Ticket to Biotech

Milestone moment! We're announcing our founding advisory board, who will provide strategic guidance, feedback, and ideas to support T2B’s mission of cultivating connections and conversations for biopharma communicators. - Cynthia Clayton, VP, Communications and IR @ Third Rock Ventures - Mikel S. Legette, Recent Graduate and Aspiring Biopharma Communicator - Lina L., Senior Director, IR and Corporate Communications @ Intellia Therapeutics, Inc. - Ilke Limoncu, Lead, Communications and Public Affairs, Business Unit Oncology @ AbbVie - Sarah MacDonald, CEO @ Life Science Cares Boston - Trista Morrison, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Chief of Staff to the CEO @ Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. - Sherry Pudloski, Group President of Client Solutions, Integrated Communications @ Real Chemistry - Priyanka Shah, Founder & CEO @ Elephant Head Communications, LLC - Scott White, EVP & Principal Recruiter @ HireMinds - Matt Worrall, Director of Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Ferring Pharmaceuticals This group will play a critical role in shaping our programming and growth strategies to ensure T2B’s platform meets the evolving needs of our community. We’re grateful that these 10 leaders are only a few of many who’ve graciously offered to support our community. There’s no shortage of opportunities to get involved: >> JOIN T2B via the link on our website if you’re not a member already – it’s free!   >> CONTRIBUTE actively on T2B Slack and here on LinkedIn so that we know what resonates. >> INVITE your colleagues and spread the word among your own networks to help us scale. >> ATTEND our virtual and in-person events, including Comm Convo fireside chats, AMAs, and T2Bmeets, plus our new executive coaching workshop on July 31st. >> INVEST in yourself (and in us!) by participating in our premium programming – first Leadership Lab offering is out now, the Corporate Advisor series for senior-level communicators. >> VOLUNTEER to lead or join topic-specific roundtables – more on this coming very soon! – and the second annual Peer-Learning Practicum in 2025. >> SUSTAIN our community and programming, and make it more accessible to additional biopharma communicators by sponsoring. Together, we’ll shape the future of biopharma communications and continue to elevate our profession.

An area we really got into at our last Comm Convo with Nia Patel was how to strike the right balance of encouraging employees to post corporate content and messaging on social media, vs. them feeling like it’s a heavy-handed effort. Watch to see where we landed.

To ensure that T2B's resources and programming not only serve current job seekers but also supports the ongoing professional development of communicators across our community, Scott White plays an instrumental role on our ad board. As a veteran recruiter in biopharma corporate affairs, Scott fills various communications positions in biotech, from corporate and product to executive and media roles. What does that involve exactly? "I am continuously engaging with hiring managers and talent leaders and I understand what attracts their attention and what they feel is lacking," Scott says. "I offer an unbiased perspective to help members launch job searches, navigate interviews, and think broadly about career evolution, while also providing practical advice to land their next role."

So much to juggle. So little time to connect with others. With our partner, executive coach Carly Goldsmith, we want to help you reflect on opportunities to up your own game in this roller coaster of an industry. The T2B Leadership Lab Corporate Advisor Series will provide 1:1 coaching support and a space to meet with peers who may be experiencing the same challenges as you. More info available on our website. Registration closes this week.

From opioid treatments, to sex and gender, to eugenics, Science News' Tina Hesman Saey has myriad fascinating interests. But what she also has are the scientific and reporting chops that enable her to go deep in her coverage of these and other areas across her life sciences beat. The August edition of Biopharma Beats Bulletin is out today. Head over to the #announcements channel on T2B Slack to catch Tina’s full profile, and to learn how to “say” her last name… well, we actually just gave that away.

A little late here, but biopharma communicators are having a moment -- let's make this the first of many! How cool is it that top biopharma communicators were featured TWO weeks in a row in the Axios Communicators newsletter? First Tracie Haas of AbbVie and now Cristal Downing of Merck! ✨ Yes to everything Cristal said in this profile! https://lnkd.in/gZqxJF26 A few of our favorites: - Even with a title as broad as chief communications and public affairs officer, Cristal says that STILL doesn't capture the breadth and depth of her role and her function's value. - "Every CEO should know that communication is a strategic asset to the company." 👏 A huge part of T2B's mission is to elevate our profession. We've always been strategic thinkers, but outward recognition of this is emerging more publicly. - Love the ABCs format for advice -- we'll have to file that one away! "Always be curious; always be courageous; and always be contributing." Our reflections: Being a biopharma communicator is one of those under-the-radar, super cool, yet super challenging, career paths. The science is complex. The environment is highly regulated. The colleagues we work with can be overwhelmingly smart. To be successful, we need to come together and first communicate with each other -- to network, learn, and grow. 

We started thinking- how is it that a lot of us are talking about “demure” and “brat” when we’re not on TikTok? And why? It’s because ONLINE culture is coming OFFLINE, more and more frequently these days. Microtrends are reflected everywhere we look – here on LinkedIn, in marketing emails, in IRL conversations even. What does it all mean for us biopharma communicators? We explored the impact on corporate culture and employee engagement, in this week’s video. H/t / sources: https://lnkd.in/dp3fw9Q7 https://lnkd.in/gTfvN3Qz

From working with the CIA, to the American Red Cross, to Pfizer and many spaces in between… Tod Plotkin has seen first-hand the challenges we biopharma communicators encounter when pushing the envelope on creative content for our orgs and clients. We'll take a look back at the making of several of Tod's more memorable campaigns, including the work he did during COVID to build connection and trust in vaccines. He'll also divulge the rationale he's used to bring clients in conservative industries like ours on-board for nontraditional narrative development. One week from tomorrow! RSVP here: https://lu.ma/mhmpyuu0 

We talk a lot in our industry about patients and human-centric storytelling. But when mired in the thick of the monthly social media ed cal’s seemingly endless reviewer comments, the easiest way forward is often to click “accept change” over and over again. Often, that means losing that personal touch and those nuances that blunt the corporate speak. As Nia said in our latest Comm Convo, “We forget that social media is one giant network of people.”

Business expectations are shifting, and with it so too are expectations of us as biopharma communicators. The first series in our new Leadership Lab aims to provide a mix of executive coaching with Carly Goldsmith, PCC and small-group networking and discussion, to support comms practitioners with >15 years of experience in their role as corporate advisors. https://lnkd.in/gSgw8i89