Natalie Fishburn

As the Vice President and Head of BioPharmaceuticals Clinical Operations, I lead a diverse organisation of over 2700 employees across 45 countries, responsible for the strategic and operational delivery of hundreds of clinical trials from Phase 1 to 3. I have over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry across all phases of development and in a broad range of therapy areas.

My team works in strategic partnership with our therapy area teams to translate drug development strategy into action, from study design to regulatory submission. We deliver our work using our own internal delivery engine and through partnerships with Clinical Research Organisations, ensuring efficient, ethical, and high-quality AstraZeneca clinical trials and programmes. There are many interrelated and co-dependent disciplines within BioPharmaceuticals clinical operations, including early and late phase programme and study management for CVRM, R&I, and V&I, and other expert groups that support across BioPharmaceuticals and Oncology, including site management & monitoring, clinical data & insights, global clinical solutions, process, quality & business capability, alliance management, and business planning & operations. All these functions work together to plan and deliver clinical programmes and trials on time, on budget, and with exceptional quality.

A recent focus of our team has been the implementation of new digital technologies to enable remote data collection through devices like wearables and sensors. In addition, we are looking for new ways to conduct clinical trials that improve our patients’ experience. This work accelerated during COVID-19 to enable the continuation of our clinical trial programs, and continues today to ensure we deliver more new medicines to patients.

Since joining AstraZeneca in 2013, I have had the opportunity to live and work in Australia, Germany, Japan and the UK. I am proud of my role in developing our diverse and talented people.