Simu Thomas is the Vice president and Global Head of Health Economics & Outcomes Research and Global Medical Communications and Training at Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Diseases. Simu brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the areas of Value, HEOR, RWE and Access, building and leading capabilities across the world.
Prior to Alexion, Simu as the Global Head of Value & Access for Rare Diseases at Novartis, Global Head for the Cell & Gene Therapy Unit, where he developed the Value Access strategy for rare diseases and the first CART therapy approved in the world. He was also the founding architect of the IMI HARMONY data initiative with public and EFPIA private partners in Europe, as the leading industry partner in the consortium. Simu ran the Economic Modeling organization at Novartis, was the Global Head of HEOR for Neuroscience and Ophthalmic franchises and US Oncology.
He has authored more than 35 manuscripts and 80 congress presentations and co-authored book chapters in the field of Health Economics. Simu holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Economics from the University of Maryland and MS in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Toledo and Pharmacy degrees from Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences. Simu also serves as Adjunct Assistant Professor at University of Maryland and Rutgers University of New Jersey.
