Desdemona De Souza
Associate Vice President
Snow Companies
Science that Moves People
For two decades, Desdemona De Souza has honed her craft with the mind of a scientist and the soul of a caregiver. With a PhD in Molecular Biology and Genetics from the University of London, Desdemona debuted in a marketing role within the biotech industry at Promega, a supplier of enzymes and other biotech products. She then moved successfully into international marketing roles in the biopharma industry, first at Baxter and then at Shire.
Her team at Shire pioneered the first international Patient Ambassador program for Gaucher disease. Through testimonial videos and social media content, her program raised awareness for those in the rare disease community. The program also educated internal teams and resulted in better decision-making through all phases of the drug development process.
Currently, Desdemona is with Snow Companies, where she leads a team from her office in Switzerland. In this role, she tracks the rapidly evolving regional and country regulations regarding pharmaceutical patient engagement and helps clients to navigate both external and internal challenges to develop innovative and impactful patient engagement programs.
Desdemona also provides strategic counsel to global clients Takeda, Merck KGaA, Roche, Alnylam, and AstraZeneca. She and her team have developed award-winning videos, awareness campaigns, and engaging social media content. She’s led Snow’s participation in patient advocacy, advisory boards, leadership councils, and global summit meetings. The goal is to share the compelling patient stories that inform and inspire medical breakthroughs.
In addition to her client work, Desdemona also leads the Snow Academy, an internal initiative to provide participants with a solid scientific grounding on topics such a gene therapy, rare diseases, neurology, oncology, and autoimmune diseases.
Desdemona De Souza is an educator at heart, passionate about equipping caregivers with resources—and helping patients be their own advocates. It’s a labor of love—backed by accurate information and pure science.
