Francois Leblond, PhD

Medical Affairs Leader | People & Team Management | Medical Strategy | Evidence Generation | Cross-Functional Collaboration | Stakeholder Engagement

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

About

Medical Affairs Leader with extensive experience driving therapeutic area (TA) medical strategy, evidence generation, and patient-centered innovation across the full product life cycle. I lead and develop high-performing medical teams, align cross-functional stakeholders, and translate complex scientific insights into actionable business and clinical strategies that support launches, portfolio success, and organizational objectives. Specializing in pre-launch planning and cross-functional collaboration, I cultivate strong, enduring relationships with key opinion leaders (KOLs) and relevant stakeholders. With multi-therapeutic area oversight and deep expertise in the cardio-renal-metabolic (CRM) domain—including cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, inflammation, heart failure, secondary prevention, and rare kidney disorders—I drive impactful medical strategies that deliver value to patients, healthcare systems, and organizations navigating complex change.

Experience

  • Associate Medical Director at Knight Therapeutics Canada
    Mar 2026 - Present · 4 mos

  • Novartis (11 yrs 11 mos)
    • Medical Director
      Feb 2024 - Nov 2025 · 1 yr 10 mos

      Led 14-member medical team in Cardio-renal-metabolic (CRM) disease area, including 3 medical advisors, 2 medical education managers, 1 medical science liaison (MSL) manager, and 8 MSLs, fostering scientific excellence, talent growth, and retention in high-performing CRM organization. Selected accomplishments : 1) Oversaw creation and implementation of distinct cardiovascular and renal medical strategies, ensuring alignment with scientific objectives, product life cycle needs, and evolving market conditions. 2) Built and sustained influential relationships with healthcare professionals, patient associations, advocacy groups, and government health authorities for advancing strategic priorities. 3) Supervised integrated evidence generation plans (IEGP) addressing local unmet needs while increasing Canada's visibility in global studies. 4) Played important role as active core member of medical leadership team (MLT), contributing to medical vision setting, resource allocation, governance enhancement, and operational excellence.

    • Medical Advisor and MSL Manager
      2023 - 2024 · 1 yr

      Directed and coached a team of three MSLs across Eastern Canada in close collaboration with the national MSL Manager for Western Canada and Ontario, while concurrently fulfilling responsibilities as Medical Advisor. Selected accomplishments: 1) Elevated field scientific capability and consistency of expert engagement, resulting in measurable increase in external experts' agreement on and advocacy of specific scientific statements. 2) Developed and implemented robust medical territory plans, aligning national medical strategy with local needs insight and growing quality scientific interactions across key regions. 3) Standardized insight collection processes, enhancing relevance, frequency, and actionability, directly influencing cross-functional strategy adjustments, and shaping local medical plans.

    • Medical Advisor
      2021 - 2023 · 2 yrs

      Led the development of a comprehensive medical strategy that guided cross-functional pre-launch preparation for a major cardiovascular therapy launch, shaping an innovative commercial partnership model and identifying forward-looking opportunities to enable an ecosystem-integrated approach that accelerated adoption and delivered measurable healthcare system value. As Acting Medical Director, steered the cardio-metabolic medical team through significant organizational restructuring, providing stability, clear direction, and strategic alignment. Maintained scientific excellence, strengthened cross-functional collaboration, and ensured rigorous evidence generation to support a differentiated, market-ready medical strategy.

  • Medical Affairs Consultant at Freelance
    Jul 2013 - Jun 2014 · 1 yr

  • Intern in Medical Affairs at Sanofi Canada
    Jan 2013 - Jun 2013 · 6 mos