Key Considerations in Accelerating Rare Disease Drug Development

Lucas Kempf
Vice President, Regulatory Consulting
Parexel

Lucas has over 15 years of industry experience. He was the former Director of Rare Disease program Office of New drugs and former team lead for Psychiatric Products for the CDER FDA. He co-authored inter-center and intra-center draft and final Guidances to Industry on drug development for common issues for rare diseases drug development, natural history studies, pre-IND meetings, rare pediatric priority review voucher programs, and eligibility criteria, among other specific rare disease guidances.

Leanne Larson
Senior Vice President, Real-World Evidence and Access
Parexel

Leanne brings over 25 years’ experience in healthcare, featuring extensive work in pharmaceutical product development and commercialization, and in healthcare technology and operational consulting. Leanne is an industry leader in designing and leading observational / non-interventional studies and in advancing the science of outcomes research, and publishes and speaks widely on a variety of topics in this area.

Rosamund Round
Vice President, Patient Engagement
Parexel

Rosamund has spent more than 15 years devoted to simplifying the patient journey in clinical trials, with a focus on reducing geographical, financial, and practical barriers to study participation. Her first job in an oncology clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital sparked her passion for putting patients at the center of clinical trial planning and implementation. Subsequent patient recruitment roles in both the pharma and CRO industries allowed her to explore better ways to communicate with patients. Her current emphasis is on addressing literacy and health literacy, exploring technological advances, and generating new ideas to make clinical trial participation more accessible and convenient for patients.