Masterclass – The Future of Medical Affairs in Ireland

The PMI’s inaugural medical affairs master class will take place on May 3^rd at the IMI campus in Sandyford. 

This highly anticipated masterclass will shine a light on the medical affairs function as it transitions from a traditional support function to a strategic partner pivotal to all functions within their organisation.

With a changing healthcare landscape placing new demands on medical affairs, our panel of expert speakers will discuss the future landscape of Medical affairs, how best to navigate this future landscape – and well as examining what this future will look like.  

The masterclasses are designed to be a highly immersive and interactive learning tool. Numbers are kept small to allow for engagement and discussions. There will be a mix of expert speakers and a panel discussion which will bring together the Medical Directors from a number of key pharma companies to share their insights, experience and knowledge with the room.

The masterclass will also provide an excellent opportunity to share best practices and discuss ideas with fellow Medical Managers and Medical Advisors/MSLs in other companies allowing you to build a strong professional network with peers. 

Who should attend?
This one-day masterclass is designed for those working within the medical affairs area. It will be best suited to Medical Managers, Medical Advisors and MSLs

Click here to download the masterclass brochure

Emma Lynch, Medical Affairs Mentor – EQ Vibration
Emma is an entrepreneur, experienced medical affairs leader and mom of two boys. She specialises in helping medical affairs professionals to inspire joy, harmony and innovation in their career through leadership and emotional intelligence education. Emma has expertise in people management, conflict resolution, medical affairs strategy and operational excellence. Using her Thrive method, Emma equips medical affairs professionals with tools and principles to strengthen their relationship with themself, decrease drama and build a more focused creative fulfilling medical affairs career.

Emma received a B.A in Biochemistry from University College Dublin Ireland, a Ph.D. in Cell & Molecular Biology  from University of Notre Dame, IN, USA and a MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. She has gained over 16 years’ experience as a Medical Director in the pharmaceutical industry having worked for Pfizer, Astellas and UCB in Ireland. Emma maintains a data analytics company and runs a leadership programme for medical affairs professionals, called The Thrive Method.

Laragh de Bhulbh, Managing Director – Wolf Medical 

Laragh de Bhulbh set up Wolf Medical Ltd a dedicated Medical Affairs agency with a focus on clearly communicating the science behind the brand in 2022. Laragh has a strong belief in the value that medical affairs can bring for patients having seen it through her many years working in medical affairs at an affiliate level in both UK and Ireland.
Laragh previously held in-house Medical roles with UCB, AbbVie, and Roche, covering a wide range of therapy areas. Laragh held a final signatory role pan-Portfolio in Roche Products Ireland before moving to Pharma Integrity as a Healthcare Compliance consultant, providing training and compliance services to pharmaceutical companies.  In 2021 Laragh was a finalist in the PharmaTimes Medical Affairs Communications Manager of the Year competition.  Laragh earned her BSc (Hons) in Pharmacology and her PhD in Molecular Medicine, both with UCD, followed by a MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine from Trinity during her time in Industry. She returned as a lecturer on Medical Strategy to the Dip/MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine course in January of this year.

Jon Barbour, Head of Medical Affairs  – Amgen 

John has over a decade of Medical & Scientific Affairs experience across a variety of Therapy Areas, based both in Ireland & the UK. Jon originally qualified as a Biomedical Scientist in the NHS, prior to pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience & Chemical Biology at the Ruhr Universität Bochum and Max Planck Institute in Germany. Following a period of post-doc research, he joined a German-based Biotechnology Company as a Scientific Communications Manager, before moving to the UK to focus more on Medical/Scientific Affairs opportunities.

Daphne Smyth, VP, Global Head & General Manager, Strategic Regulatory Services – ICON

Daphne leads a global team of Regulatory professionals supporting ICON clinical trials and providing consulting services across all stages of drug, biological and medical device development through to marketing and life cycle support.
She has 35 years of experience in the Pharmaceutical and CRO industries, starting in Germany in 1988. Prior to her role at ICON she was an Independent Consultant to the pharmaceutical industry and CROs. Previous senior management experience includes leading the start-up and development of a European commercial organization in Dublin, including set up of regulatory affairs and pharmacovigilance functions, leading development and implementation of systems for compliance to current Good Clinical Practices (cGCP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), and providing guidance and advice to corporate management, marketing and business development functions. Pharma experience began in 1988 in Germany where Daphne held various positions across Bayer AG in Germany, UK and later Ireland.  Daphne holds a Bachelor of Science from University College in Dublin, Ireland and is bilingual in English and German.

Panel Discussion: 

Orlaith Gavin, Country Medical Director & Chief Medical Officer – Pfizer Healthcare Ireland

 In this role, Orlaith leads the medical function for the organisation, setting strategy and outlining vision as a member of the senior management team. Orlaith has been with Pfizer for more than 17 years in a variety of roles across regulatory and medical affairs, both in Ireland and internationally where she has built and led high performing medical affairs teams with significant influence and impact.
Prior to joining Pfizer, she was Head of Regulatory Affairs at the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) in Brussels, Belgium, a leading global cancer research organization where she managed the entire regulatory function of the enterprise. She also worked at the European Medicines Agency during this time as the EORTC representative, interacting with all EU member state competent authorities and managing the interests of the EORTC. Prior to that she was a healthcare professional working clinically in leading centers in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. She holds a BSc. (Hons) in Radiography, a Diploma in Regulatory Affairs, and an MSc. in Pharmaceutical Medicine.
Orlaith is a seasoned leader with a strong vision for medical affairs, particularly focused on medical digital innovation, medical affairs excellence, people development, and clinical research and is committed to bringing new innovative medicines to patients. Outside of the office, she is a busy Mum to three young children and enjoys travelling, interior design and spending time with friends and family.

Agron Hasani, Head of Medical Affairs – Novartis 

Agron qualified as a physician in Rijeka, Croatia and shortly after that moved to Ireland. He has been with Novartis Ireland for 16 years in roles of increasing seniority.

His experience ranges from Medical Information, PV, Clinical Trials, Risk Managements and for the past 12 years in Medical Affairs firstly as a Medical Advisor covering Infectious Disease, Respiratory and Cardiology.  He was appointed as Medical Director in December 2021 and his current role is Head of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. He describes himself as a democratic, servant leader who tries to understand the needs of the team in order to serve them better.
Agron is married to Suzi and they have 2 teenagers as well as an Australian Labradoodle who keeps the whole family busy. 

Eynat Dotan MD, Head of Medical Affairs – AstraZeneca 

Eynat is an internationally educated physician, having begun her pre-med studies at Brown University in the US and finally obtaining her MD from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.  She is a board-certified Nuclear Medicine Radiologist with clinical experience in General Practice, Nuclear Medicine and Oncology. Throughout her career in healthcare over the past 25+ years, she has worked extensively as a clinician, engaged in research and held a number of Medical Affairs roles at GSK and at AstraZeneca.  Her experience includes building and developing new medical teams in different affiliates, leading the medical strategy, including peri-launch plans and life-cycle management across a broad portfolio, managing local evidence generation programmes and early access programmes, leading the clinical strategy behind numerous market access submissions and collaborating with innovative healthcare start-ups.
Eynat is passionate about the contribution of medical affairs to the healthcare system and into the business as a strategic partner.  She enjoys building and developing evolving medical teams.  Eynat is based in Dublin with her family, heading the Medical Department at AstraZeneca for the past 14 months.