Charles River Associates Expands Life Sciences Practice with Appointment of Two Seasoned Industry Leaders
Charles River Associates (NASDAQ: CRAI), a globally recognized leader in economic, financial, and management consulting, has announced a strategic expansion of its Life Sciences Practice with the appointment of Phoebe Ng and Chris Nüesch as Vice Presidents. This development marks a significant strengthening of the firm’s expertise in the healthcare and life sciences sectors, as CRA continues to scale its capabilities to meet the increasingly complex demands of the global pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries.
The addition of Ng and Nüesch is emblematic of Charles River Associate’s commitment to delivering data-driven, strategic solutions across the life sciences value chain. Both executives bring with them decades of experience and a wealth of domain-specific insights that are expected to bolster CRA’s ability to support clients in areas such as portfolio strategy, product development, market access, brand growth, and commercialization planning.
“We are pleased to welcome Phoebe and Chris to Charles River Associate,” said Paul Maleh, President and Chief Executive Officer of Charles River Associates. “They are seasoned professionals with a proven track record of navigating complex challenges in areas ranging from portfolio strategy and product development to commercialization, market access, and brand growth.”
Deepening Bench Strength to Meet Evolving Industry Needs
The life sciences industry is undergoing rapid transformation, shaped by the convergence of scientific breakthroughs, changing regulatory landscapes, increasing payer scrutiny, and the growing adoption of digital health technologies. In this dynamic environment, Charles River Associate’s Life Sciences Practice has distinguished itself through its ability to provide sophisticated, evidence-based advisory services to some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies.
By bringing in Ng and Nüesch, Charles River Associate is reinforcing its leadership position and investing in the next stage of growth for its Life Sciences Practice.
“Phoebe and Chris share CRA’s data-driven approach and expertise in achieving meaningful outcomes for CRA’s Life Sciences clients, and we look forward to working with them,” said Dr. Gregory K. Bell, Group Vice President and Life Sciences Practice Leader at CRA. “Phoebe brings extensive experience across multiple therapeutic areas, with a strong track record of aligning long-term strategic objectives with portfolio sustainability. Chris brings deep expertise in addressing client questions in the specialty disease space, particularly in developing and executing brand and marketing strategies. Their insights will strengthen our ability to support clients in navigating a rapidly evolving healthcare environment.”
Phoebe Ng: A Track Record of Strategic Portfolio Leadership in Global Pharma
Phoebe Ng joins CRA following an illustrious 23-year career at one of the world’s largest and most influential pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Over the course of her tenure, Ng rose to the position of Head of New Business Development within the Global Commercial Strategy group. In this role, she led major initiatives across therapeutic areas including cardiovascular, renal, obesity, fibrosis, and pulmonary diseases. Her responsibilities encompassed strategic pipeline prioritization, assessment of external innovation opportunities, investment decisions, and commercialization strategies for both early- and late-stage assets.
Ng is known for her ability to align long-term corporate objectives with product development and portfolio sustainability. Her holistic understanding of scientific, commercial, and policy trends enables her to advise companies not just on what products to develop, but also on how and when to bring them to market—while managing risk and optimizing patient impact.
Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Medical Science from King’s College London and an MBA from the University of Leicester School of Business. This blend of scientific and business training has enabled her to bridge technical and commercial domains effectively throughout her career.
Ng’s experience is particularly relevant at a time when pharmaceutical and biotech companies are reevaluating their pipelines in light of rising development costs, increasing payer scrutiny, and the need to deliver measurable value to patients. Her leadership is expected to help CRA’s clients build more resilient and responsive portfolios in therapeutic areas where unmet needs remain high.
Chris Nüesch: Marketing, Market Access, and Reimbursement Expertise Across Specialty Disease Areas
Chris Nüesch brings a complementary skill set to CRA, with a strong background in life sciences strategy consulting, particularly in market access, brand positioning, pricing, and reimbursement. His industry experience includes a series of senior roles at leading global consultancies focused on healthcare and life sciences.
Most recently, Nüesch served as a Partner at a premier life sciences consulting firm, where he led client engagements related to specialty therapeutics and high-cost treatments, including rare diseases, oncology, and neurology. Prior to that, he was a Senior Director at a boutique healthcare consultancy, where he developed pricing and market access strategies across North America and Europe.
Nüesch’s ability to help clients understand the evolving expectations of payers, providers, and regulators is especially important as more life sciences companies pursue value-based pricing models and outcomes-based reimbursement schemes. He has worked extensively on strategies to position novel therapies—especially those in crowded or highly specialized markets—for successful market entry and sustained growth.
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Arts in Biology from Columbia University, and an MBA in Finance from the NYU Stern School of Business. This strong academic foundation, coupled with years of practical experience, enables him to bring scientific rigor and financial acumen to every engagement.
Enhancing CRA’s Life Sciences Practice
With the appointment of Ng and Nüesch, Charles River is signaling a strategic push to further deepen its advisory capabilities across several mission-critical areas, including:
- Commercialization and Product Launch Strategy: Leveraging real-world evidence and data analytics to plan and execute effective launches, especially in markets with reimbursement hurdles.
- Portfolio Optimization and Pipeline Planning: Helping clients rationalize R&D investments and prioritize programs that align with market needs and long-term business goals.
- Market Access and Pricing: Developing strategies that anticipate payer concerns, support HTA submissions, and drive favorable reimbursement outcomes.
- Therapeutic Area Expertise: Offering specialized insight in high-need areas such as cardiovascular, metabolic, pulmonary, oncology, rare diseases, and specialty pharmaceuticals.
- Global Strategy Integration: Supporting clients in harmonizing local market execution with global corporate strategies, particularly in regions with divergent regulatory and pricing frameworks.
This expansion of leadership talent comes as Charles River’s Life Sciences Practice continues to grow in both size and influence, providing advisory support to companies across the entire product lifecycle—from early-stage innovation to post-launch brand management.
About CRA’s Life Sciences Practice
Charles River’s Life Sciences Practice works with top-tier biotech, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies, as well as law firms, regulatory bodies, and industry associations across the globe. The firm is known for its rigorous analytical methodology, deep industry knowledge, and ability to deliver customized solutions that are grounded in both data and practical experience.
Charles River’s consultants are often engaged on high-impact projects that include:
- Strategic assessments of clinical and commercial opportunities
- Forecasting and valuation modeling for early and late-stage assets
- Global pricing and market access strategies
- Litigation support and regulatory advisory services
- Organizational transformation and change management initiatives
The practice prides itself on its collaborative approach, often working as part of an integrated team of client executives, scientific experts, and cross-functional stakeholders to deliver tangible, measurable outcomes.
With the addition of Phoebe Ng and Chris Nüesch, Charles River is not only strengthening its leadership bench but also enhancing its capacity to serve clients facing some of the most complex challenges in the life sciences sector. Their combined experience, vision, and expertise will play a critical role in shaping Charles River’s next chapter of growth as a trusted advisor to the global healthcare industry.
