Neal Somchand, MSc

Principal, Tokyo

Neal has been a part of Deallus for over four years and has over eight years of experience as a consultant for medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Neal has managed projects across various geographies, with a large amount taking place in Japan and central Europe. He has expertise in a number of different therapy areas including immune-oncology and orphan diseases, and his experience with pricing and reimbursement as well as product and portfolio planning are an asset to the team.

What do you bring to Deallus and clients that is unique?

I think the biggest thing is my experience in living and working in Europe, Japan and India. It’s given me a lot of exposure to these three cultures and I try to act as a bridge between them. I really try to do this with my Japanese clients, to help them understand global contexts and mindsets, but also for our global clients with affiliates in Japan, helping them understand the context and nuance of Japan.

I had a serious illness when I was younger and the result was chronic pain for a number of years. That gave me a first-hand understanding of how health can really impact your life. So I’m really passionate about helping to drive innovation in healthcare and ensure that people have access to good medicine and good devices. That’s why I set up and ran a pain clinic in India. I know you don’t always remember the bigger picture in day-to-day consulting but it’s definitely still a main driver for me.

Background and experience

10+ years consulting, including four years at L.E.K. Japan working with pharma companies addressing strategic launch planning, market access, and product management questions
Set up and led a pain clinic in India, serving 80+ families
Deep expertise in Japan market assessments, market entry strategy, and pricing, including EU 5

Therapy area expertise

Oncology
Orphan Diseases

Life outside of work

I love cooking. I’m a vegan so am passionate about cooking healthy foods for myself but I also use cooking as a sort of meditative practice. And I’ve recently gotten really into swimming – I’ve started swimming a lot of open water races in Japan and have set myself a goal of swimming the English Channel in the next few years.