Alex Butler and Matt Baker have joined forces to launch Foundry3, a UK-based agency that aims to combine science, creativity and innovation and will be part of the bmore group.
Foundry3 will also be home to the Innovation Foundry, which its founders say is the world’s first independent digital health laboratory.
Butler (pictured above right) said: “At Foundry3 our ultimate aim is to support healthcare professionals and patients by providing knowledge, tools and services that improve people’s lives.
“This can be through incisive brand strategy combined with compelling creative or building digital tools that empower patients to achieve better outcomes and improved quality of life.”
The agency’s founding duo were previously both partners within Open Health, with Baker (pictured above left) also serving as group managing director for its LEC and The Earthworks agency. Prior to joining LEC in 2010, he served as director of digital communications and brand strategy at Huntsworth Health.
Meanwhile, Butler co-founded The Earthworks, which was crowned PMEA Support Agency of the Year in 2017, and served as its managing director. Before moving agency-side in 2011, he spent more than a decade within pharma, including six years at J&J in various market access, marketing, communications and digital strategy roles.
Commenting on the new venture Baker said: “Foundry3 has been set up to do things differently. To navigate the complexities of today’s healthcare market, we need to seamlessly fuse creativity, science and innovation – thinking outside of the traditional agency silos.”
Although operating as a separate limited company, Foundry3 will also be part of the bmore group, with its CEO Ben Blackmore having taken a stake in the new entity.
Blackmore said: “Being part of bmore means Foundry3 can provide a ‘hit the ground running’ full service for clients from day one with access to the already established comprehensive global account, science, creative and digital resources bmore group delivers.”
Foundry3 is already supporting a pan-Asia innovation strategy for a global pharma firm, has been awarded a double brand launch and is in discussions with global tech firms and a range of digital health start-ups focused on areas such as fertility, smoking cessation and GPs’ diagnostic decisions. The agency is also partnering with a large international clinical trials business to drive innovation in clinical trials and real world evidence.