About Us
A next-generation health information advisory, Agonist Health guides collaboration between information-intensive healthcare organizations to radically improve patients’ lives. Our firm specializes in harnessing the power of real world evidence to enable cutting edge clinical research methods, value based relationships, and innovations in digital health.
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT
Van Crocker Jr.
Van Crocker has spent his 25+ year career driving innovation and change in the healthcare field in senior operating roles and as a management consultant. As the President and Founder of Agonist Health, he has partnered with a broad array of innovators in the real world evidence sector, including private equity firms, pharmaceutical companies, technology developers and expert advisories.
Previously, Van co-founded and led Vidence (now a division of City of Hope) as its CEO, navigating the oncology information company through the COVID pandemic. Prior to Vidence, Van was President and Founder of Healthagen, the life sciences-facing analytics division of Aetna/CVS, harnessing large scale health data for AI/machine learning applications, value based relationships for drugs and devices, clinical trials, and digital health. Healthagen is now known as CVS Real World Evidence.
Before Healthagen, Van led finance and business development for Exicure, a public biotechnology company funded by AbbVie and Bill Gates. The company and its affiliates have developed a broad array of nanoparticle-based genetic therapies and diagnostic platforms, with applications including cancer and rare diseases. Van began his healthcare career as a management consultant with Booz & Company, where he focused on strategic initiatives for payer/provider clients.
Van holds a BS from the University of Virginia and an MBA with Honors from Kellogg School of Management.
VICE PRESIDENT, PATIENT RECRUITMENT
Joe Buser
A pharmaceutical and clinical trial sales executive with more than 37 years of experience in commercial and clinical healthcare, Joe Buser has spent the past 12 years focused on clinical trial patient recruitment. Prior to joining Agonist Health, Joe was the Chief Revenue Officer of Global Life Sciences Alliance, a global network of clinical research solutions, and held senior positions at leading pharmaceutical, clinical research and patient recruitment organizations including GSK, CaptureProof, Sharecare, and QualityHealth.