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In this episode, Naomi Fried, PhD, Founder and CEO of PharmStars, shares how stronger collaboration between startups and pharmaceutical companies is accelerating healthcare innovation. Drawing on leadership roles at Biogen, Kaiser Permanente, Boston Children’s Hospital, consulting work with large pharma companies, and collaboration across the digital health ecosystem, she explains why the most successful innovations are built around customer needs rather than technology alone.

Naomi discusses how PharmStars helps digital health startups, including those developing AI-powered solutions, understand the pharmaceutical industry, refine their value proposition, and build lasting partnerships with global pharma companies. She highlights AI as one of the most exciting areas of innovation, with the potential to improve patient care, support clinicians, and create new opportunities for life sciences organizations. However, Naomi emphasizes that technology alone is never enough. Successful innovators listen more than they pitch, understand customer pain points, and build trusted relationships.

Naomi also talks about the importance of clinician workflows, internal champions, and continuous product evolution. Whether leveraging AI, software, or medical devices, her message is clear: lasting innovation comes from solving meaningful problems, adapting to customer needs, and building partnerships that create real-world impact. Take a listen. 

Naomi Fried, PhD, is the founder and CEO of PharmStars. An internationally recognized thought leader in healthcare innovation, Naomi brings over two decades of expertise in digital health strategy and innovation, as well as an entrepreneurial spirit.

Naomi is also the co-founder and general partner of PharmStars Ventures Fund, a venture fund which invests in PharmStars alumni companies. Previously, she was a general partner at the venture fund, Ambit Health Ventures, which invested in early-stage digital health and medical device startups. Naomi has served on a variety of startup boards of directors and advisory boards. Before founding PharmStars and Ambit, Naomi led a boutique consulting firm, Health Innovation Strategies, which advised pharma on digital health strategy and innovation activities.

Previously, Naomi was Biogen’s first VP of Innovation and External Partnerships, where she developed their “innovation beyond the molecule” strategy to deliver non-pharmacological value to patients and providers. Before her time at Biogen, Naomi served as the first Chief Innovation Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and also the first VP of Innovation and Advanced Technology at Kaiser Permanente.

Naomi has been a member of the Governor of Massachusetts’ Innovation Council and the Board of the American Telemedicine Association. Her awards include Healthcare IT News’ “Health Information Technology (H.I.T.) Men and Women of the Year Award, Innovators.” Naomi was named “The Emerging Executive of the Year” in 2014 by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and one of Medical Marketing and Media’s 40 “Healthcare Transformers” in 2016.

Naomi received her PhD in Materials Science from MIT and her BS in Chemistry, summa cum laude, from the University of California, Berkeley. When not working, Naomi can be found dancing up a storm in Zumba classes or lifting weights.