SCOUT and Rare Expertise Form Joint Venture to Help Identify and Treat People With Rare Diseases More Quickly and Accurately

September 20, 2018 |

3 min read

SCOUT, a leading healthcare marketing agency focused on orphan drugs and specialty pharmaceuticals, has formed a joint venture with Rare Expertise, a company with proprietary data-driven tools for identifying and activating people with rare disorders.

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SCOUT, a leading healthcare marketing agency focused on orphan drugs and specialty pharmaceuticals, has formed a joint venture with Rare Expertise, a company with proprietary data-driven tools for identifying and activating people with rare disorders. The goal: to shorten the patient journey for people with rare diseases, helping them obtain an accurate diagnosis and begin appropriate medical treatment more quickly.

Currently, it takes an average of five to seven years for a rare disease to be correctly diagnosed. According to the National Organization for Rare Diseases, such disorders are inherently difficult to identify and there are relatively few experts in any of the 7,000 known rare disorders, which collectively affect nearly 30 million Americans, more than half of them children. Physicians receive little training in rare diseases and seldom encounter them in practice. On average, a patient will go to seven doctors -- often being misdiagnosed along the way -- before finally getting a correct diagnosis. And because rare diseases are degenerative and frequently life-threatening, the patient may be hospitalized numerous times during the journey and become progressively ill.

“All of our clients are working to accelerate the process of identifying and activating people with rare conditions in a way that gets them to the appropriate doctor’s office so they can be accurately diagnosed and properly treated,” said Raffi Siyahian, principal at SCOUT. “Combining SCOUT’s strong strategic and creative marketing services with the technologically sophisticated products and services of Rare Expertise equips us to help patients, physicians and healthcare companies achieve that goal. At last, companies can get this level of experience and innovation in a one-stop marketing partner.”

Jack Davis, founding partner of Rare Expertise, says the new venture was created for clients who want to go beyond the traditional means of marketing. “Whether a rare disease company is interested in shortening the diagnostic journey, accelerating clinical trial enrollment, or helping appropriate patients get treatment with commercially available drugs, we can now offer comprehensive and complementary solutions through our combined services and products.”

The joint venture will be led by Siyahian, Davis and Jeff Sweeney, partner at Rare Expertise, from offices in Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego and New York. For additional information, contact Raffi Siyahian at RSiyahian@findscout.com, and visit www.findscout.com.

About SCOUT

SCOUT is a leading healthcare marketing firm with special expertise in rare diseases, orphan drugs and specialty pharmaceuticals. With offices in Atlanta, Chicago, San Diego and New York, the company has successfully helped clients achieve their business and brand goals since 1999. SCOUT is a member of The Stagwell Group, a firm with a growing portfolio of marketing companies built on strong creativity, great analytics, and a complete understanding of the digital world. To learn more about SCOUT, visit www.findscout.com.

About Rare Expertise

Rare Expertise helps support the clinical development and commercial needs of biopharmaceutical companies by using proprietary data-driven tools to identify people with rare diseases and motivate them to act. Having worked in 21 rare diseases and more than 20 rare tumor types, the company has an intimate understanding of the challenges its clients face and the demonstrated ability to communicate the value of highly specialized therapies. To learn more, visit www.rareexpertise.com.