Sawka, who worked for a number of pharma and biotech firms before joining Aequus, will lead a team of researchers in the new division, with further appointments planned in the coming months.

She said: “I am delighted to be joining the Simpson Carpenter team and to be able to draw on their consumer expertise. There has been a significant shift within pharmaceutical research recently as we see patients becoming more active participants in virtually every aspect of healthcare. There is a real need, therefore, to adapt our approaches to research and understand patients as consumers rather than merely focusing on researching medical professionals.”

The new division will offer qual and quant methodologies and capabilities for advanced analysis including conjoint and segmentation models.