[October 19, 2011]

Makovsky Health SVP Kristie Kuhl Brings Regulatory and Communications Expertise to Global Biosimilars Conferences

Makovsky + Company, one of the nation's largest independent public relations firms, today announced that Kristie Kuhl, JD, senior vice president, served recently as a key panelist at two major back-to-back biosimilars conferences: the 4^th Annual Business of Biosimilars and Biobetters Conference in Boston, MA, and the 9^th Biosimilars Conference in London, England.

"Understanding the biosimilar environment, both in the US and EU, has been an area of pioneering leadership for our practice - and Kristie Kuhl has led the way," said Gil Bashe, executive vice president and Health Practice director, Makovsky + Co. "In this space, clients need strong advocacy and communications counsel around more than just legal and regulatory considerations - biosimilar development and eventual launch demand an intricate effort uniting clinical data, physician and patient awareness, and payer pull-through."

At the Business of Biosimilars and Biobetters Conference in Boston, Kuhl spoke on the panel "Biosimilar Commercialization Primer: From Compliant Market to Consumer Acceptance." Designed to support professionals in commercial affairs, marketing sales and brand development, the workshop emphasized creating a long-term strategy to introduce biosimilars to the market. Fellow panelists included Steve Goldberg, Chief Medical Officer of Express Scripts, and Peter Pitts, President of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest.

"Companies seeking to enter this new realm of biotechnology must focus on protecting patient and product safety while projecting clinical confidence, and building relationships with KOLs and advocates. Considering pathway organization influence is also critical to success in today's environment," said Kuhl. "If a company develops a biosimilar focused only on price, I do not think it will succeed. Patient care must remain the focus."

Kuhl continued her speaking tour as a keynote at the 9^th Biosimilars Conference in London, England. Her session, titled "Biosimilar Market Uptake: Taking the Question Out of Acceptance," examined business risks and opportunities, regulatory and financial mandates, and the ramifications of communication and advocacy efforts in ensuring a successful product launch.

About Makovsky + Company

Founded in 1979, Makovsky + Company (www.makovsky.com) is one of the nation's leading independent global public relations, investor relations and branding consultancies, focused in health, financial services, professional services, technology, energy and digital. The firm attributes its success to its original vision: that the Power of Specialized Thinking™ is the best way to build reputation, sales and fair valuation for a client. Based in New York City, the firm has agency partners in more than 30 countries and in 37 U.S. cities through IPREX (www.IPREX.com), the second largest worldwide public relations agency partnership, of which Makovsky is a founder.

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