An engineer by training, Kapila Viges likes to solve problems. She describes her career path as one that zig-zagged across multiple stops, including telecom start-ups, a university life sciences incubator, biomedical consulting, and now, CEO of the MPN Research Foundation (MPNRF).
Ritz Communications appears twice along Kapila’s career trajectory as the selected marketing communications firm.
“Ritz Communications was already aligned with the Illinois Medical District when I met Kapila in 2012,” says Elisabeth Ritz, founder and CEO of Ritz Communications. “We connected right away on Kapila’s marketing communications needs.”
Kapila echoes her sentiment. “I was fortunate to work with the PR professionals at Ritz on marketing communications for a biomedical start-up. When people tried to figure out how to translate complicated material for a general audience during these chaotic meetings, the Ritz team could cut through it all and present three to four relevant bullet points to the group.”
In 2020, Kapila became CEO of MPNRF in Chicago. The organization’s research-based mission focuses on original research in pursuit of new treatments — and eventually a cure — for the blood cancers polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and myelofibrosis, known collectively as myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). From her career experiences at different stages of the research and development lifecycle, Kapila learned how critical the patient’s voice is at each step for meaningful and successful therapeutic development.
Kapila contacted Ritz Communications in 2023. She needed a fresh outlook and actionable steps for a strategic marketing communications plan to engage MPNRF’s target audiences, including patients. The Ritz team delivered.
“Ritz Communications understands the research focus of MPNRF, and their team developed a marketing communications strategy to advance our mission for research and new treatments for people living with MPNs,” says Kapila. “Ritz has helped me translate my vision for the foundation with an actionable plan and messages that our stakeholders can engage with and appreciate.”
Solving problems continues for MPNRF and Ritz Communications to highlight the patient’s voice, build effective media relationships, provide marketing communication insights, and suggest thought leadership strategies. It is all part of the Ritz Communications collective toolkit for MPNRF and the audiences they serve.
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