Executive ManagEment

The ABS team of senior, seasoned staff help our sponsors develop research agendas, successfully conduct research programs, communicate results in peer-reviewed journals and, where appropriate, appear before regulatory authorities. Our collaborative philosophy encourages clients to maintain close contact with our executive staff — enabling them to gain added value from the insights and perspective of respected experts in biometrics, clinical research, health economics and outcomes research, pricing and reimbursement, and marketing strategy and research.

Steven Fosburg, President

Steven Fosburg has been with Abt Associates since 1975. As President of Abt Bio-Pharma Solutions, he has responsibility for all the Company’s research and consulting, marketing, and financial operations as well as its strategic direction.

As senior vice president for clinical research studies from 2003–2008, he was responsible for integrating all of Abt Associates' domestic health businesses, private and public, to provide clients with greater depth and breadth of services.

From 1993 to 2003, Mr. Fosburg served as group vice president of the private-sector practice areas, overseeing clinical trials, biostatistics and epidemiology projects, health research and consulting and strategic marketing.

From 1983 to 1993, he was managing vice president of the Business Strategy Group. Working with Wendell Knox, now president of Abt Associates, Mr. Fosburg launched a number of private-sector practices to diversify the firm's business base. Toward that end, he carried out extensive assignments in a variety of industries, including pharmaceuticals and health care, banking and financial services, and high technology and telecommunications.

Mr. Fosburg has also served as vice president of the Social, Educational, and Nutritional Services research area; deputy manager of the Child and Family practice area; and as principal investigator, project director, or senior analyst for a variety of social, educational, and nutritional studies (including the Child Care Food Program and the National Day Care Home Study).

Prior to joining Abt Associates, Mr. Fosburg was a lecturer in mathematics, statistics, and design at several universities, including Harvard and Tufts.

He holds an A.M. in Statistics from Harvard University and an A.B. in Mathematics from Princeton University.

Kay Larholt, Vice President

Kay Larholt joined Abt Associates in 2006, bringing with her a wealth of experience in strategic statistical input to clinical program design and analysis, regulatory submissions, new business development, and pharmacovigilance. She is responsible for overseeing the design, operation, and management of clinical trials and epidemiology studies and is a key contributor to the registry portfolio.

Dr. Larholt joined Abt Associates from Boston Scientific, where she served as Group Director, Biometrics, responsible for directing statistical, statistical programming, data management, database, and medical writing activities for clinical projects originating in the Endosurgery division. Previously, Dr. Larholt led operational and strategic statistical approaches to scientific and clinical programs and implemented global statistical support standards for Genzyme Corporation as Senior Director, Biostatistics and Statistical Programming. As a member of Genzyme's Biomedical Operations management team, she participated in staff and systems resource planning and the establishment and review of worldwide department objectives, strategies, and policies. Dr. Larholt began her career in industry at R.W. Johnson Pharmaceutical Research Institute, where she spent 12 years in positions of increasing responsibility, ultimately serving as Director, Clinical Biostatistics. She has contributed to numerous successful regulatory submissions throughout her career, met with regulatory authorities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe and represented sponsors at FDA Advisory Panel sessions.

Dr. Larholt holds an Sc.D. in Biostatistics from Harvard University and a B.A. in Statistics from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. She has served as a member of the Biopharmaceutical Section Executive Committee of the American Statistical Association.

Chris Pashos, Vice President

Dr. Chris Pashos created and leads the Health Economic Research and Quality of Life Evaluation Services (HERQuLES) practice. Prior to joining Abt Associates in 1995, he was on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School and managed the Harvard heart attack Patient Outcomes Research Team (PORT), one of the first four PORTs funded by the United States government to study the quality of health care. He also helped to create and direct the Harvard Medical School Bridges Program, which brought together national policymakers, academic experts, and private decision makers to discuss critical health care issues.

Dr. Pashos and his multi-disciplinary HERQuLES team collaborate internationally with clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to assess the use, outcomes, and value of medicines, medical devices, biotechnology processes, and other healthcare products and services. His work enables sponsors to understand the comprehensive value — both the benefits and the risks — of products and services, and to communicate it to multiple provider and policy audiences, thereby promoting optimal access to appropriate care. Specifically, Dr. Pashos has designed and implemented prospective observational studies, such as patient registries, involving hundreds of thousands of patients in a variety of clinical indications. His experience also extends to analyses of U.S. and European databases; interactive clinical-economic models to present outcomes of therapeutic alternatives in international markets; and the development and use of survey instruments to obtain data on use of healthcare services and on the clinical, economic, and health-related quality of life outcomes of that care. Having published in leading medical journals and lectured on the quality, cost, and value of health care, Dr. Pashos serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the journal, Value in Health, and on the International Advisory Board of the journal, Current Medical Research and Opinion. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Award bestowed by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). In ISPOR, he has served in a variety of leadership positions over many years, including ISPOR President for 2008-2009.

