Marcello Patané

HOW:

● Deliver social listening and digital intelligence for pharma/biotech (landscape mapping, narrative tracking,

unmet needs, competitive chatter).

● Turn messy, high-volume conversations into decision-ready assets through a rigorous pipeline (query design →

cleaning/de-duplication → coding → synthesis) and client-ready deliverables (decks, readouts, annex tables).

● Case study: Pheno Therapeutics, Optic Neuritis Pilot (Dec 2025–Jan 2026): mapped ON conversations

(Reddit + patient forums), coded by subtype/phase/treatment/recovery and functional impact, then distilled

narrative pillars + a patient-language lexicon.

WHY:

● To ground strategy in real patient experience and clarify what “recovery” looks like day-to-day.

● To align stakeholders around a shared language that reduces ambiguity and speeds decisions.

IMPACT:

★ Framed a patient-lived value thesis for ON - stability, function, prevention - translating “recovery ≠

normal” and non-linear trajectories into clear strategic opportunities (endpoint reframing, aftercare

pathways, education and confidence tools).

★ Second-round findings (MS-ON + steroids): surfaced the gap between “relapse-control” and lived

recovery — patients treat DMTs as anchors, yet a meaningful minority still report breakthrough

ON/recurrence; relapse prevention and vision restoration are narrated as separate battles, while

post-steroid rebound is described in highly functional terms (blur/contrast/reading/screen tolerance)

and often triggers “what’s next” escalation talk (repeat steroids vs IVIG/PLEX).

★ Strengthened positioning and partner/investor storytelling with traceable evidence (decision-ready

deck + searchable annex), reducing internal debate and focusing evidence priorities on outcomes

patients actually feel (reading, screens, driving, work confidence, anxiety).

Led global social / market / HCP insight programs across high-risk neuroscience and rare disease areas (Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Depression).

Identified emerging patient / HCP narratives on safety, access, pricing, and treatment experience — and escalated what actually mattered to senior leadership.

Built fast-turn “narrative risk” briefs for launch teams, Medical Affairs, Patient Services and Market Access so they knew what to say, what not to say, and how to respond in a compliant way.

Partnered with Commercial, Medical, R&D and Market Access to align messaging globally and protect reputation in sensitive therapy areas.

Trusted escalation point when leadership needed evidence-backed readouts within 24–72h instead of waiting for traditional research.

Gave senior leadership an evidence-backed view of emerging patient / HCP narratives (safety, access, pricing, treatment experience) within 24–72h, instead of waiting weeks for traditional research.

Informed launch readiness and field/medical messaging across neurology and rare diseases by showing exactly what patients and clinicians were worried about — in their own language.

Reduced reputational exposure by defining “what to say / what not to say,” so Medical Affairs, Patient Services, Market Access and Comms could respond consistently and compliantly.

Enabled commercial and medical teams to anticipate objections and questions from patients, caregivers and HCPs before escalation to leadership or media.

Established a repeatable rapid-escalation model for narrative risk that could be reused across indications and geographies.

Built Novartis’ global social / narrative listening capability to monitor patient, HCP and advocacy conversations in highly sensitive areas (immunology, dermatology, cardiovascular, neurology).

Identified early narrative risk around safety, access, pricing, differentiation and treatment experience, and escalated what actually mattered to Global Brand, Corporate Communications and Commercial Excellence.

Created real-time “narrative tracking” frameworks so global and local teams could see how perception was shifting and act before issues surfaced publicly.

Equipped global / regional / local teams with playbooks: what to say, what not to say, who should respond (Medical, Comms, Commercial), and how to stay compliant in each market.

Enabled affiliates to run this themselves — standardizing social / stakeholder intelligence and embedding it into launch messaging and reputation management.

Shaped pre-launch positioning and messaging across multiple disease areas using unfiltered patient / HCP voice, not guesswork.

Gave Corporate / Pharma Communications a live view of advocacy and media narratives to protect reputation and prepare leadership.

Created a repeatable approach that scaled across divisions and geographies, improving speed, consistency and control in a highly regulated environment.