3rd Real-World Evidence World Congress 2025 Europe
Hilton London Kensington, London, UK
Tuesday 29th - Wednesday 30th April 2025
KEY INDUSTRY EXPERT SPEAKERS
Riad Dirani
VP, Global HEOR, Medical Operations & Excellence
Riad Dirani, PhD, is currently the VP of Global Health Economic and Outcomes Research and Medical Operations & Excellence at Teva Pharmaceuticals. His responsibilities include overseeing the HEOR, Epidemiology, RWE, Medical Operations, and Medical Communications within Medical Affairs/R&D, and developing and expanding their strategic capabilities optimize the development and commercialization of Teva’s portfolio of products and offerings globally in innovative, generic, and biosimilar medicines.
Riad has worked in the pharmaceutical industry since 2000, including positions of increasing responsibility at Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson in multiple therapeutic areas. Riad joined Teva in 2014 to build the HEOR group and establish its operating model.
Riad received his Ph.D. in Health Services Research/Health Economics from The Pennsylvania State University.
ESTHER NZENZA
Founder and CEO
Esther Nzenza is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with over 24 years of experience across domestic, regional and international leadership roles. Esther has built and led teams supporting all Commercial Capabilities at an International level, in both Speciality and Rare disease. As the Founder and CEO of Decisive Consulting, Esther specialises in providing the capacity and capability to enable and empower companies at “decisive moments” of their evolution, with a particular focus on Market Access, Capability Development and Commercial Strategy. Blending technical understanding, lived experience and a global network of trusted advisers, Esther and her team can accelerate and focus plans for International commercialisation.
RYOTARO ISHIKAWA
Global Market Access Director
Ryotaro joined Novartis in 2006 as Brand Manager for Transplantation & Infectious disease in Latin America and rapidly went on to hold several positions of increasing responsibility within the CPO, notably as Specialty Franchise Head and Market Access Head. He then became Regional Pricing & Access Director for the LACan Region, and subsequently moved to Basel to work as Global Market Access Director, Respiratory, currently is the Gene Therapies Head of Access for central European cluster in Novartis. Before joining Novartis, Ryotaro practiced medicine, worked as a payor, to later move into sales in medical devices and renal therapy services. Moreover, he also served in the military with the Multinational Force and Observers - UN, an international peacekeeping force based in the Sinai peninsula. He is an MD, holds both a degree in Hospital Administration and a Master in Business Administration from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, as well as a postgraduate diploma in Intellectual Property. He has an extensive and unique experience in Commercial, Access, healthcare systems and payor environments,
JOSIE GODFREY
Co-Founder and CEO, Realise Advocacy, Director
Josie is the Director of JG Zebra Consulting which provides independent consultancy services with a focus on rare diseases and innovative technologies. She is Co-founder and CEO of Realise Advocacy which supports patient advocacy groups to maximise their impact in HTA and access. Her current projects include providing strategic market access, policy and stakeholder engagement advice, and support to pharmaceutical companies, trade bodies, and patient advocacy groups. She is the Strategic Director for Duchenne UK’s Project HERCULES, an award-winning international multi-stakeholder collaboration developing evidence and tools to support Health Technology Assessments (HTAs) for new treatments for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Josie has extensive experience in rare diseases and led the establishment of the Highly Specialised Technologies programme at NICE, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK which carries out Health Technology Assessments of treatments for very rare diseases.