Fueled by remarkable breakthroughs in vaccines and new therapies, a greater understanding and treatment of overall heath, and new ways of deploying data to improve patient care, there are now a host of new, dynamic solutions to some of the world’s biggest health challenges. But there is also a sense of unevenness and inconsistency when it comes to opportunities and developments in the space.
CNBC’s Healthy Returns convenes the sharpest minds, bold pioneers and visionary leaders in the health care industry on what they see ahead for treatments and innovations, what’s working, what needs to improve, and what’s on the horizon that will shape health care for the future.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Health care investors, VCs, C-Suite executives from the biotech, pharma, health care and life sciences industries, health care IT BDMs.
Dr. Yvonne Greenstreet joined Alnylam in 2016 as Chief Operating Officer, was promoted to President and COO in 2020, and was appointed as a Director and Chief Executive Officer in late 2021. Yvonne has more than 25 years of experience in the Biopharmaceutical industry, driving strategy and innovation, bringing transformative medicines to patients, and building successful businesses in the US, Europe and globally.
Between 2011 and 2013, Yvonne was Senior Vice President and Head of Medicines Development at Pfizer serving on the executive team leading a rapidly growing $16bn division. Prior to Pfizer, she was at GlaxoSmithKline plc for 18 years, where she was Senior Vice President and Chief of Strategy for Research and Development. Yvonne had previously been in various positions of increasing responsibility at GSK, including Senior Vice President for Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer for Europe.
Yvonne trained as a physician and earned her medical degree (MBChB) from The University of Leeds in the UK. She also holds an MBA from INSEAD Business school in France. Dr. Greenstreet serves on the board of directors of Pacira BioSciences, Inc., argenx SE and The American Funds. Additionally, she is in the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and is a member of the Discovery Council of Harvard Medical School.
Bertha Coombs is a reporter for CNBC, covering financial markets, business news stories and health care throughout the business day. She is based at the Nasdaq Marketsite in Times Square.
Her health care coverage at CNBC has ranged from covering the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the failed launch of the Obamacare health insurance exchanges, to how cancer researchers are using IBM's Watson to improve cancer care, and how doctors are using mobile technology to treat patients in their own homes. She also covered the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, the impact of the financial crisis of 2008, and reported on the oil markets from the floor of the New York Mercantile exchange.
Before joining CNBC, Coombs was a reporter and anchor for the pioneering online business network, Yahoo Finance Vision, and served as a freelance reporter for the former CNNfn financial network. Prior, she served as a reporter for ABC News One, and a substitute anchor for "World News Now" and "World News This Morning."
She began her career in general news, with previous reporting and anchoring positions at WABC-TV in New York, WPLG-TV in Miami and WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut.
Coombs is a graduate of Yale University and was awarded the Leo Beranek Reporter Training Fellowship at WCVB-TV in Boston. Born in Havana, Cuba, she speaks fluent Spanish.
Meg Tirrell joined CNBC in April 2014 as a general assignment reporter focusing on biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. She appears on CNBC's Business Day programming, contributes to CNBC.com and is based at the network's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.
Tirrell has covered development of new drugs for Alzheimer's, cancer and rare diseases, and tracked public health emergencies from Ebola to Zika. Her work has explored why fewer drugs are developed for children, chronicled the sequencing of her own genome, and followed the manufacturing of a flu shot from egg to pharmacy. In 2014, she revealed the agonizing decision-making behind Compassionate Use of unapproved drugs, and in 2016, she reported extensively on drug pricing controversies and the impact of politics on development of new medicines.
Prior to joining CNBC, Tirrell covered the biotechnology industry for Bloomberg News, where she also contributed to Bloomberg Television and Bloomberg Businessweek.
She holds a master's degree in journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree in English and music from Wellesley College.
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Join the conversation on camera for these interactive, topic-based sessions led by industry leaders. Share your thoughts, ask questions, exchange ideas and network with event speakers and your peers.
