Boutique HEOR Consulting
Go AHEAD. Make better decisions.
About AHEAD
Clinical insight. Scientific rigor. Access-aligned strategic thinking.
AHEAD is the boutique consultancy of Dr. Björn Schwander, combining clinical understanding, methodological excellence, and strategic advisory support for evidence and value demonstration.
Meet Björn
I am a registered nurse, health scientists and health economist with more than 20 years of experience supporting innovators in pharma, medtech, digital health, and medical nutrition. My work integrates clinical understanding, analytical rigor, and access-aligned strategic thinking — connecting disciplines to generate insights that support meaningful decisions.
Clients partner with me when they need clarity, transparency, and senior expertise from the first conversation to final delivery.
AHEAD is not an agency model; it is a direct, committed collaboration with a senior expert who becomes part of your team and your thinking process.
A Three-Pillar Perspective
AHEAD’s approach integrates three complementary perspectives that shape my work across all projects.
Clinical Insight
A registered nurse by training, I bring a grounded understanding of real-world care pathways, patient needs, and clinical workflows. This ensures that modeling, evidence, and value communication reflect how technologies are actually used in practice.
Scientific Rigor
With a PhD focused on methodological robustness, extensive modeling experience, and a strong publication record, I place transparency, reproducibility, and clarity at the center of evidence generation. Models are structured, defensible, clinically meaningful, and aligned with access decision-making dynamics.
Access-Aligned Strategic Thinking
Economic evidence has impact only when it supports decisions made by those who influence adoption — whether payers, clinicians, HTA bodies, providers, or even patients in self-pay contexts. My advisory work translates evidence into strategic insights that support market access expectations, adoption dynamics, and value demonstration across multiple stakeholders.
Together, these three pillars form the backbone of AHEAD’s services and the foundation of every collaboration.
My Professional Journey
My career began in clinical care as a registered nurse, where I developed a practical understanding of patient pathways, real-world decision making, and the everyday constraints within healthcare delivery.
Driven by a growing interest in how systems function and how decisions shape outcomes, I continued my education in Applied Health Sciences, followed by a master’s degree in Health Economics & Pharmacoeconomics — integrating clinical experience with analytical and strategic thinking.
In 2023, I completed my PhD at Maastricht University, focusing on the systematic evaluation, replication, and validation of structural health economic modeling approaches in obesity. This work reinforced my commitment to methodological transparency, robustness, and clarity — principles that underpin every model and strategic recommendation I develop.
Over the past two decades, I have supported innovators in pharma, medtech, digital health, and medical nutrition, helping them build credible evidence, articulate value, and navigate access expectations.
I founded AHEAD in 2012 based on a simple belief: meaningful insights require senior involvement, structured interdisciplinary thinking, and clear, reproducible methods.
Leadership Roles & Scientific Engagement
My work is strengthened by active engagement in scientific and professional communities:
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Past Chair, ISPOR Medical Devices & Diagnostics Special Interest Group
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Leader, Health Economic Modeling Working Group, German Health Economics Association (DGGÖ)
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Editorial Board Member, Health Policy & Technology
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Peer Reviewer for Value in Health, Pharmacoeconomics, and other leading journals
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Lecturer, Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW)
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Former Guest Lecturer, advanced modeling, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (HAW)
These roles demonstrate my commitment to methodological transparency, interdisciplinary exchange, and continuous improvement in health economic evaluation.
How I Work
Working with AHEAD means working directly with me — personally and consistently.
When we work together, I become part of your team — thinking with you, challenging assumptions constructively, and ensuring that evidence remains clear and strategically relevant.
I provide end-to-end engagement, senior oversight, and a partnership mindset.
For larger or specialized projects, I integrate trusted collaborators — always under my strategic guidance to ensure coherence and quality.
Values That Guide My Work
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Clarity — evidence must be understandable
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Transparency — assumptions must be traceable
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Rigor — methods must withstand scrutiny
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Relevance — insights must support real decisions
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Integrity — scientific standards come before convenience
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Partnership — the best outcomes emerge when we think together
