Hello and welcome. I am a Bay Area pharmaceutical professional with extensive consulting, content development, and creative experience. I started my career as a synthetic organic chemist and research scientist focused on the discovery and development of novel small-molecule oncology compounds. Early efforts led to 2 graduate degrees (PhD Organic Chemistry, MA Pharmacology), 12 peer-reviewed journal publications, 1 patent, and 2 drugs that advanced into human clinical trials.

Other stops on the road to healthcare marketing included various roles in academia (University of California Irvine, Boston University School of Medicine, Washington University in St Louis), biotech (Sunesis Pharmaceuticals), government laboratories (NIH), pharmaceutical market research, medical writing (Viscira), and patent law (Registered Patent Agent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office).

Now, with more than a decade of pharmaceutical content development and scientific advisory experience across dozens of therapeutic areas, I work on the front-line with clients, medical and regulatory affairs, and brand teams helping to infuse scientific rigor and actionable insights into every strategic and creative undertaking across interactive, digital, and print.

Small molecules, biologics, devices and diagnostics — I am dedicated to delivering high-impact communications that transform great science into giant brands.

Please feel free to contact me to disuss services, capabilities, and rates.

Representative Product Knowledge

Aranesp, Avastin, Byetta, Chantix, Cladribine, Creon, Cystagon, Denosumab, Geodon, Herceptin, Kuvan, Latisse, Lucentis, Macitentan, Neulasta, Neupogen, Nexavar, Nplate, Procysbi, Provenge, Rebif, Sabril, Sandostatin, Sensipar, Sutent, T-DM1, Tracleer, Treanda, Uloric, Vectibix, Veletri, Ventavis, Voreloxin, Xtandi, Zytiga

Representative Client List

Pharmaceutical and Biotech: Abbott, Amgen, Amylin, Bayer, BioMarin, Campbell Alliance, Cephalon, Dendreon, EMD Serono, Genentech, Lundbeck, Medtronic, Merck, Novartis, Onyx, Pharmaceutical Institute, Solvay, Sunesis, Takeda

Other: Joel Makower, Duarte, Boston University School of Medicine, Christine Ervin, Ron Pernick, CleanEdge, GreenBiz, Elsevier, Greener World Media, Fernandez & Associates, Big Green Purse, Mogambo Solutions, Riverbed, SAP, Taylor & Francis, UC, Irvine, Viscira, Washington University in St. Louis

I had the pleasure of working with Josh on a medical writing project focused on updating our e-learning disease course catalog. With this project, we asked the independent contractors to follow very specific instructions for the update process. Right away, Josh picked up our method and was able to proceed with little oversight to produce high quality deliverables. On more than one occasion, subject matter experts (i.e., physicians) commented on Josh's superb writing style and ability to translate medical literature into applicable training for the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, as the project manager, I very much appreciated Josh's dedication to the project. He always kept timelines and often returned work ahead of schedule. At one point, due to an unexpected circumstance, we were short a contractor, and Josh volunteered to double his workload for a couple of weeks to ensure the project would not be delayed. Because of his medical knowledge, writing expertise, and commitment to projects, I highly recommend Josh for positions involving a similar type of work.

Content Development Specialist, The Pharmaceutical Institute

I had the pleasure to work with Josh on a branding and naming project. Hired to assist in the development of a product name for a media service, Josh quickly went to work within 24 hours developing concepts and leading the project. Working around an initial brief, Josh used his creativity and out-of-the box thinking to push the project forward, and well within the given timeline. I especially appreciated how his understanding of many languages and root words helped create multiple meanings for various concepts, together strengthening the overall brand message. His dedication and highly responsive approach made it a great experience working with Josh for this project.

Principal, 540 Digital

I worked with Josh on several market research projects that he led. Not only he shared his expertise both in the pharmaceutical industry and market research which helped me carry out my tasks, but also his leadership style of being hands-on and open to others made me feel very comfortable and confident in my roles. He is a great person to work with; very personable, willing to share his knowledge, easy to work with, approachable and solid leader. I believe that people who have an opportunity to work with him will find this more than true and be pleased.

Market Research Associate, AlphaDetail

I have worked with Josh where he was the senior manager for the project. My experience working with Josh showed me that he is a hard working professional, capable of managing multiple projects and providing clear directions to his team members. He takes time to address any problem and issue that I have. Furthermore, Josh has a good client relationship management style that he continuously updates the clients during the process and provides insights that help clients to make executive decisions in regard to the project. Overall, I have a great experience working with Josh and highly recommend Josh.

Market Research Associate, AlphaDetail

Josh went above and beyond the call of duty in regards to his assistance to the animation team. He not only helped explain the scientific terminology, but he also went as far as figuring out how do things like convert pdb files into obj format so that it was usable by the 3D team - if there was a way he could solve a problem, he would figure it out. And he seems to always enjoy what he's doing. His insights were extremely valuable in helping make our animations scientifically accurate and engaging. He even has an eye for cinematics and came up with useful ideas camera moves and environments. I would love to work with Josh anytime!

Animation Director, Viscira

I really can't say enough good things about Josh. In his role as Senior Med Writer, he provided invaluable support to several of my projects. Josh quickly forged his own partnerships with other individuals in the company (animators, QA/CE, Producers) in a fashion that I have rarely seen with other medical writers. He is unique in that he brings both a background in research and academic study, but is also capable of holding a client-facing role and engaging with product managers in language that is harmonious with their marketing materials. And he has a wonderful sense of humor. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat.

