Rare Disease Specialist

My passion for working within rare diseases was sparked over 12 years ago while working for a leading Biotech organisation as we launched a product for an ultra-rare disease.

Doing a job with "purpose and meaning" has always been important to me and after training as a nurse and moving from the NHS to a role as a nurse specialist in pharma, I gradually moved into sales and then market access with a leading pharmaceutical company.   I finally found my job with "purpose and meaning" when I became involved in improving access to medicines for those living with rare conditions.

This purpose drives me to use my voice, experience and knowledge to represent those who have a daily struggle to access care and treatment that can often be life transforming and, in many cases, lifesaving!

I have spent 2 decades working within the biotech and pharmaceutical industry across a variety of roles, where I developed my knowledge and expertise in market access and policy work.  My experience in improving access to medicines for rare diseases came during a decade of working for a leading Biotech company, supporting the launch of several ultra-orphan medicines.

I cemented this work experience through the completion of a Master's in Public Policy in 2019, with a Dissertation entitled 'The Appraisal of Orphan Medicines; Policy Recommendations to develop a coherent approach'.

Since setting up CRD Consulting Ltd, I have been extremely lucky to have worked on projects with several leading charities, as well as spending time as the Interim CEO of the Rare Disease Nurse Network.  I have participated in an International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) task force, Short Life Working Groups with the Welsh and Scottish Government and been involved in round table policy discussions on improved access to care and treatment for people living with rare diseases in line with the UK Rare Disease Framework.  

My expertise has supported several larger consultancies on projects requiring specific expertise and knowledge about the challenges of access and policy for rarer cancer medicine and orphan medicine launch planning.