MAESTrO pharmacy success

A DATABASE of drug assessment decisions created by a Sydney pharmacist is attracting a global audience, with the Russian government the latest subscriber to the MAESTrO data resource.

The success of Cronulla-based pharmacist Michael Wonder has been showcased in a feature article in today’s Financial Review.

Wonder launched MAESTrO in 2011, with the system collating and analysing decisions made by global healthcare assessment agencies.

Subscribers also include a number of pharmaceutical companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, MSD, Novartis & Amgen, with MAESTrO developed to offer a user-friendly way of navigating assessment processes.

Wonder covers regulators in about 10 countries, making all the complex information about every new and potential treatment available and searchable.

“My aim now is to be the global reference point for pharma companies and governments wanting to keep track of new healthcare technologies,” he said.

Wonder previously worked for Novartis, and said he knows how time consuming it can be to get an overview on a particular drug.

“So hardly anyone does it, which means it’s not as clear as it should be whether a government is doing a good job of supporting their citizens’ health,” he added.

The connection to Russia has led to other contacts with regulators in Kazakhstan and Colombia, with Wonder saying “it just goes to show your customers can come from anywhere these days”.