Neil Deacon, PhD

Founder and Managing Director

About me

For the past 13 years, I've been immersed in the dynamic world of life sciences and healthcare, collaborating with industry leaders worldwide to shape strategies that propel the field forward. This journey took a deeply personal turn in 2023 when my son was born with a rare genetic disease. Thanks to the strides in genomic medicine, we received a precise diagnosis within just seven weeks. Now, as I navigate the challenges of my son's condition, my passion for advancing healthcare has taken on a new urgency.

In response to this intersection of personal and professional worlds, I founded Health Advance Connect. This venture merges my extensive experience as a strategy consultant in health and life sciences with a deeply rooted mission – to drive advancements in healthcare, offering not only hope to my son but also to Australians and people around the globe.

While I'm excited about the promising future of healthcare through advancements in life sciences, I'm equally concerned about the disparities that arise from prolonged timelines between discovery and adoption, as well as issues of inequitable access. With a diverse background spanning start-ups, academic consortia, biotech, multinational corporations, local health systems, and government health departments, I'm committed to fostering collaboration across this diverse ecosystem.

I firmly believe that by working together, we can unearth effective and innovative solutions to overcome the myriad challenges we face today and those that await us as we usher in a new generation of health technologies. Let's build a future where healthcare advancements are not just groundbreaking but accessible to all who need them.

Our values

Humility

We respect the knowledge and experience of our clients

Integrity

We prioritise doing what’s right over profits

Kindness

We believe kind workplaces are the most enjoyable and productive

Experience

We actively contribute our wealth of experience at every opportunity

We see a future marked by collaborative efforts and innovative approaches, where all Australians, regardless of background or circumstance, have access to state-of-the-art therapies tailored to their individual needs.

Our vision

We collaborate across the health and life sciences ecosystem to develop, execute and evaluate strategies to advance treatment, diagnosis, and access to world-leading treatments for all Australians equitably.

Our Mission