Golin Health and Virgo Health have named Dr. Sachin Makani as EVP of scientific strategy and communication, a newly created role.
Based in Golin’s New York office, Makani is reporting to Cori McKeever, global president of healthcare. Makani has worked at Virgo Health for seven years, most recently as executive director of scientific strategy.
Makani is overseeing scientific strategy and communications for Golin Health and Virgo Health in the U.S. Makani is responsible for driving the growth of the agencies’ client rosters by partnering with stakeholders in brand, regulatory, medical and legal spaces to maximize strategy and content for scientific audiences. Golin acquired U.K.-based Virgo Health in 2012. Both Golin Health and Virgo Health are Golin Group specialist brands.
“The standard of the content needs to be the highest level in terms of accuracy but it also needs to tell a compelling story,” said Makani. “We need to think about the person who will be digesting and consuming this information. Oftentimes, it is healthcare providers. It needs to be something that will get their eyeballs on it and stick in their brains.”
During his time at Virgo Health, Makani advanced scientific strategy and communication for clients in marketing emergent therapies to physicians.
“[Makani] has long been a leader at Virgo Health, overseeing the scientific team at that agency and helping it become the medical communications powerhouse that it is,” said McKeever. “As Golin Health has continued to grow, it became the perfect time to elevate him and formalize this role.
Makani received a PhD in neuroscience and physiology from New York University’s School of Medicine, as well as a postdoctoral fellowship at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Golin Health grew by 26% across the U.S. in 2021 and has strengthened its team to nearly 90 specialists. Virgo Health U.S. also grew by more than 17% over the past 12 months.
This article originally appeared on PRWeek US.
