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Monkeys not Donkeys, QbD Group’s life science marketing and communication agency, strengthens its team

To continue its growth and bring in additional expertise, MnD has welcomed three new monkeys: Maritina Kanatselou, Emma Buchet and Wouter Laroy.
QbD Acquires MnD

Monkeys not Donkeys (MnD), a scientific marketing and communication agency and part of the QbD Group, continues to strengthen its team by welcoming Maritina Kanatselou, Emma Buchet, and Wouter Laroy.

Maritina Kanatselou will become MnD’s new Art Director & Lead Designer. Maritina was visual designer and brand manager with biotechnology company Galapagos, providing art direction and quality control for their brand visuals. She has over 15 years of design experience and completed her BA at the University of West London, with additional education in Wales and Athens.

To add extra expertise to MnD’s editorial services, Emma Buchet will join the team as Copywriter. Emma holds a Masters in Scientific Communication and a BSc in Molecular Medicine. She also holds a science communication fellowship with Hiroshima University in Japan. Emma’s experience includes editorial support, grant applications, and scientific copywriting for innovation-driven organizations. Emma has Irish roots and lives in France. Therefore, she is fluent in French, while English is her mother tongue.

Maritina Kanatselou
Emma Buchet
Wouter Laroy

To bring in additional scientific knowledge, MnD has also teamed up with Wouter Laroy. Wouter has experience as Chief Scientific Officer and researcher at VIB in Belgium and John’s Hopkins Institute in the US. He holds a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Ghent (Belgium) and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Wouter has experience in marketing and business strategy within scientifically driven organizations. He also has a profound understanding of how to communicate with a wide range of key stakeholders, including investors, board members, collaboration partners, researchers, business developers, and marketers.

This is the first significant growth of MnD’s expertise since the company was acquired by QbD in April of this year.

Kristoff Baeten, founder and managing director of Monkeys not Donkeys, commented:  

“Since we became part of the QbD Group, we feel we have become more attractive as an agency to hire high profiles. As we are a small team, it’s so important to get the right people – those with the right experience, but also enough flexibility and vision to see beyond their area of expertise and be able to work across industries. These new additions will enable us to strengthen our existing team and bring in new and more in-depth expertise to be able to connect with our clients on many levels to gain a better understanding and make campaigns more effective. Wouter, Emma, and Maritina are a good fit with the Monkeys – we’re excited to see how their involvement helps us to evolve as a team and as a company. 

Bart Van Acker, founder and CEO of the QbD Group, stated:  

“We are very pleased to welcome Maritina, Emma and Wouter to the QbD Group. Just as we are continuously expanding our already broad ecosystem through strategic alliances and acquisitions, we support the growth of our subsidiaries in turn. Together with our commercialization team of ‘Health to Market’, these new additions will allow our Go to Market division to round out their existing design and editorial services and include more focused marketing and business strategy support to clients.”

About ‘Monkeys not Donkeys’  

Founded in 2010, Kristoff Baeten transformed his company into a full-service communication agency for life science organizations in 2018, by introducing the brand ‘Monkeys not Donkeys’. In April 2022, MnD officially joined the QbD Group to ensure its continued growth and offer additional support. The brand name refers to the creativity, inventiveness and positivity that drives its dynamic and well-balanced team of scientists, creative profiles and strategists. For more information, visit www.monkeysnotdonkeys.agency.

About the QbD Group

Since 2011, QbD has been providing quality solutions for product development and manufacturing. The QbD Group’s team offers the skills and expertise for solving complex problems for companies active in the life sciences. The QbD Group is headquartered in Belgium and has over 500 consultants worldwide in the Netherlands, Spain, France, the UK, Switzerland, Mexico, Colombia, and the US. For more information about the QbD Group, visit https://qbdgroup.com

QbD Group offers life science companies a range of services from idea to patient within seven divisions:

  • Regulatory Affairs: We help our clients in their journey throughout the entire drug and medical device regulatory lifecycle.
  • Clinical: We are an expert clinical solutions provider specialized in medical devices and biotech, offering global CRO services and consultancy.
  • Qualification and Validation: We guarantee that products meet quality demands and comply with regulations through the qualification and validation of your equipment, facilities, and process support.
  • Quality Assurance: We offer the full range of QA services necessary to get your product to market in a safe and compliant way, including auditing from certified auditors, setting up your QMS, and all QP (Qualified Person) activities.
  • Lab Services: Our QC division consists of a GMP laboratory that offers analytical services for testing pharmaceutical raw materials, excipients, and release testing of finished products.
  • Software Solutions & Services: Our solutions include a cloud-based and pre-validated QMS built for the life sciences, as well as eIFU services which enable IVD and MD manufacturers to digitalize paper Instructions For Use. Our range of services includes Computer System Validation and Digital Health services.
  • Business & Communications: We offer marketing and communication services to all life science clients and strategic, tailor-made services for commercialization.

Want to know how Monkeys not Donkeys can help you? Click here to get in touch!

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