Sophie Streeton recently joined Mtech Access as an Associate Director in the Global Market Access Team. With an impressive background in value communication, market access, and health policy, Sophie brings a wealth of experience to her new role. We spoke to her about her career journey, decision to join Mtech Access, and early experiences with the team.
What led you to pursue a career in market access?
I studied for a PhD in Developmental Neurobiology at the UCL Institute of Child Health, investigating the genetics and cellular processes involved in neural tube defects (NTDs), such as spina bifida. My research group was also interested in the mechanisms by which folate (folic acid) during pregnancy reduces the risk of NTDs, and it was the global debate around folic acid fortification of food that sparked my interest in healthcare policy and decision-making.
Outside of the laboratory, I really enjoyed the analytical and writing aspects of my PhD. As I considered a career away from academia, I discovered the world of medical writing, which led me to market access and health economics. In 2013, I joined an established market access consultancy as an Associate Medical Writer, and haven’t looked back!
How did your career progress?
As a medical writer, I had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of projects and therapy areas for both Pharma and Medtech clients. I developed global value communication materials, health technology assessment (HTA) submissions and Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) dossiers, local customer-facing tools, visual leave pieces, and publications. I also conducted targeted literature reviews, bespoke landscape and policy research, value proposition testing with payers and clinicians, and interactive client workshops.
As I gained experience, I enjoyed the discussions I was having with clients around content and messaging, as well as product launch strategy and positioning in different markets. Project management felt like a natural next step and my role expanded such that I was leading global projects and providing consultancy, as well as remaining actively involved in the writing side of things. In recent years, I’ve also enjoyed mentoring and training junior colleagues, and supporting business development, for example through writing proposals and developing relationships with new clients.
As part of my professional development during this time, I completed a Certificate in Health Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and a City & Guilds Diploma in Leadership and Management.
What interests you most about developing global value materials?
I love the storytelling element of developing global value materials, and find it really satisfying to see these projects through from start to finish. I enjoy immersing myself in a therapy area, reviewing policy information and detailed medical data for a new product, before consolidating all of that and crafting a compelling narrative. It’s often really interesting and valuable to gather insights from external stakeholders as part of this process, to ensure the final deliverable is fit for purpose and resonates with decision-makers in key markets.
I particularly enjoy the more bespoke or challenging projects that really require us to work as part of a client’s extended team to help them navigate challenges. It could be researching a specific policy area and presenting the findings and recommendations in a concise visual slide deck, or developing a credible dossier and value narrative for a product with only limited evidence available.
Ultimately, I strive to develop high-quality, evidence-based materials that inform decision-making and support timely patient access to new treatments.
Are there any therapy areas that particularly interest you?
Yes – with my background in biology and genetics, I particularly enjoy working in rare diseases and on cell and gene therapy projects, where the need for innovative therapies is often urgent, and the pathway to reimbursement is complex. With the high number of advanced therapies currently in development, and the potential of these products to transform the lives of patients with few treatment options, it’s a really exciting area of market access to work in.
During my career, I’ve had the chance to work on rare diseases such as haemophilia, growth hormone deficiency, spinal muscular atrophy, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, as well as rare oncology indications. As a team, we’re about to start working on an AMCP dossier for an antibody for a rare blood disorder, and I recently wrote a proposal for a suite of value communication tools for a client’s new treatment for a rare genetic condition.
What motivated you to join Mtech Access?
I was looking for the next step in my career and was keen to work across both global value communication and market access strategy projects. When the role at Mtech Access came up, it felt like a really good fit – and an exciting time to join the team, with the company recently joining Petauri™. The company’s reputation for delivering high-quality work, and its collaborative, people-first culture were also key factors in my decision to make the move.
What have you got involved with since joining Mtech Access?
It’s been an exciting few months of getting to know colleagues within Mtech Access and across the wider Petauri business. I had a comprehensive induction programme when I first started, which helped me to understand the company structure, and how the different services and supporting teams (e.g. Editorial, Marketing, and Commercial) all collaborate. I’m working mainly remotely, but it’s been great to visit our Manchester and York offices to meet and socialise with colleagues. I also attended an in-person company meeting to discuss plans for 2025.
I’ve taken a strategic lead role on a variety of projects across therapy areas such as oncology, epilepsy, chronic kidney disease, and wound care. I’ve also written proposals for a range of global value communication and market access strategy activities. It’s been really varied – every week has been different.
What have you learnt from your first interactions with the team?
I’ve definitely learnt how welcoming and supportive everyone is! In my first week, lots of people got in touch to say hello and offer help with settling in. Everyone is approachable and always finds time to discuss things or lend a hand, regardless of seniority or how busy people are.
I’ve also been impressed with the quality of project management, and the training and best practice structures that are in place. There’s a strong work ethic and high level of professionalism; everyone I’ve met is focused on delivering excellent results for our clients.
What are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to getting stuck into some exciting new projects this year, many of which involve collaboration with teams across the business. For example, I’ll be working with colleagues in our systematic literature review (SLR), Digital, and US HEOR teams. I’m also heading to ISPOR 2025 in Montreal in May, so I am really looking forward to that.
If you could swap your expertise and role with a colleague from another team, who would you swap with?
It would be an exciting time to work in the HTA team, particularly with the introduction of EU European Union Joint Clinical Assessments (EU JCAs) for new cancer medicines and advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) from January of this year. It would also be interesting to deepen my understanding of our Digital team’s capabilities – coding is a whole different language to me!
When you are not at work, what do you like to do?
I live on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, so I try to get outside with my family for walks and days out whenever we can. When I’m not running our children around to their hobbies and parties, I try to squeeze in my weekly yoga class and the occasional swim or spinning session, or curl up with a good book.
To learn more about our expertise in global value materials and global market access strategy, please contact us here.
If you are interested in joining our team at Mtech Access, please visit our careers page for details of our current vacancies.
