Patient Authentic
Patient Authentic is a Boston-based boutique agency that builds custom patient engagement events and programming for pharmaceutical companies and patient advocacy organizations. Founded in 2020 by patient advocate Lilly Stairs, the firm delivers workshops, virtual programs, and advocacy engagement services to clients including Amgen, Alexion, and Horizon Therapeutics.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Patient Authentic does
Patient Authentic is a Boston-based boutique agency founded in 2020 by Lilly Stairs, an internationally recognized patient advocate and healthcare thought leader who serves as Board Chair of the Autoimmune Association and brings lived experience with psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's disease. The company builds custom events and programming for the patient community, serving two primary customer segments: pharmaceutical companies seeking patient engagement and advocacy support beyond traditional advisory boards, and patient advocacy organizations needing professionally produced programming for their communities. Headcount is small (1-10 employees), with a team spanning project management, meeting planning, executive assistance, and social media.
The company's service offering is organized into three interconnected lines: Workshops (custom in-person or hybrid events with professional development content covering topics such as mental health, health equity, and doctor-patient communication), Virtual Programs (virtual summits, webinar series, and online courses), and Patient Advocacy + Engagement (advisory boards, insights, patient journey mapping, stakeholder engagement, and speaker series). It also maintains an Airtable-based Speaker Database to systematize speaker sourcing. The agency has no proprietary technology platform; its competitive differentiation rests on founder expertise, healthcare ecosystem relationships, and bespoke delivery.
Patient Authentic generates revenue through project-based professional services engagements priced on a quote-based model, with multi-year contract cadence. Clients book discovery calls directly through the company's website. The firm is founder-owned and bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, and reach extends to marquee enterprise clients including Amgen, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, and Horizon Therapeutics, alongside nonprofit relationships with the Autoimmune Association and Patients Rising. The founder's adjacent personal brands — Chronic Boss Collective community platform and Lilly Stairs coaching/speaking — drive top-of-funnel visibility and support lead generation.
Patient Authentic firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Patient Authentic
- Legal name
- Patient Authentic
- Website
- https://patientauthentic.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Patient Authentic is a Boston-based boutique agency that builds custom patient engagement events and programming for pharmaceutical companies and patient advocacy organizations. Founded in 2020 by patient advocate Lilly Stairs, the firm delivers workshops, virtual programs, and advocacy engagement services to clients including Amgen, Alexion, and Horizon Therapeutics.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Patient Authentic industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Patient Engagement & Advocacy Services
- akta.pro primary industry
- Patient Education, Content & Personalized Journey Orchestration (HLACAEAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Patient Community, Peer Support & Social Engagement (HLACAEAK)
Keywords
Where Patient Authentic is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Patient Authentic business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Custom Event and Program Development: Patient Authentic builds custom workshops, virtual events, courses, and programs for clients. Services include advisory boards, patient journey mapping, insights sessions, stakeholder engagement, speaker series, and patient education programs. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting and program development engagements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom Program Development |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Patient Authentic product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Patient Authentic is a boutique agency that designs and produces custom patient-centered events, workshops, virtual programs, and advisory boards for pharmaceutical companies, patient advocacy organizations, and healthcare agencies. The company curates end-to-end programming including speaker sourcing, attendee recruitment, logistics management, professional development content, and outcomes reporting to help clients authentically engage patient communities.
Product overview
Patient Authentic is a boutique agency that builds custom events and programming for the patient community. The company offers three interconnected service lines: Workshops (custom on-site or hybrid workshops with professional development content), Virtual Programs (virtual summits, webinar series, and online courses), and Patient Advocacy + Engagement (advisory boards, insights, patient journey mapping, and stakeholder engagement). The company also maintains a Speaker Database for sourcing world-class speakers across events. All services are tailored to pharmaceutical companies, patient advocacy organizations, and healthcare stakeholders seeking patient-centered programming.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Chronic Boss Collective: A related brand/community mentioned on the website for monthly musings from Lilly.
Products and services
- Workshops Custom-designed patient workshops featuring dynamic speakers and content focused on professional development, capacity building, and facilitated insights on topics such as mental health, health equity, and doctor/patient communication. Workshops can serve as standalone events or add-ons to advisory boards.
- Virtual Programs Custom virtual events, courses, and programs including virtual summits, webinar series, and online courses that empower and educate patient communities with expert speakers and facilitators.
- Patient Advocacy + Engagement Traditional advocacy and engagement support including advisory boards, insights sessions, patient journey mapping, stakeholder engagement, speaker series, and patient education services for pharmaceutical companies and patient advocacy organizations.
