Dr. Francis joins McCann Complete Medical from Publicis, and was previously President of Publicis Medical Education Group.

He will report to Charlie Buckwell, Chief Executive of McCann Complete Medical, who commented: “This is a very exciting step for us, Leo brings an extraordinary ability to create meaningful and valued relationships with clients and colleagues alike” and also added “Leo brings a collaborative and visionary style of business leadership, which will help us to build new horizons in Medical Communications, creating value for both clients and patients alike, through the power of evidence”.

Dr. Francis began his healthcare career on the client-side in international clinical development at Gensia, before turning his skills to marketing support and early product commercialization. He then moved into medical communications utilizing his client experience, combined with keen business acumen, and robust scientific credentials.

In 2005 he relocated to the United States, to eventually become President of Adelphi Eden Health Communications, a division of the Adelphi Group. He then joined Publicis Healthcare Communications Group to lead Publicis Medical Education Group of agencies as President, and subsequently became Global Group President.

Dr. Francis’ achievements throughout his career in building business, unlocking and unleashing the best of those around him are evidenced by him twice being recognized in the PharmaVoice100 (2010 & 2012) most inspiring leaders in the life sciences industry. He holds a Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of Central Lancashire. For McCann Complete Medical, Dr. Francis will be based in the New Jersey offices, and also lives in the Garden State.

Contact: Charlie Buckwell, +44 1625 624097; charlie.buckwell@complete-grp.com

Clare Baker

We are pleased to welcome Clare Baker, who recently joined Complete HealthVizion as a Scientific Director in our Macclesfield office.

Clare has an MPhil from the University of Bath and BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Bristol, which included an extended industrial placement in the immunology department at Novartis in Basel.

Clare subsequently worked as a research scientist at AstraZeneca before moving into medical communications and working initially as a writer before progressing through to Editorial Team Leader.

The experiment was suggested by the site owners as a live example of the sector shifting to put the customer at the center of communication – getting what they want, when they want it, and sharing with who they want. The eyeforpharma group also handed over publishing rights to their popular Twitter feed, followed by 7000 pharmaceutical and medical experts.

The subject for the week was the impact of social media on medicine, with perspectives from practitioners, patients, physicians and pharma. This is the first time that all contributors had an equal share of voice through the same platform. More than 20 articles and blogs were shared during the week, along with live tweets.

The experiment is drawing praise from industry and social media pioneers, and the intent is to make this an annual event to benchmark the impact and use of social media in the pharma industry.

Launching the initiative at the annual UK staff meeting at the Forest of Arden Hotel, HR Director Caroline Horman-Smith (dressed appropriately – see photo) said:

“Complete Medical staff have a great heritage in doing their bit for charity. The idea behind 101 Donations is to create a real community of fundraisers, taking our efforts to another level and ensuring that our achievements are more widely recognized”.

Watch this space for updates on progress.

Charlie presenting the award

Charlie Buckwell, Complete Medical’s CEO, was proud to present the Judge’s Special Award for Innovation at the Communiqué annual awards ceremony in London.

The award was won by Reynolds-MacKenzie for Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity.

Read the full report here