Dr Elena Franke

Background

Doctor of Medicine (MD), specialist in paediatrics (Berlin-Buch University Hospital, Germany)

Doctorate (PhD) on "The effects of various environmental factors on the oxygen transport function of the blood in children"

Many years in the international pharmaceutical industry (including more than 18 years at Bayer AG and Heel GmbH in various international management positions; several years in clinical development and several years in medical affairs)

Now five years with a physicians' organisation (Berlin) in the field of holistic medicine; also gives webinars on various medical topics

What drives me

Throughout my career as a doctor – and I worked in a medical role the whole time, including in the pharmaceutical industry – I made an observation that changed how I see healing: some people are rarely ill, while others are often ill. And these differences had less to do with chance than with the foundations of their health: their diet, their sleep, their metabolism, their cellular resilience. This insight led me to the question that has shaped all my work ever since: Why do we treat diseases instead of building health?

Medicine has made enormous progress in recent decades – in diagnostics, in therapy, in surgery. Today we can treat what was incurable just a few generations ago. But for all this brilliance, we have lost sight of something fundamental. The most valuable investment in health happens before any symptoms appear. That is why I shifted my focus from treating established diseases to preventive medicine.

My career

I completed my specialist training in paediatrics from 1990 to 1997 at the University Children's Hospital Berlin-Buch. There I worked in various areas – from pulmonology and gastroenterology to neonatology – and gained extensive clinical experience. But with every year at the bedside, my interest in the fundamental questions also grew: Why do some children heal faster than others? What factors influence regeneration at a cellular level? It was these questions that increasingly occupied me.

In 1999, after additional training, I moved into the pharmaceutical industry, where I worked for over 18 years in various management positions and therapeutic areas.

During this time, I was responsible for countless events and congresses, trained doctors and guided medicines from development through to market launch. I learned how scientific hypotheses become effective therapies – through precise planning, painstaking research and a deep understanding of biological processes.

At the same time, I became a link between science and medical practice. I presented complex study data in a practical way, translating research findings into everyday treatment. This work sharpened my ability to build bridges – between research and the clinic, between data and patients.

Focus on prevention and holistic medicine

Today I work for a physicians' organisation in the field of holistic medicine, and this is where things come full circle. My approach is centred on prevention. I want to help people build health before disease develops. That means supporting patients and maintaining their quality of life, even when they already have chronic conditions. Common conditions such as diabetes and obesity are a particular focus.

In my webinars, I share exactly this perspective. The topics range from metabolic diseases to clinical research. I show how diseases can be prevented and how medicines are developed, from the first hypothesis to approval.

What I bring to Melinava

Throughout my many years as a doctor and medical adviser, I have seen every person as an individual. For me, the focus is not on the disease but on the person as a whole. It is precisely this holistic approach that forms the basis of my medical practice and my work at Melinava.

Here I support the development of products that promote the body's natural healing process. After all, food supplements can be a key pillar of prevention.

Liposomal technology in particular helps to support the bioavailability of the nutrients in our products.

I am convinced that the body has amazing healing powers when we create the right conditions for it. This preventive perspective shapes all my work at Melinava.

Warm regards
Dr Elena Franke