Francois has garnered deep expertise in Strategic Marketing in the biopharmaceutical industry and has led operational teams across cultural and language lines.
Francois worked with UCB, Eli Lilly, MSD, Pharmacia. He has been closely involved in the management of four blockbusters (Prozac, Zyrtec, Keppra and Cimzia) at various stages in their lifecycle, and has developed successful go-to-market strategies for top Pharma companies as well as small biotech companies.
Francois currently serves on the Board of Directors of two Belgian biotechs.
Professional background
Francois Meurgey has spent more than 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, almost equally divided between Europe and the United States, and between operational and staff functions. He joined ‘Eli Lilly’ in 1989 and spent ten years in the company, lastly as Director of Sales and Marketing for ‘Lilly’ in Belgium (1994-1997) and Director of Global Marketing for the brand ‘Prozac’ at ‘Lilly’ headquarters in Indianapolis (1997-1999). Francois then went to ‘Merck Sharp & Dohme’, Whitehouse Station, NJ where he was Senior Director, Asia-Pacific Marketing, before joining ‘Pharmacia’, where he was Senior Director, US and Global CNS Marketing.
He joined ‘UCB’ in Feb. 2003, first as Vice-President of Global Marketing and in 2005 became Senior V-P, Commercialization, in charge of ‘UCB’s Commercialization Center of Excellence, which includes Market Research and Marketing Services, New Product Planning and Portfolio Management, Government Affairs and Pricing & Reimbursement, as well as Global Sales Force Effectiveness and Sales & Marketing Training.
Francois left ‘UCB’ in January 2007 to become a consultant specializing in Strategic Pharma Marketing and Lifecycle Management. He has authored several articles in peer-reviewed journals and recently completed a book chapter on the Reimbursement of Regenerative Medicine in Europe.
Education and qualifications
Francois holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from ‘Reims Management School’ (France), a Master’s degree in International Relations from ‘Université de Paris-I Sorbonne’, and a Master’s in Business Administration from the ‘Stern School of Business’ at ‘New York University’.
Personal
Francois is a French national and lives in Belgium and France. He is fluent in French, English, German, Dutch and Italian. He conducts his workshops in English and French.