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To attend the conference, please purchase a ticket below. If you are a current medical student or in a related post-graduate program and are interested in the student rate, please email us at events@cnbc.com.
Stéphane Bancel has served as Moderna's Chief Executive Officer since October 2011 and as a member of Moderna’s board of directors since March 2011. Before joining the Company, Mr. Bancel served for five years as Chief Executive Officer of the French diagnostics company bioMérieux SA. From July 2000 to March 2006, he served in various roles at Eli Lilly and Company, including as Managing Director, Belgium and as Executive Director, Global Manufacturing Strategy and Supply Chain. Prior to Lilly, Mr. Bancel served as Asia-Pacific Sales and Marketing Director for bioMérieux.
Mr. Bancel currently serves on the board of directors of Qiagen N.V. and previously served on the board of directors of BG Medicine, Inc. and Syros Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SYRS). He is currently a Venture Partner at Flagship Pioneering and a trustee of the Museum of Science in Boston. Mr. Bancel holds a Master of Engineering degree from École Centrale Paris (ECP), a Master of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Dr. Elaine Batchlor is the chief executive officer of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, which opened in 2015. Dr. Batchlor was the driving force behind the effort to open the new, state-of-the-art, community-oriented, safety-net hospital providing compassionate, quality care and improving the health of the South Los Angeles community.
Throughout her career, Dr. Batchlor’s number one priority has been to improve access and quality of care for underserved communities utilizing innovative and collaborative approaches. Her work to increase access for underserved populations has been recognized as an example of leading best practices and adopted throughout California.
Before assuming the helm of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Hospital, Dr. Batchlor served on the executive leadership team of L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan. As chief medical officer, she was instrumental in developing a care delivery model that expanded access and resources to more than a million individuals throughout the county.
She spearheaded provider use of information technology and telemedicine to improve access and quality of care for Los Angeles County’s Medi-Cal (Medicaid) population. Under her leadership, L.A. Care established the Health Information Technology Extension Center, becoming the second health plan in the nation to operate a Regional Extension Center to help safety-net providers adopt and use electronic health records. She implemented eConsult, an innovative electronic physician-to-specialist consultation and referral system, for Los Angeles County community health centers and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
Prior to L.A. Care, Dr. Batchlor served in leadership positions at the California HealthCare Foundation, the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, Prudential Health Care, and Ross Loos Medical Group. Early in her career she served as a clinical instructor at the UCLA School of Medicine.
Dr. Batchlor is an active community volunteer, serving on multiple community and healthcare boards. She has a particular interest in mentoring youth. She regularly meets with students, from high school through professional school, who are interested in careers in healthcare. Formerly, she served on advisory boards for the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, the UCLA National Clinical Scholars, and the UCLA Academic Advancement Program Advisory Council. Recently, she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, an academy committed to the health for all by advancing science, accelerating health equity, and providing independent, authoritative, and trusted advice nationally and globally. A Harvard alumna, Dr. Batchlor serves as an interviewer for Harvard College applicants and as a liaison to a local high school.
She served as the past chair and is currently on the board of the Integrated Healthcare Association. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, the boards of directors of the Healthcare Quality Institute and California Health and Wellness, and the editorial board of Health Affairs, the leading peer-reviewed journal of health policy thought and research.
Dr. Batchlor received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Doctorate in Medicine degree from Case Western Reserve University. She completed internship, residency, and fellowship training in internal medicine and rheumatology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and is board-certified in both specialties.
She is married to a lawyer who has spent his career representing indigent clients, currently working for the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office. The couple has twin boys.
As Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Albert Bourla leads Pfizer in its purpose: breakthroughs that change patients’ lives, with a focus on driving the scientific and commercial innovation needed to have a transformational impact on human health.
During his more than 25 years at Pfizer, Albert has built a diverse and successful career, holding a number of senior global positions across a range of markets and disciplines. Prior to taking the reins as CEO in January 2019, Albert served as the Pfizer’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) beginning in January 2018, responsible for overseeing the Company’s commercial strategy, manufacturing, and global product development functions.
