Michael Beckloff, Beckloff Associates Dr. Joan Bradley, The JB Ashtin Group Faruk Capan, Intouch Solutions Gary Beer, DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc. Ron Cohen, Acorda Therapeutics Inc. Elizabeth Apelles, Greater than One Jaswinder Chadha, marketRx Denise Deman-Williams, Bench International Jay Deakins, Deacom Inc. Jeff Kingsley, SERRG Julie Kampf, JBK Associates Inc. Ellen Morgan, Synteract Robert Norris, Complete Healthcare Communications (CHC) Ted Lawrence, Lawrence & Company Georgette Pascale, Pascale Communications Stuart Peltz, PTC Therapeutics Kenneth Phelps, Camargo Pharmaceutical Services Christine Pierre, RxTrials Inc. James Knipper, J. Knipper & Co. Ahnal Purohit, Purohit Navigation Don Schenker, Synergistix Inc. Lecia Shaffer, Nextrials Inc. Chris Schroeder, HealthCentral Network Alan Topin, Topin & Associates Robert Stern, Projects In Knowledge A quiet giant in the drug development industry, Michael Beckloff grew the family business into a multinational corporation that was purchased by Cardinal Health. Mr. Beckloff, a true “big thinker" and innovator, has more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He takes nothing for granted, saying he is overwhelmingly grateful for the many wonderful things that have come his way. At the same time, he is passionate about the work he does. Becoming part of the Cardinal family has been a great experience for Mr. Beckloff. But perhaps the most profound career moment was having a family member treated with a drug product he was closely associated with. His youngest son was treated in the emergency room for severe burns with a drug Mr. Beckloff’s father helped to develop. Having so deep and personal an impact truly reinforced the ideals of the life-sciences profession. Making a difference to all patients matters to Mr. Beckloff and he is very interested in the concept of philanthropic drug development and the change this type of business model might have on the industry. Working extensively in the oncology area, Mr. Beckloff says he is both inspired and humbled by the patients battling diseases, as well as by the doctors, nurses, and researchers who are committed and dedicated to improving patient outcomes. Working tirelessly on the front line to make a difference, Mr. Beckloff describes these individuals as the true heroes of healthcare. As a student of the healthcare industry, Mr. Beckloff says today’s industry challenges are no different from the ones that have always existed: finding ways to expedite development, review, and approve innovative drugs, biologics, and medical devices while ensuring appropriate levels of safety and efficacy. He remains optimistic about the industry’s future, saying the advent of regenerative medicine may, in fact, be a defining moment for the industry. Employees say Mr. Beckloff is a world-class nice guy and he thinks of his associates as family — a lesson he learned from the Marion Labs legacy he grew up in and around Kansas City. And family is central for Mr. Beckloff. He says the biggest challenge of his career has been the amount of travel his job has required. He attributes the support of his wife and her hard work in raising their children and being able to manage some tough schedules, including being away for three to four weeks at a time. In addition to his duties associated with Beckloff Associates, he serves on numerous boards, and he is currently in his second year as chairman of the board for the Kansas Bioscience Organization. Just as important to Mr. Beckloff is his volunteer work with KTEC Pipeline, a state-sponsored technology entrepreneur fellowship program. Through this program, he assists start-up pharmaceutical development companies and mentors their CEOs and chief scientific officers. He conducts seminars within the community and around the world and is inspired by the opportunity to work with so many talented future leaders of the industry. And he is involved in many charitable organizations, including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and Institute for Pediatric Innovation. Both organizations have developed significant programs around philanthropic drug development to help drive change, which propels continuity of care for patients while simultaneously acting as a catalyst for new pharmacologic innovation. F A second-generation entrepreneur, Michael Beckloff, President of Beckloff Associates, grew the family business into a multinational corporation that was purchased by Cardinal Health. Grateful • Passionate Name: Michael C. Beckloff Current Position: President, Beckloff Associates, a Cardinal Health company Education: B.S., Cellular Biology, University of Kansas Date and Place of Birth: Feb. 1956, Lawrence, Kan. First Job: Cutting grass First Industry-Related Job: Night shift manufacturing OsCal and Gaviscon tablets, Marion Laboratories Dream Job: Luthier (fine musical instrument builder) Professional mentor: Ewing Kauffman, Marion Laboratories Connected Via: LinkedIn Words to Live By: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care Web of Knowledge and Support A long-time thought-leader and respected voice in the digital media and advertising industries, Chris Schroeder has consistently proven to be a strategic thinker with a record of growing online businesses. His most recent business, HealthCentral Network, has grown to be a leader in online consumer health in just three years and succeeds in bringing together millions of consumers looking for health information and support. For Mr. Schroeder, the online environment is a dynamic, living platform full of opportunity and value as an educator, a motivator, and a support system, and he challenges colleagues and clients to put it to its best use. The biggest challenge for the industry is to embrace new technologies that have the potential to fulfill the wildest dreams of users, health providers, and marketers. The opportunity to present an alternative to one-stop-shop portals has been the defining moment for Mr. Schroeder. Profoundly curious and forward-looking, Mr. Schroeder maintains that everyone has a story to tell, and since there are no crystal balls, understanding human behavior is a good guide in innovation. He helps bring together clients, lawmakers, and other partners to discuss new approaches and solutions to improve health online and overall in the United States. Generous in sharing his time, energy, and contacts, Mr. Schroeder is all about the end results — making connections on issues that matter and making a difference every day in real lives and healthcare practices. Recently, Mr. Schroeder has been at the forefront of helping to move psychiatry into the 21st century by co-developing a novel technology to electronically track patient’s moods. Right from the start, he understood the need for technological advances in the mental health field, an area notoriously shrouded in stigma, secrecy, and slow uptake of improved methodologies. He was able to marshal together a group of negotiators from academia and industry representing business, research, technological, and mental health-specific interests. Undaunted by the prospect of bringing an academic institution into uncharted technological, Internet territory, Mr. Schroeder ensured that what normally takes years to accomplish in academia was achieved in weeks. With a varied and dynamic career, Mr. Schroeder says every stop has had a highlight: being a young staffer in the State Department when the world changed — the fall of the Soviet Union, the release of Nelson Mandela, and so on; leading a news group in the new era of technology and running washingtonpost.com on Sept. 11, 2001, as the only news site not to crash that day; and building with a remarkable team a new solution to patient-centric health. A two-time PharmaVOICE 100 honoree, having also been named to the list in 2008, Mr. Schroeder has demonstrated his leadership and passion to all those he works with. Whether it’s through HealthCentral and publishing information that makes sense and allows doctors, nurses, and patients with an easy way to find it, or shaking up jaded marketers and reminding them of how much satisfaction can be found in the business, he makes contributions to real people every day. F