Associate Director Client Services, Viscira

Josh Yoburn is one of the most intelligent and hard working people I've ever known. He made our, the creatives' workflow more effective with writing scripts and developing stories and wireframes for the whole programs. I was always looking forward to having him in my team because not only he wrote creative and interesting scripts but he also took his time, sat down with me, and simplified and explained the most complex information. He also had positive attitudes, he never complained, he always offered to help in any ways, and he was always enthusiastic in any projects he was working on. It was a pleasure working with Josh.

Associate Art Director, Viscira

I greatly appreciated Josh's enthusiasm, scientific expertise and his ongoing commitment to innovation during his time at Viscira. We worked closely on a number of key strategic programs, helping our team fully grasp the scientific complexities behind the product(s).

Director Business Development, Viscira

In the time that I worked with Josh at Viscira, I've come to rely and trust him as a respected colleague and friend. Josh is an excellent medical writer, possessing the academic background to comprehend and synthesize complex information, and the skills to tailor it to any audience. He was very highly regarded by members of the animation/design team, for his abilities to visually conceptualize the science, and the account/production managers for his solid work ethic, conscientiousness, and positive attitude.

Senior Medical Writer, Viscira

Josh is more knowledgeable in the medical field than anyone i've ever worked with. He is very willing to share his knowledge and provide direction to how on screen elements should look and behave. I was most impressed with Josh's ability to consistently provide a number of solutions (visual and written) for any one scenario. Whether it would be to meet client or internal needs, Josh's creative problem solving was always forward thinking and often had the kill two birds with one stone effect. Josh would always make smart, informed, mature decisions.

Interactive Designer, Viscira

Josh is an absolute pleasure to work with, he is endlessly professional and amazingly knowledgeable. His sense of humor and work ethic are balanced so appropriately to any situation and workload that he is able to adapt and overcome all objectives in the production pipeline. Being a former US Marine, I will always appreciate and call attention to these fine characteristics. I strongly recommend him.

Senior Flash Developer, Viscira

First of all, Josh really is a pleasure to work with! He has a great sense of humor, is focused and always gets his work done on time. He is a leader when it comes to working in teams and knows when to give feedback to others, and when to let them work their magic. This to me makes him the ideal team player. He is diplomatic when it comes to resolving problems and will go out of his way to make the process better for everyone. I enjoyed working with Josh and was always glad when he happened to be on my team for a project.

Flash Developer, Viscira

It is a pleasure working with Josh for a number of reasons. In our time together at Viscira we tackled some big challenges together under tight timelines and in a fast moving start-up environment that always seemed to require more, more, and more from Josh. He delivered in spades every time, juggling as many as 4 to 5 projects at once, and I never heard him complain. His pleasant manner and genuine interest in projects were recurring traits and he inspired and motivated others. He is smart as a whip and can clearly articulate complex subjects. A natural teacher, great with clients, and stellar in the trenches, Josh is someone who elevates your team and takes you to the next level. I highly recommend Josh and I look forward to the opportunity to work with him again.

Interactive Media Producer, Viscira

Josh was tasked with building a content development and editorial team from the ground up, all while concurrently writing scripts, copy editing, and providing scientific expertise for nearly every project in production. Josh tackled this seemingly insurmountable task effortlessly and skilfully. Josh works with exceptional speed and accuracy. In a highly regulated and competitive arena, I could rely on Josh's writing to sail through client and regulatory reviews to easily earn stamps of approval. He approaches each project scientifically - identifying and tackling the problem to create a logical solution. In the marketing world, the time you have to connect with your audience can often boil down to mere seconds. Josh has a great talent for taking what some may consider rather dry material and bringing it to life, drawing the audience in immediately and getting right to the punchline. Josh's work and wonderful attitude were key in making my projects successes.

Senior Interactive Producer, Viscira

Josh is a master at crafting messages from data in a clear and interesting way and making imagery come to life. Plus, he turns work around quickly, is incredibly easy to work with, and has made my transition from PowerPoint to Keynote a cinch. I plan to keep working with Josh and offer my highest recommendation.

Former Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of Energy

During my time at Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Josh was a results-orientated scientist who was not only able to effectively supervise my work, but provided invaluable leadership within the research projects he was assigned to. Josh has the necessary temperament and people-skills for project management. I really appreciated his dedication to our assigned projects and goals. He made himself available to me for training and one-on-one weekly updates. His presentation skills are top-notch, as he is able to deconstruct technical information in a way that is clear and thought-provoking.

Staff Research Associate, Sunesis

Josh is terrific at developing exactly the right image for the story you're trying to tell. And his turn-around time can't be beat. I highly recommend Josh.

Founder and CEO, Big Green Purse

Josh did a masterful job of creating a kick-ass slide deck that I've been using, very profitably, for years. He took my rambling spiel and brought it to life, creating something that has audiences begging for a copy afterwards. I can't recommend him highly enough as someone who brings a creative spirit and business savvy to the staid old world of Powerpoint presentations.

Co-founder and Principal, Clean Edge

Contact Information

Phone: 415.377.8872
E-mail: josh.yoburn@gmail.com
Website: www.joshyoburn.com
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