Small Pharma’s Big Minds – Dr Nina Kumari
Find out more about the big minds behind the team at Small Pharma through conversations with the people who work here.
Dr Nina Kumari, our Director of Innovation, sat down to share more about her role, along with why mental health is so important through the lens of a physician having seen its impact on the patients she’s treated over the years.
Who you are and what you do
As Director of Innovation, one of these key areas is exploring what science shows us and how we can utilise that to expand our portfolio. My background in medicine helps with looking at that focus and really understanding how the health system can absorb these new potential therapies.
What excites you most about Small Pharma?
When do you ultimately get an opportunity to spend your working career working on making potentially truly meaningful impact at a global scale? It’s not really an opportunity you walk away from. Science is constantly evolving and there’s an opportunity to grasp that new science and translate it into new ideas to provide to patients.
Why is mental health so important?
I’ve seen enough patients suffer and really struggle on a day to day basis with their mental health. You realise and appreciate that it is something we should all be fighting for as a priority in our lives. I am really passionate that there is more investment and more focus in prioritising new ways of actually exploring solutions to improving our mental health and I think we’re getting to a point now where our understanding of how the brain works, and the technologies we have around, may actually make a huge shift in the way we manage our mental health and mental health conditions.
Nina Kumari joined the team at Small Pharma in 2019. Prior to this she spent a number of years advising digital health startups and she has also co-founded two tech enabled startups. She graduated with a distinction in medicine at Imperial College London and still practices as a physician, alongside her role at Small Pharma.