Life of a Consultant by Mohammad Tabibi

24 June 2020

Collaboration is key, and different perspectives are invaluable

As much as many scientists would like to be able to do everything on their own, very few scientific advances are made in isolation. Healthcare innovations require increased cross-functional work between researchers and professionals from various disciplines. Gradually, the academic community is becoming more and more aware of the added value of collaboration and networking. The added value lies in the availability of different perspectives and knowledge that can open new doors to transform promising ideas or methods to products than can benefit the healthcare and the society at large. 

We at Catalyze act both as facilitators of (scientific) collaborations and as knowledgeable partners to our clients. For collaborative projects such as Eurostars, and H2020 Fast Track to Innovation, we connect like-minded and brilliant people from around the world to work together and achieve mutually beneficial successes which potentially would not have been realized if we had not helped. This is done through our extensive consortium building activities and utilization of our comprehensive and ever expanding network.  

As partners, we provide insights from both a science and business perspective to define the best strategies to help our clients secure funding and make impact. The critical aspect of our work is not to stop questioning the ideas and solutions of our clients. We will look at projects from various perspectives and challenge the credibility and feasibility of the innovations through our extensive brainstorm sessions. We incorporate the expertise of colleagues form various fields of life sciences and business to define the best possible strategy for a successful project application. Ultimately, like our clients in the health and life sciences, we are intrinsically motivated to a common goal of improving healthcare for people. To do good for the people around the world. 

The Catalyze approach is internationally-oriented. Our services are not only limited for projects related to companies and organization in the western world but also for projects related to less prosperous regions such as continental African nations. Recently, we worked on an EDTCP project application to help Central African countries (e.g. Republic of the Congo and Chad) to improve their ethics review and regulatory capacity for clinical trials concerning emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases (e.g. Ebola). As a result, we hope to attract more clinical trials in the Central African Region which could bring substantial benefits for the society such as access to lifesaving medicines, medical infrastructure and financial resources. 

Long story short, we as Catalyze have embedded the elements of sustainable development and social consciousness in our business model and are not afraid to use the necessary resources to do good for the less fortunate. This sense of corporate social responsibility is extremely valuable in business and I am very proud to be part of this endeavour.