Ray Ashton, FRSB, CBiol

Medical Writer — HIV, Hepatitis & Oncology

UK-based medical writer with over 25 years of scientific communications experience, including 16 years as Lead Scientific Specialist at PAREXEL. Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and Chartered Biologist — two of the most rigorous professional designations in UK life sciences.

Twenty-Five Years of Getting It Right

Ray has been writing about HIV, hepatitis, and other infectious diseases since 1998 — the year before the first protease inhibitor combinations transformed HIV from terminal illness to chronic condition. He has watched the medical communications field evolve through the entire HAART era, the integrase inhibitor era, the long-acting injectables era, and now the generics era. The deep familiarity matters: what’s actually new versus what’s been said before, what’s clinically meaningful versus what’s marketing language, and what patients actually need to make sense of any of it.

His chartered status — Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, Chartered Biologist — is regulated by a UK professional body with formal codes of conduct around scientific accuracy. When Ray writes about HIV treatment options, Biktarvy side effects, or generic HIV medication access, his name and his accreditation are both on the line.

From the Field to the Page

Ray began his career in scientific communications at PAREXEL — a global clinical research and medical communications organization — where he served as Lead Scientific Specialist for 16 years between 1998 and 2014. During that time he contributed to scientific publications and medical communications across a broad range of therapeutic areas, building deep expertise in HIV, hepatitis, and oncology communications that underpins his work today.

In 2014, Ray founded AshtonMediCom, his independent medical writing consultancy, through which he continues to deliver high-quality scientific communications to pharmaceutical and healthcare clients. His professional profile confirms experience producing review articles and scientific communications related to HIV, herpes viruses, and hepatitis, alongside work in oncology, neurology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, and general medicine.

What Ray Contributes to SunnyPharma

How Ray Writes

Ray’s writing process is shaped by the CRO years. At PAREXEL, every scientific publication moved through layered review by clinical experts, regulatory specialists, statisticians, and pharma sponsors before it left the building. Nothing went out the door on the writer’s word alone. Ray brings that habit to SunnyPharma: every claim is sourced, every dose is checked against the prescribing information, every piece of cost data is dated and traceable.

The independence years at AshtonMediCom added a second discipline: writing without a sponsor’s editorial direction. SunnyPharma’s content has no manufacturer behind it shaping the conclusions. Ray has spent more than a decade writing in that mode, where the only stakeholder is the reader.

Writing Standards & Editorial Transparency

All content authored by Ray Ashton for SunnyPharma is developed in accordance with ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) recommendations, GPP (Good Publication Practice) guidelines, and current evidence-based clinical standards. As a Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, Ray is bound by a formal professional code of conduct that requires accuracy, integrity, and the responsible communication of science.

Credentials & Background

Areas of Expertise

Why Ray Writes for SunnyPharma

The pharma industry pays Ray to write about new branded therapies. SunnyPharma is one of the few places he writes about the generics that compete with them. The work is editorially independent of his commercial client list, and the mission — making sure the patient who can’t afford the brand still gets accurate information about their alternatives — is the part of the field he wishes the broader industry had ever bothered to fund.