Previously, from February 2016 to December 2017, Albert served as Group President of Pfizer Innovative Health, which comprised the Consumer Healthcare, Inflammation & Immunology, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Rare Disease and Vaccines business groups. In addition, he created the Patient and Health Impact Group, dedicated to developing solutions for increasing patient access, demonstrating the value of Pfizer’s medicines, and ensuring broader business model innovation.
From January 2014 to January 2016, Albert served as Group President of Pfizer’s Global Vaccines, Oncology, and Consumer Healthcare business, where he was instrumental in building a strong and competitive position in Oncology and expanding the Company’s leadership in Vaccines.
Albert was President and General Manager of Pfizer’s Established Products business from 2010-2013, leading the development and implementation of strategies and tactics related to Pfizer’s off-patent portfolio, (including legacy brands and generics.
He began his Pfizer career in 1993 in the Animal Health Division as Technical Director of Greece. He held positions of increasing responsibility within Animal Health across Europe, before moving to Pfizer’s New York Global Headquarters in 2001. From there, Albert went on to assume a succession of leadership roles within the Animal Health Division, including US Group Marketing Director (2001-2004), Vice President of Business Development and New Products Marketing (2004-2006), and Area President of Animal Health Europe, Africa and the Middle East (2006-2009). In 2009, he assumed additional responsibilities for the Asia and Pacific regions.
Albert is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and holds a Ph.D. in the Biotechnology of Reproduction from the Veterinary School of Aristotle University. In 2020, he was ranked as America’s top CEO in the Pharmaceuticals sector by Institutional Investor magazine. He is on the executive committee of The Partnership for New York City, a director on multiple boards – Pfizer, Inc., The Pfizer Foundation, PhRMA, and Catalyst – and a Trustee of the United States Council for International Business. In addition, Albert is a member of the Business Roundtable and the Business Council.
Giovanni Caforio, M.D., is Chairman of the Board and chief executive officer of Bristol Myers Squibb. Under Giovanni’s leadership, BMS is delivering innovative medicines to treat patients with cancer, auto-immune diseases and cardiovascular disease, and is advancing one of the most diverse and promising pipelines in the industry. Giovanni leads a diverse global workforce dedicated to the company’s mission of discovering, developing and delivering innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases.
Giovanni was appointed CEO in 2015 and elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors in 2017. As part of Bristol Myers Squibb’s strategy to combine the agility of a biotech with the reach and scale of an established pharma company, Giovanni led the company’s acquisition of Celgene in 2019. Today the company is a leading biopharma company focused on transforming patients’ lives through science. He has developed a strong patient-focused culture, with teams who are passionate about the work they do to help address some of the most challenging diseases of our time. He has led BMS’ drive to promote an inclusive culture where employees are encouraged to challenge the status quo and bring forward solutions.
Giovanni is an active champion for a policy environment that values healthcare innovation and supports patient access to medicines. Reflecting his advocacy, in 2015 he joined the Board of Directors for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA, and in 2019 was named Chairman.
Prior to becoming CEO, Giovanni served as chief operating officer with responsibility for leading a fully integrated worldwide commercial organization and the companywide functions of Enterprise Services and Global Manufacturing & Supply. This was preceded by appointment as the company’s chief commercial officer.
Born and educated in Italy, Giovanni received his medical doctorate from the University of Rome. He started his career with Abbott Laboratories before joining Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2000 as vice president and general manager, Italy, in the Worldwide Medicines Group. Giovanni advanced through a series of regional European management positions and, in 2004, became senior vice president, European Marketing and Brand Commercialization. In 2007, he relocated to the U.S. as senior vice president, U.S. Oncology. He was named senior vice president, Global Commercialization, Oncology and Immunology in 2010, then became president of the company’s U.S. organization in 2011.
