Steve Palmisano
SVP, General Manager
MedThink, Inc.
Pioneering New Uses of Technology in Med Affairs
Beginning in 2007, Steve Palmisano drove a transformational approach in medical affairs that has now become an industry standard. He pioneered the use of scientific communication platforms that allow alignment across multiple disciplines within global teams and have been vital to the rapid and successful growth of the medical affairs function. Since formulating the concept, thousands of these platforms have been developed across the industry.
Throughout his 40 years in pharmaceutical and biotech marketing, sales, field training, advertising, and medical communications, Steve has shown this same ability to think unconventionally and create positive change within the industry. He has extensive experience on both the client and agency sides of the business, having worked at two medical communications firms and industry companies, the latter of which now falls within the GE Healthcare and Sanofi umbrellas.
He joined MedThink in 2008, working in multiple roles before becoming SVP, General Manager of the company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, MedThink Communications, Inc. and MedThink SciCom, Inc. Steve has always seen the power of emerging technologies and has found ways to apply them as solutions to client challenges.
For example, Steve was a driving force in the creation of MedThink Connect in 2009, an early virtual advisory board platform tool that makes engaging opinion leaders easier and more efficient for pharma companies. He also was an early advocate for the adoption of social media in scientific communications, presenting and sharing research on the topic at multiple meetings of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) in 2012 and 2013, years before these platforms were commonplace in the field. Steve has been tracking the emergence of artificial intelligence and other tools, which led to the implementation of attention analysis simulation use cases in 2018 within the medical communications space to analyze and improve visual design in slide decks, scientific posters, and other materials.
“The success of Steve’s innovative ideas across our industry speaks for itself,” said Al Weigel, former President and CEO of ISMPP. “He continually seeks new challenges to solve, and his forward-looking perspective has helped communicators adapt successfully as our industry rapidly evolves.”
