her educational and occupational background as well as her pursuit for constant improvement.  As an employee, Tanja is customer- and goal-oriented as well as reliable.

Tatu joined Medaffcon in the fall of 2016. Tatu holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and Business Administration and is currently finalizing his Health Economics studies in the University of Eastern Finland. In his Master’s Thesis Tatu analyzes the costs of outsourcing from University Hospitals perspectives.

Before joining Medaffcon Tatu has worked in the pharmaceutical industry at Boehringer Ingelheim as an Account Manager with diabetes, respiratory and anticoagulation treatment portfolios. Through his work experience Tatu understands the sales and marketing practices and the day-to-day of pharmaceutical industry. Tatu’s strengths in the industry include his experience and knowledge of the sales and marketing functions combined with his understanding of the Market Access processes.

Health Economics interest Tatu because of the possibilities it offers to examine health care both on micro and macro levels. The possibility to rationalize and to make health care and pharmaceutical decisions based on knowledge makes the field especially interesting.

Elisa started at Medaffcon in January 2015 as a Scientific Project Manager. Previously, Elisa has worked in drug safety unit at Novo Nordisk A/S in Copenhagen as well as sales permit related tasks in the Finnish Medicines Agency Fimea. Working at the Department of Pathology of the University of Turku, Elisa has also gained several years of experience in medical research and in working in a hospital environment.

Elisa has completed a Master’s degree in a programme for international drug development at the University of Copenhagen. She completed her Master’s thesis at Novo Nordisk A/S headquarters in Copenhagen. Elisa also holds a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Turku in Biomedicine. Therefore, she has completed studies in Medicine, Natural Sciences, Pharmacy and Economics.

Due to her strong theoretical background and work experience, Elisa has wide understanding of the objectives of drug development both from the industrial and authority perspectives. Elisa is particularly interested in developing new medicinal treatment and improving therapeutic value. She is also excited about working with multifunctional teams and constructing seamless cooperation between different interest groups.