The developer of a comprehensive, patient-centric electronic medical record (EMR) system and founder of Epic Systems Corporation, Judith Faulkner is recognized for her scientific and technological leadership. Her vision for health care technology is both comprehensive and simple: provide the relevant medical information when it's needed, do what's best for the patient, and help clinicians collaborate. Her innovative health information technology infrastructure allows for the implementation of workflow steps, clinical guidelines, and best-practice alerts tailored to each clinician's role in patient care while on the patient end providing information regarding prescriptions, appointments, communication with the care team, and prevention/treatment reminders.
Epic EMR systems do away with traditional paper files and provide a single, shared patient record which can be accessed by clinical staff across all manner of health care services and, with proper consent, across different health care organizations. Given the complexity and magnitude of medical data that may be included, the technological challenge has been to develop this comprehensive infrastructure for diverse health care settings while scaling to millions of records and thousands of concurrent users who all require rapid response times.
Independent studies have documented the positive impact of Epic technologies on the quality of clinical care and the software has led to improvements in medical research. To date, 240 health care organizations use Epic technologies to provide medical care to approximately 118 million people. This includes fourteen Wisconsin organizations that increasingly serve as the early adopters of the latest advances in Epic's health technologies.
Faulkner has led Epic strategically and operationally to create state-of-the-art technologies that improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care across Wisconsin, the United States, and, increasingly, the world.
Dr. Julie L. Gerberding is Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer at Merck & Co., Inc., where she is responsible for a broad portfolio focused on patient engagement, strategic communications, global public policy, population health and corporate responsibility. She joined Merck in 2010 as president of Merck vaccines
Previously, Dr. Gerberding was Director of the U.S. CDC, where she led the agency through 40+ emergency responses to public health crises. She serves on the Boards of Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Cerner Corporation and the MSD Wellcome Trust Hilleman Laboratories, a non-profit that develops new technologies for developing countries.
Dr. Gerberding has received more than 50 awards and honors, including the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Distinguished Service Award for her leadership in responses to anthrax bioterrorism and the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2018, she was selected as the Healthcare Businesswomen Association’s Woman of the Year and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from eyeforpharma.
Dr. Gerberding received her undergraduate and M.D. degrees from Case Western Reserve University. She completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Clinical Pharmacology and Infectious Diseases at the University of California, San Francisco, where she is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine. Dr. Gerberding received a Masters of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the American College of Physicians. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases.
Alex Gorsky is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Johnson & Johnson and Chairman of the Executive Committee, the Company’s senior leadership team. Alex is the seventh person to serve as Chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson since it became a publicly traded company in 1944.
Alex began his Johnson & Johnson career as a sales representative with Janssen Pharmaceutica in 1988. Over the next 15 years, he advanced through positions of increasing responsibility in sales, marketing and management including assignments in the U.S., Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He progressed through many management posts at J&J, culminating in being named Chief Executive Officer on April 26, 2012 and Chairman of the Board on December 28, 2012.
Under Alex Gorsky’s leadership, Johnson & Johnson continues in its 132nd year to be one of the world’s exceptional corporations. The company was given the #1 ranking on Barron’s Magazine’s 2016 list of the “World’s Most Admired Companies,” and is currently the number one Pharmaceutical company on Fortune Magazine’s list of the “World’s Most Respected Companies.
A longtime advocate of Diversity Inclusion and Veteran’s issues, Alex has been named one of the “100 Most Inspiring Leaders” by Pharma Voice. Most recently, in December of 2017, Alex received the Ripple of Hope Award from the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Foundation. And for the past three years, Alex has been on the list of the Highest Rated CEOs on The Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Awards. He has also received the Jackie Robinson Award, Appeal of Conscience Award, the Joseph Wharton Leadership Award and the CADCA Humanitarian of the Year Award.
Alex is a member of the Board of Directors of IBM, the Wharton School of Business Board of Overseers and the Board of Directors of the Business Roundtable.
