Lorna M. Weir’s career path has touched Wall Street, law, consumer marketing, advertising and healthcare — all of it culminating in the agency she founded, Elevate Healthcare.
Elevate Healthcare is a marketing agency for healthcare brands and providers. It aims to deliver innovative solutions across the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. “True to its core belief that small is the best way to deliver big, Elevate focuses its efforts on two key areas of practice,” the company said. “Approximately 65% of the agency’s work in 2021 targeted healthcare providers, and 35% targeted patients and caregivers.”
Weir’s expertise spans 20 years of marketing pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics across a number of therapeutic areas, including oncology, hematology, the central nervous system, nephrology, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, cardiovascular, obstetrics and gynecology.
She got her professional start working on Wall Street with Credit Suisse First Boston as an analyst, where she improved her analytical and leadership skills and made key professional connections. She has been president of two successful agencies, Dudnyk and Vox Medica, and principal of her own strategic consulting practice.
Weir led Elevate Healthcare to 42% growth in 2021, surpassing $10 million in billed services with just over 50 employees.
Rare disease innovator Sentynl Therapeutics awarded Elevate the launch duties for its product for Menkes disease in newborns. Specialty pharma company Shield Therapeutics tapped Elevate to create a brand campaign for its iron replacement brand, Accrufer.
Elevate was named as Small Healthcare Agency of the Year by MM+M for the second year in a row, and the company has been named a Best Place to Work in pharma marketing and one of the Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania.
Through designated employee community days, Weir and many members of her team give their time to community events, supporting local pet shelters, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Philadelphia VisionWalk and more.
Weir is passionate about animal rights and wildlife causes, including Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, the Wolf Sanctuary of PA and the American Eagle Foundation. She also speaks frequently to the Intro to Pharmaceutical Advertising class at Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication. In the past year, she has inspired three Temple graduates who were enrolled in this class and hired them for full-time roles.
“I also will take and make the opportunity to share my experience and perspective with others, whether they are early in their career or well on the way in their leadership journey,” Weir said. “As one who has benefited significantly from the sponsorship/ mentorship of others, I appreciate the value and impact it can have. It’s important – and incredibly gratifying – to give back all that I have received throughout the years.”