Gisela Linthorst | Head of Patient Engagement and Advocacy
Azafaros

Gisela Linthorst joined Azafaros at the start of 2022 and brought with her more than 20 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical industry, with a focus on rare diseases. In 2006, as Manager of Patient Care at Genzyme in the Netherlands, she was responsible for setting up the first homecare projects for ERT treatments in the Netherlands. While there, she also developed patient engagement strategies for Lysosomal Storage diseases such as Pompe-, Gaucher-, Fabry and Gaucher disease. In 2016, she became Head of Patient Advocacy in Rare Diseases (EU) at Sanofi Genzyme, later expanding to global and US activities. She remained in this position for several years before joining Azafaros. As well as her experience of working in the pharmaceutical industry, she also has a great deal of experience in building relationships with patients and patient organisations in the EU, US, and around the world, including Niemann Pick community and international umbrella organisations like EURORDIS and RDI. Gisela started her career as an oncology and haematology nurse at the Dutch Oncology Institute (NKI) in The Netherlands, where she worked for almost 10 years. As well as patient care, she also took on the role of bone marrow transplant coordinator. This involved organising stem cell transplants and clinical research trials, as well as supporting patients through treatment programmes.