Jumo Health Appoints Brittany Erana Chief Executive Officer to Lead Next Phase of Growth
NEW HAVEN, CT., June 2, 2025 -- Jumo Health, a global leader in optimizing the patient experience for clinical trials, today announced the appointment of Brittany Erana as Chief Executive Officer. With more than 20 years of experience in digitally enabled research and patient-centered innovation, Erana will lead the company’s next stage of strategic growth focused on increasing patient activation and reducing trial dropout rates.
Prior to joining Jumo Health, Erana served as General Manager of patient first digital solutions at PPD, one of the world’s leading contract research organizations. There, she oversaw digital transformation strategies that modernized clinical research operations, enhanced patient experience, and improved data collection.
"Building the future of healthcare with the patient at the center has been the throughline of my career,” said Erana. “I’m thrilled to be joining Jumo Health at this pivotal moment to help transform how people are engaged in clinical research, from first touch to final visit and improving how our clients bring new therapies to market for those who need them most.”
Erana will be responsible for guiding Jumo Health through a dynamic phase of growth and transformation, in partnership with Falfurrias Management Partners, who acquired Jumo Health in August 2024. Her focus will be on expanding Jumo Health’s capabilities through organic and acquisitive growth opportunities, enabling the company to address key friction points in trial awareness, accessibility, and adherence, especially for underrepresented patient populations.
“As trial dropout rates rise, protocol complexity increases, and timelines lengthen, sponsors need more than study awareness campaigns, they need personalized, scalable patient experience solutions,” said Adam Cossman, Jumo Health’s Executive Chairman and an executive advisor on the Falfurrias team. “Brittany’s leadership will be pivotal in meeting this need and building upon Jumo Health’s legacy in clinical innovation.”
About Jumo Health
Jumo Health (www.jumohealth.com) is a global leader in patient experience optimization, leveraging behavioral science, health literacy, and creative storytelling to drive informed participation in clinical trials. We enable patients to uncover the information they need, in the formats they desire, accessed via the channels they prefer, to become active clinical trial participants. Spanning 24 therapeutic areas and 180 conditions in 90 languages, our human-centered educational solutions are the choice of 17 of the world’s top 25 life sciences companies to help them reduce stigma, eliminate fear, and build trust with target patient populations, including those which are historically underrepresented. By creating accessible, relevant, and impactful communications, we empower patients to take charge of their health, remove barriers to clinical trial participation, and ultimately contribute to better outcomes.
About Falfurrias
Falfurrias Capital Partners is an operationally focused middle-market private equity fund focused on investing in growth companies. The team is comprised of investors and proven operators, as well as in-house resources across strategy & market insights, risk & integration, talent, and technology. The fund is managed by Falfurrias Management Partners, a Charlotte-based private equity firm founded in 2006 by Hugh McColl Jr., former chairman and CEO of Bank of America; Marc Oken, former CFO of Bank of America; and Managing Partner Ed McMahan. The firm has raised $3.6 billion across seven funds and invests in growing, middle-market businesses in sectors where the firm's operational resources, relationships, and sector expertise can be employed to complement portfolio company executive teams in support of growth objectives. For more information, visit www.falfurrias.com.
Health Literacy Matters: 3 Ways to Improve Patient Understanding
Written By: Columba Quigley, MD
Every day, thousands worldwide find out they have a disease or health condition that requires care. And each day more and more people don’t get the care they need because they don’t understand their diagnosis or their options regarding treatment and management.
One option that many people are unaware of is participating in a clinical trial. While there are thousands of active clinical trials that could provide patients with low-cost or novel treatment, according to the NIH only about 5% of American adults have participated in a clinical trial. And younger adults, minorities, and people with lower education are even less likely to participate.
When diverse populations aren’t included as participants in clinical trials, knowledge about the efficacy of a treatment can get skewed toward one population or group over another. Without diversity, doctors can’t fully understand why a treatment works differently in one population compared to another. Information like this can significantly affect how doctors treat patients.
This is why health literacy matters.
Not familiar with the term “health literacy”? Here’s a simple definition: Health literacy means you can…
- Get the medical information you need
- Read the information provided
- Understand the information
- Make informed health decisions
- Follow instructions for the treatment prescribed
I believe everyone deserves access to relatable medical resources regardless of age, language, culture, or education. I also believe no one should need a PhD or MD to understand what’s happening in their bodies or what will happen in a clinical trial they’re considering. Yet, 88% of adults aren’t health literate, and 50% can’t read beyond an 8th-grade level. Here’s another scary statistic: 65% of people say they receive resource materials they can’t understand.
Not only are 88% of adults not health literate, but most of the educational materials they receive are written at a 10th-grade reading level or higher. Yet, the National Institute of Health states that medical educational materials “should not exceed a 6th-grade reading level.” Also, in a recent survey by Market Media US, more than 90 million people in the United States alone struggle with understanding and using health information.
Combine that with forgotten information, Dr Google, and advice from friends of friends, and a perfect storm of confusion, fear, and misunderstandings can be created. It is not surprising that patients can be overwhelmed by a new diagnosis and the decision to start a new treatment.
Similarly, when considering joining a clinical trial, the sheer volume of information potential participants need to process can impede the decision to join. In addition, patients may prefer to digest the information in a particular format, be it direct discussion, learning online, watching a video, listening to a podcast, or reading a brochure. Therefore, creating materials that are cognizant of an audience’s education level, cultural background, socio-economic background, and age is essential.
Having materials that are easy to understand is critical. Take, for example, clinical trials – misunderstandings can derail the research before it even begins. If patients don’t understand what researchers are studying or what will happen during the study, they can be reluctant to join, much less stay enrolled. And, if patients don’t enter these studies, new medicines can’t be researched to see if they’re safe and can help.
According to an article published by the CDC in October 2024: “In today’s communication-rich environment, people look to many places for information about their health and safety. However, much of the publicly available health and safety information is too technical, too complex, and often too vague about recommended actions.”
So, how can we bridge the gap between a doctor’s knowledge and a patient’s understanding? Below are three strategies that can help.
1) Write resources and materials that fit your target audience’s age, education, and cognitive level.
- Make sentences easy to read, short and to the point
- Use bullets wherever possible
- Use icons, infographics, or illustrations to help drive home your message visually
- Pay attention to word counts, syllable counts, and your use of familiar words
2) Consider the target audience’s preferred language.
- Invest in a reputable translation service to ensure the translation of your content is accurate
- Even within English, consider the unique communities you are looking to reach and use the vernacular and context that is familiar to that community
3) Include a glossary to explain difficult words or concepts.
- Avoid medical jargon
- Explain things simply
- Include clear definitions for potentially unfamiliar words
Along with keeping these strategies in mind, it is also important to remember that different formats – digital, print, audio, video – work better for different audiences. Paying attention to all these factors serves to improve health literacy, and to ensure that health education materials truly help those who need them most.
Adopting these strategies across all health education materials will help the pharmaceutical industry bring information about clinical research opportunities to a wider population, which can improve health equity for all.