Bernd Schollmeier

Specialist Market Access, Policy & Commercial Strategy

Bernd Schollmeier is the founder and owner of Helvetic Consulting GmbH, a global advisory firm supported by a network of seasoned executive experts. With more than 30 years of international experience across pharma, biotech, and consulting, Bernd is a highly respected leader in market access and healthcare strategy. His expertise spans vaccines, oncology, haemophilia, women’s health, neurology, and rare diseases, with a proven track record in both operational leadership and policy engagement.

Previously, Bernd served as Vice President and Partner, Global Market Access at Alira Health, where he also led the Swiss affiliate as General Manager. In this role, he advised biopharma clients on pricing, reimbursement, stakeholder engagement, and global launch strategy, leveraging a deep understanding of in-market dynamics and payer behavior across regions.

Prior to that, Bernd worked independently as a strategic advisor for major pharmaceutical companies, supporting access planning and direct engagement with payers and authorities. His earlier career includes senior leadership positions at Janssen-Cilag, Shire, and Pfizer, where he was responsible for access and external affairs across Switzerland, Germany, and broader European markets. At Shire, he successfully led access initiatives for a new haemophilia product across 30 countries. At Janssen, he oversaw multiple reimbursement approvals and spearheaded policy efforts in Switzerland.

Bernd’s pharmaceutical journey began at Chiron Behring (now part of Novartis), where he held international roles in marketing and sales before rising to Head of the Global Influenza Franchise. There, he managed product launches, oversaw supply during critical vaccine shortages, and coordinated a national awareness campaign with the German Ministry of Health — establishing his credentials as a leader in public health strategy and crisis readiness.

Across more than 30 successful international product launches, Bernd has built a reputation for bridging commercial, access, and policy goals into coherent strategies. His strengths include stakeholder mapping, payer contracting, cross-border pricing strategy, and guiding teams through complex regulatory and access environments. He is also a respected mentor and team builder.

Bernd holds a degree in Economics and combines strategic insight with solid operational expertise in budgeting, P&L management, and commercial planning. Multilingual and globally minded, he speaks German, English, French, and Italian and operates seamlessly across diverse health systems and corporate cultures.