Claudia V. Beqaj

Claudia V. Beqaj is a biopharma commercialization professional with 12 years of hands on experience and management including marketing, sales, training, PR and supply chain in both the US and abroad (Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America). Most recently, Claudia was the Director of Commercialization at MELA Sciences, a medical device company with a first in class product for melanoma detection. While at MELA Sciences, Claudia was responsible for; (1) the development and execution of the global commercialization strategy; (2) building and leading a team of 30 individuals in various departments which include: sales and all sales functions, marketing, technical service, and customer support; (3) Leading the marketing team through strategic pre-launch activities including execution of market research and the development of a novel pricing strategy; (4) the creation of advertising campaigns, digital/social marketing and media, and the strategic/tactical planning via public relations; and (5) assisting the CEO in fund-raising and financing activities with analysts, bankers, and private equity firms.

Prior to joining MELA Sciences, Claudia was the Global Marketing Lead for the Diversified Products portfolio at Merck, primarily focusing on the Emerging Markets (Asia Pacific and Latin America) in the execution of the global strategies. She was instrumental in the creation of the Asian Atopic Dermatitis (AD) Consensus Treatment Guideline which was approved for publication in the Journal of Dermatology in October 2012.

Claudia also has developed and evaluated pricing strategies and guidelines for key brands during her time at Schering Plough in the US Managed Markets and Payer Strategy business unit. She has also driven business development initiatives such as product acquisitions and third party partnerships in order to expand portfolios and increase share of voice.

Throughout her career, Claudia has managed staffs of up to 30 people, portfolios of $2.3B and marketing budgets up to $4 MM. She has developed and executed successful strategies for launches, new market entry, mature product penetration, and loss of exclusivity. She also has extensive experience in primary care disease states (cardiovascular, respiratory, infectious disease and pain) as well as specialty markets (dermatology and oncology).

Claudia received her bachelor's degree from Rutgers University focusing on marketing and communications in 2000. She has been recognized by various trade publications for marketing programs, and received PM360 Trailblazer's Innovation Award in Healthcare Marketing.