Dr. Pashos holds a Ph.D. and M.P.P. in Public Policy from Harvard University and a B.S. from the United States Naval Academy.

Mason Russell, Vice President

Mason Russell is an internationally known health economist with more than 25 years of academic, industry, and consulting experience. Since joining Abt Associates in 2006, he has brought considerable experience and expertise to the interface between patient registries and health economics. A specialist in registry design and operations, global pricing and reimbursement strategy, and economic evaluation, including cost of illness estimation and cost-effectiveness analysis, Mr. Russell leads strategic client initiatives focused on increasing market uptake and addressing pricing and reimbursement hurdles. His work in registries, clinical trials, pharmacoeconomics, epidemiology, and commercial strategy has been international in scope, focusing on issues relevant to major markets in North America, Europe, and Australasia. Mr. Russell's efforts have helped healthcare providers to better understand the clinical and economic impact of disease and the value of new drugs, biologics, and devices in improving the outcomes achieved by patients. Aspects of his research have appeared in about 100 manuscripts and abstracts, and he currently serves as a reviewer for several leading peer-reviewed medical journals.

Prior to joining Abt Associates, Mr. Russell served as Director, Global Commercial Strategy for Biogen Idec, with overall responsibility for health economics, pricing strategy, and reimbursement strategy, and in senior research positions for several health economics and policy consulting firms.

Mr. Russell completed his doctoral training in economics at Boston University, where he also earned an M.A. in political economy.

Nandini Hadker, Executive Director

Nandini Hadker helped develop and now leads ABS' strategic commercialization practice. She works closely with the company's Fortune 50 clients, advising them on new product development, pricing, and brand management. An Economist by training, Ms. Hadker leverages her comprehensive econometrics and statistical expertise to measure, quantify, and model human behavior, and to apply the learning to develop strategies for client organizations. In addition to methodological expertise, she combines multi-industry expertise and business acumen to help clients identify, assess, and quantify opportunities, navigate complex marketplaces, and successfully position themselves with their customers — be they physicians, hospitals, patients, or payors.

A significant portion of Ms. Hadker's work has involved collaborations with hospitals, foundations, and other not-for-profit organizations on a number of critical issues including access to quality healthcare and product awareness and usage. She has also conducted extensive qualitative and quantitative research with Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs), physicians, office managers, purchasers, payors, and patients, using market input to help her clients appropriately price, position, and message around their products and services to optimize market success. In recent years, Ms. Hadker has helped clients bring their products to market and manage their brands post launch, in part by developing new proprietary analytical products for product concept testing and sales forecasting.

Prior to joining Abt Associates, Ms. Hadker worked at A.C.Nielsen's BASES Client Service Group, estimating sales forecasts of new products post-launch, re-staging existing products, and developing client-specific positioning strategies. Ms. Hadker holds a Master’s degree in Economics from Boston University and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Connecticut. Her work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed scientific healthcare journals including The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Haemophelia. She has also been a featured speaker at a number of professional conferences, most frequently in the area of new product planning and pharmaceutical pricing.

Neal Mantick, Executive Director

Neal Mantick, Executive Director of Registries, is a skilled manager with over 20 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He provides technical oversight and supervision for all registry projects, including design, implementation, and reporting, and consults with sponsors to help optimize the receptivity, adoption, and long-term acceptance of new, innovative drug products and medical devices.

Mr. Mantick came to Abt Associates from Genzyme Corporation, where he served as Director of Global Registry Programs and was responsible for leading multifunctional teams in the overall definition, design, planning, implementation, and ongoing management of four global registries for rare diseases. In that capacity, he had the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking advancements in the medical treatment of patients with genetic diseases and to lead the registry programs through a time of substantial growth and evolution, meeting a wider range of clinical, regulatory, and commercial expectations. Mr. Mantick's registry expertise is built on a strong foundation of product development and clinical studies management experience gained during his affiliation with The Upjohn Company, Arthur D. Little, and PAREXEL International.

Mr. Mantick holds a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Kentucky and an S.M. degree in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard University School of Public Health. He is a contributing author to "Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes" (under development), sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and has previously been a featured speaker at conferences sponsored by the Drug Information Association, American Society of Gene Therapy, Center for Business Intelligence, and Q1 Productions.