Alex holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and spent six years in the U.S. Army, finishing his military career with the rank of Captain. Alex earned a Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1996.
Vasant (Vas) Narasimhan, M.D., has been Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Novartis since February 1, 2018.
Dr. Narasimhan previously was Global Head of Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer for Novartis. He has also served as Global Head of Development for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Global Head of the Sandoz Biopharmaceuticals and Oncology Injectables business unit, Global Head of Development for Novartis Vaccines, North America Region Head for Novartis Vaccines, and United States Country President for Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. Before joining Novartis in 2005, he worked at McKinsey & Company.
Dr. Narasimhan received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School in the US, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the University of Chicago in the US. During and after his medical studies, he worked extensively on a range of public health issues in developing countries. He is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine and serves on the board of fellows of Harvard Medical School.
Arif Nathoo, M.D., is co-founder & chief executive officer at Komodo Health where he oversees data sciences, engineering, and product development initiatives for the company. He has spent the past 15 years in healthcare and life sciences leadership roles. Before Komodo Health, Arif was a leader in McKinsey’s Healthcare practice where he was responsible for helping enterprise healthcare address issues in corporate strategy, finance, sales and marketing, and organization building. He co-led McKinsey’s Medical Affairs Practice, which created analytic products and services to improve non-promotional engagement between industry and providers.
He has conducted research in novel instructional technologies and medical devices, with multiple publications in peer-reviewed journals. Arif graduated magna cum laude with Highest Honors from Harvard University with an A.M. in molecular and cellular biology, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and M.P.A. in health policy from Harvard Kennedy School.
Martine Rothblatt is Chairman & CEO of United Therapeutics, a biotechnology company she started to save the life of one of her daughters. The company offers FDA approved medicines for pulmonary hypertension and neuroblastoma and is working on manufacturing an unlimited supply of transplantable organs.
Dr. Rothblatt previously created and led Sirius XM as its Chairman & CEO, and launched other satellite systems for navigation and international television broadcasting. In the field of aviation her Sirius XM satellite system enhances safety with real-time digital weather information to pilots in flight nationwide. She also designed the world’s first electric helicopter, which in 2018 set Guinness world records for distance and flight duration.
In the legal arena, Dr. Rothblatt led efforts to create transgender health law standards, and to protect privacy and autonomy rights in genetic information via an international treaty. She has Bachelor’s (Communications Studies, Summa Cum Laude), JD and MBA degrees from UCLA, and a Ph.D. in Medical Ethics from the Royal London School of Medicine & Dentistry. Her patented inventions cover aspects of satellite radio, prostacyclin biochemistry and cognitive software. Dr. Rothblatt’s recent books are on xenotransplantation (Your Life or Mine), non-binary gender identity (Transgender to Transhuman) and cyberethics (Virtually Human).
Leonard S. Schleifer, MD, PhD, founded Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in 1988 while serving as an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Leveraging a lifelong passion for science and an entrepreneurial spirit, he has served as a director, its president and chief executive officer since its inception and acted as chairman of the board from 1990 through 1994. Schleifer received his MD and PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Virginia, and he is a licensed physician certified in neurology by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, is the 19th Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the ninth Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. She is an influential scholar whose pioneering research has helped advance the national and global response to HIV/AIDS. Dr. Walensky is also a well-respected expert on the value of testing and treatment of deadly viruses.
Dr. Walensky served as Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital from 2017-2020 and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School from 2012-2020. She served on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted research on vaccine delivery and strategies to reach underserved communities.
Dr. Walensky is recognized internationally for her work to improve HIV screening and care in South Africa and nationally recognized for motivating health policy and informing clinical trial design and evaluation in a variety of settings.
She is a past Chair of the Office of AIDS Research Advisory Council at the National Institutes of Health, Chair-elect of the HIV Medical Association, and previously served as an advisor to both the World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.
Originally from Maryland, Dr. Walensky received her Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis, her Doctor of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and her Masters in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
