Interpublic Group agency Virgo Health appointed Michael Platt as the first-ever managing director (MD) of its New York office, overseeing a team of more than 25 medical education (med ed) experts. Platt assumed the role in August and reports directly to Neera Chaudhary, global president of Golin Healthcare and Virgo Health.
Golin acquired Virgo Health back in 2012 as a London based operation, and its New York office opened in 2015. Platt, previously executive director of Virgo Health New York, joined the agency in 2017. He brings more than 20 years of healthcare communications expertise to this role, fusing science and creative together to help clients pioneer brave and curious ideas that deliver maximum impact.
As New York MD, Platt’s remit includes elevating the brand by unleashing the power of its New York presence and med ed talent—consisting of increased scientific services, education and design for clients. He’ll also expand Virgo Health’s footprint beyond commercial excellence to medical affairs by overhauling brand new protocols.
“Virgo Health is a blockbuster launch, creative med ed agency with incredible health science and bio science talent,” said Platt. “I’m excited to continue working with this unique team on elevated global effectiveness for our growing roster of blue-chip pharma clients.”
Virgo Health’s ethos of “being human” puts people at the heart of the business, helping to provide communications that inform better decisions for improved health and wellbeing. That’s why the med ed team brings one-of-kind expertise that fuses the medical education that clients need with the public relations strategy that will set them apart. Under Platt’s leadership, they develop innovative programs that both hit compliance requirements and deliver exceptional branding results, all through creative storytelling techniques.
“The medical education professionals at Virgo Health are world-class scientists and healthcare professionals in their own right,” said Chaudhary. “They hold advanced degrees including PhDs, PharmDs and MDs that our clients look for and trust. Even more, that important scientific prowess is matched with unsurpassed healthcare creative that brands need today in order to succeed, and Michael’s leadership helps to realize that vision for the agency.
Platt’s recent developments to activate Virgo’s positioning have created operational excellence for clients, agency growth and have applied the firm’s ethos of “health with a human touch” to advance the initiatives across inclusion and diversity. For clients, he helped launch new multicultural capabilities, talent and offerings that expand work beyond just patients to include influencers, patient advocacy groups and storytelling in the new era of medical communications. All allow clients to reach new audiences with important information about launches, product updates and protocols.
“Our clients appreciate that we can distill science into a smart narrative,” said Platt. “Our unique content strategy allows us to take data and complex concepts and turn them into stories that brands are proud to share and that consumers want to hear.”
Prior to joining Virgo Health, Platt served as president of MedVal Scientific Services LLC, president of DesignWrite LLC, CEO of Fission Communications (now called Caudex) and group head of Ventiv Health Communications.