Imre has hired Blake Schiller as EVP and lead for the pharmaceutical and biotech practice areas.
Schiller joined the agency July 22 and reports to Jeff Smokler, partner and president of Imre Health. The role is newly created as Smokler’s role has evolved to include both the health and consumer divisions of Imre.
As he takes up the new position, Schiller is focused on ensuring clients utilize Imre Health’s expertise in all areas of healthcare marketing, including HCP marketing and omnichannel.
“Imre is known as the social and DTC agency, but I’ve hired them in the past as an AOR managing all aspects of brand strategy,” Schiller said. “Part of my growth plan is helping clients realize the full talent base and capabilities of Imre. A couple places to start are omnichannel and HCP. We have a lot to offer in this COVID world, where the selling model from an HCP strategy standpoint, has been disrupted and become a more virtual service space. That’s what Imre’s good at.”
He’s also hoping to expand the client base beyond big pharma into up-and-coming rare disease and gene therapy companies as the drug market shifts away from treatments for common conditions to rare disease.
“If we follow where the science is going and R&D trends, companies are doing more gene therapy and rare disease-focused R&D,” Schiller said. “Those areas are about treating smaller patient populations or curing diseases versus chronically managing disease states. Imre being independent and small for now, we’re scrappy and resourceful and agile, some of the same characteristics of rare disease and gene therapy biotechs.”
Previously, Schiller spent about two years with Amag Pharmaceuticals where he worked in marketing roles for women’s health products Vylessi and Intrarosa. Prior to that, he spent six years with AstraZeneca working on marketing for several products.
Going back into the agency world, Schiller is looking forward to having an impact on multiple products and companies. Imre Health has about 100 full time staff and its key clients include AstraZeneca, Pfizer and GSK, Schiller said.
“As a marketer, I’m always in pursuit of disrupting how healthcare brands are reaching patients and HCPs, improving outcomes and clinical value propositions,” Schiller said. “Going into this, I’m noticing now I can maximize the impact and the influence by working across and influencing many brands versus managing one brand or therapeutic area on the client side.”