- Speaker Database A speaker database where interested speakers can apply to be considered for upcoming and future Patient Authentic events aligned with industry and speaking topics.
Quantifiable outcome
- 2500+ participants engaged at signature summits
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Patient Authentic
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Patient Authentic technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Patient Authentic partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.
- Autoimmune AssociationcorePatient Authentic partnered with Autoimmune Association to develop the Autoimmune Community Summit, now a signature annual event entering its fourth year. The inaugural two-day virtual summit featured 23 educational sessions and 50+ expert speakers including physicians, nurses, policy experts, and patient advocates.
- Patients RisingcorePatient Authentic developed the Patients Rising Advocacy Master Class, a 14-week immersive experience teaching patients about advocacy on and off the hill. Over 300 patients and caregivers have completed the course to date.
- Alexion PharmaceuticalskeyPatient Authentic supported Alexion in developing the Women in Rare event - a groundbreaking workshop for rare patient and caregiver leaders focusing on professional growth and women's health equity in the rare disease community.
- Horizon TherapeuticskeyPatient Authentic worked with Horizon Therapeutics to produce the Rare Mindset Forum, a two-day event for rare non-profit leaders focused on professional development and mental health support collaboration in the rare community.
- AmgenkeyPatient Authentic worked with Amgen to produce the Rare Autoimmune Emerging Leaders Workshop - a two-day professional development and networking event for emerging patient leaders living with rare autoimmune conditions.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Patient Authentic competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Snow Companies: Patient storytelling and engagement agency serving pharmaceutical companies, directly comparable to Patient Authentic's patient advocacy and engagement programming for pharma clients.
- Patients & Purpose: FCB Health's patient-focused pharma agency that builds patient communities, advocacy programs, and engagement campaigns, closely overlapping with Patient Authentic's service lines.
Emerging players
- Health Union: Operates condition-specific online patient communities (e.g., autoimmune, rare disease) and could partner with or compete against Patient Authentic's community-building programs.
- Inspire: Online patient community platform connecting patients and caregivers across thousands of conditions; comparable in patient community engagement even though delivered as a software platform rather than bespoke events.
- MyHealthTeams: Operates condition-specific social networks for patients (including autoimmune and chronic conditions), overlapping with Patient Authentic's community and patient engagement programs.
Broad incumbents
- Real Chemistry: Large healthcare communications and marketing agency (formerly W2O) offering patient engagement, advocacy, and communications services at significantly greater scale than Patient Authentic.
- Evoke: Global healthcare communications agency providing patient engagement, medical communications, and advocacy services to pharma, with overlapping capabilities to Patient Authentic's bespoke programming.
- Ogilvy Health: Healthcare advertising and communications division of Ogilvy offering patient and HCP engagement programs to pharma; broader portfolio but comparable service category.
- FCB Health: Major healthcare creative agency within IPG that delivers patient engagement and advocacy campaigns, overlapping with Patient Authentic's pharma programming work.
- PatientPoint: Larger patient engagement platform focused on point-of-care education and communications; comparable end customer (pharma) and patient engagement mission.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Patient Authentic social profiles
Digital presencePatient Authentic financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Patient Authentic leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Patient Authentic funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Patient Authentic M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Patient Authentic
What does Patient Authentic do?
Patient Authentic is a boutique agency that designs and produces custom patient-centered events, workshops, virtual programs, and advisory boards for pharmaceutical companies, patient advocacy organizations, and healthcare agencies. The company curates end-to-end programming including speaker sourcing, attendee recruitment, logistics management, professional development content, and outcomes reporting to help clients authentically engage patient communities.
Is Patient Authentic a public or private company?
Patient Authentic is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Patient Authentic founded?
Patient Authentic was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Patient Authentic based?
Patient Authentic is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Patient Authentic make money?
One revenue line is on record: custom Event and Program Development.
Who are Patient Authentic's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Snow Companies and Patients & Purpose. Emerging players are Health Union, Inspire and MyHealthTeams. Broad incumbents are Real Chemistry, Evoke, Ogilvy Health, FCB Health and PatientPoint.
Does Patient Authentic have an API?
No public API is recorded for Patient Authentic.
What industry is Patient Authentic in?
Patient Authentic's product category is Patient Engagement & Advocacy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLACAEAE, Patient Education, Content & Personalized Journey Orchestration, with a secondary code of HLACAEAK, Patient Community, Peer Support & Social Engagement.