Lode is trusted as a global reference and passionate leader for patient engagement in medicines development. He currently works as Chief Patient Officer at Servier, a foundation-governed global pharmaceutical company.
When Dr Dewulf studied and practiced medicine, he quickly realized that true engagement, with the patients and their family, as well as good education about health and disease are at least as important as good medicines to achieve the best health outcomes. He joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1989 to have a broader impact through medical education and engagement. Ten years later, when the internet became a new way to provide quality medical information, he took a sabbatical leave to co-found PlanetMedica, the first Healthcare internet portal in Europe. Back in pharma, he rose to global executive leadership roles in Medical Affairs before, in 2012 at UCB, piloting industry’s first executive role dedicated to patient affairs.
Lode has volunteered at NGO and to support individual patients and has also advised private and public organisations about patient centricity/engagement.
Lode believes that patient expertise can and should complement medical and scientific expertise. He advocates good listening as the starting point and sees the digital revolution as an opportunity for all stakeholders in healthcare to better understand and work with each other.