Sara Radcliffe is Vice Chair and Secretary of the Board of Advisors of Methane Action, and a nationally recognized expert on the impact of changes in regulatory, scientific, and reimbursement policy on the life sciences industry. She has played a prominent role in public debates regarding the science-based FDA approval of new drugs, optimization of reimbursement for marketed drugs by public and private payers, and policies to advance personalized medicine and emergency preparedness, and she is a leading authority on the regulation of biosimilars.
Sara currently advocates for health policy that maximizes biomedical innovation, patient safety and patient access, and improves human health. She also develops strategies to maximize organizational efficiency and revenue growth, and expand public impact and influence.
In 2014 Sara was recruited to execute the merger of the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and Bay Area Bioscience Association (BayBio) into California Life Sciences Association (CLSA), the premier life sciences trade association for California. Sara served as CLSA’s founding President & CEO from 2015-2019. She established the organization’s brand and grew its revenue base and membership activities across four California and Washington DC offices for almost 1,000 company members. She streamlined and strengthened the combined organization’s federal, state, and local government relations activities, and coordinated its public stance on various advocacy challenges with members, other trade groups, and patient and professional groups.
During her tenure at CLSA the organization engaged vigorously and successfully in public debate and policy development regarding life sciences product regulation, marketing, and reimbursement; venture formation, capital availability and public-private and private-academic partnerships; and workplace regulation, training and readiness. The organization also developed a strong portfolio of business support services for CLSA’s members, including educational and networking events, a group purchasing program, and health benefits trust. Sara managed all operational functions of CLSA’s 46-member Board of Directors.
Prior to CLSA, Sara served as Executive Vice President, Health at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO). In this role she and her 16-member, cross-disciplinary team was responsible for coordinating, representing, and promoting the biotechnology industry’s public and marketplace positioning on scientific, regulatory, and reimbursement policies. She represented BIO members before Congress, FDA, and CMS, and with the media, national payers, and numerous other stakeholders, and led BIO’s participation in Prescription Drug User Fee reauthorizations.
She was also responsible for BIO’s Board of Directors’ Bioethics Committee, established to define, articulate and communicate effectively BIO’s positions and standards of conduct with respect to major bioethical issues. Sara managed all operational functions of CLSA’s 69-member Health Section Governing Board, and presentation of health policy before BIO’s 140-member Full Board.