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At a Glance

Uppers

“Culture, depth and breadth of healthcare expertise.”

“People and culture, challenging work, growing industry.”

“The variety of projects.”

Downers

“Conservative management style that can be slow to recognize signs of burn-out.”

“If you start to work a lot in one area, it might become harder to leave that specific area.”

“The long and variable hours.”

About Health Advances

The professionals at Health Advances consult about one thing and one thing only: health care. Established in 1992, the firm's core belief is that focusing on just one industry allows it to provide clients with greater resources and focused insight. This means that the professionals at HA are not mere consultants, with most having worked within the health care industry at some point in their career.

Holding advanced degrees in medicine, molecular biology, biomedical engineering and many other related sciences, HA consultants advise their Fortune 500 and start-up company clients on areas such as development, clinical trial strategy, marketing, licensing and pricing. But HA also offers advice on corporate-based issues, like mergers, partnering and finances, to a broad range of clients in the biotechnology, diagnostics, medical device, nonprofit and pharmaceutical industries.

Seizing the opportunity for growth

Co-founders Mark Speers and Paula Ness Speers started their firm over 30 years ago after leaving international management consulting giant Bain & Company. The firm has since built a senior management team of 12 additional partners and a solid group of vice presidents, all of whom bring different insights and experience to the table, allowing them to help clients develop marketing ideas for new products, advise on corporate mergers and acquisitions, international ventures and more.

Offering something others can't

HA can offer all its clients a three-pronged attack, with the ability to provide expertise in analytics, business and health care on every project team. However, where the firm really shines is its knowledge of the latter of these three—health care. That knowledge includes in-depth information about diagnostics and personalized medicine, expertise in specific disease areas, detailed insight into dealing with complex clinical trials and more. Most of all, HA thrives on its ability to predict or anticipate future trends and events in the health care industry over a 10 to 15-year span.

Staying on top of all the information required to monitor and recommend improvements to the health care industry is no small task. To do so, the firm relies on a vast proprietary database of more than 45,000 clinicians, researchers and other industry contacts and experts, including PhDs, MDs, payers, and industry opinion leaders. In addition, the firm maintains a searchable library of treatment methods for diseases, company profiles and licensing deals, all collected from within the industry and maintained since the firm was started. The firm also regularly funds internal research projects to stay on top of relevant issues, such as regulation, reimbursement, disease management, technology, business development and competitive trends.

No. 1 priority

Despite all HA has to offer its clients, the firm believes that its employees have even more to offer to the community. One visit to its website will make it obvious that community service ranks high on its list of priorities. The company organizes one company-wide event per year plus offers staff three additional days per year to volunteer at the charity of their choice. Some of its favorite charities include Cradles to Crayons,Community Resources for Science, Ark Eden Foundation, and Tischlein Deck Dich. Meanwhile, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor, Paula Ness Speers is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and on the Board of Trustees at Mass General Brigham.

Health Advances

275 Grove Street
Suite 1-300
Newton, MA 02466
Phone: (781) 647-3435

Firm Stats

Employer Type: Private
Partner and Managing Directors: Sheela Hegde, Gary Gustavsen, Tracy Walters, and Vivek Mittal, PhD
Managing Director and COO: Kristen M. Turner
2023 Employees (All Locations): 200

Major Office Locations

Newton, MA
San Francisco, CA
Zug, Switzerland
Hong Kong

Major Departments & Practices

  • Corporate Strategy
  • Product Development and Portfolio Strategy
  • Go-to-Market and Commercial Strategy
  • Business Development Strategy
  • Commercial Due Diligence
  • Market Access and Pricing in Biotech and Pharmaceuticals
  • Diagnostics, Research Tools, and Precision Medicine
  • MedTech, Digital Health and Enterprise HIT, and Investors