How the patient perspective provides eye-opening insights for Pharma
Danny Goldman describes how his cancer patient journey helped him grow professionally (420 words, 2.5 min)
“Patient advocacy plays a huge role for any job in the Pharma industry,” said Danny Goldman, Head of Strategy and Portfolio Operations, Canada at Sanofi. “I’m very proud to work for a company that actually walks the talk about being patient-centric.”
Speaking on the National Pharmaceutical Congress podcast, Goldman (photo below) shared how his personal experience with cancer changed his perspective on the industry.
“I had no idea what it felt like to wait for treatment, wait for pathology results, navigate a very complex health care system and get access to treatments in a timely manner,” he said. “In Pharma, we sit through focus groups and a ton of market research and you think you have a genuine appreciation for what the patient journey is, right? But going through it yourself is very, very eye-opening.”
Goldman said his experience helped him prioritize and readjust his work-life balance. “I had to take almost a year off work to deal with my cancer,” he said, which gave him a chance to spend more time with family.
“When I returned, I was laser-focused on taking a role in oncology to use my firsthand knowledge,” he said. “[It] was probably one of the most rewarding roles I’ve ever been in, because I felt that I had a personal obligation to use my cancer journey to help others.”
Goldman described the challenges he faced when seeking resources and patient support. “Testicular cancer is a pretty rare diagnosis,” he said, “so I quickly realized that I’d have to go outside of Canada.”
He eventually found Imerman Angels, which helped to match him with a cancer mentor in the US. “I spoke to this person over a dozen times, asking him every little question that was on my mind, and he made my nightmare a little bit more [manageable].”
Later, Goldman chose to give back by becoming a mentor himself and a Canadian ambassador for Imerman Angels. “I’ve been able to talk to people of all ages at different stages of disease,” he said. “For me to be able to give a person even a little bit more hope [is] extremely rewarding.”
“At the end of the day, my style at work and in my personal life is that I’m a very open book, and I think the people I speak to really appreciate knowing that they can ask me anything without judgement or embarrassment.”
Ultimately, Goldman said that his personal experience with cancer has helped him better understand how the strategic decisions he makes as an industry professional affect patients.
THIS WEEK 04/12/22
Novartis announced that the U.S. FDA granted accelerated approval to Vijoice (alpelisib) for the treatment of patients with severe manifestations of PIK3CA-Related Overgrowth Spectrum (PROS) who require systemic therapy. Continued approval may be conditional on verification and description of clinical benefit from confirmatory evidence, in accordance with the Accelerated Approval Program.
BioXcel Therapeutics announced that the U.S. FDA approved Igalmi (dexmedetomidine) sublingual film for the treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder in adult patients. The approval is based on data from two pivotal randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, parallel-group Phase 3 clinical trials.
CanSino Biologics also known as CanSinoBIO, a Chinese vaccine company, announced that the National Medical Products Administration of China (NMPA) approved the clinical trial application of its Covid-19 mRNA vaccine in China. Pre-clinical trial results showed that the company's Covid-19 vaccine can induce neutralizing antibodies against multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants. (In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Canadian government partnered with CanSinoBIOto produce a made-in-Canada vaccine. After many months and infusion of millions of Canadian taxpayer dollars, the deal fell apart and not a single shot was produced.)
Merck announced that Health Canada has approved an expanded indication of GARDASIL 9 in patients between nine and 45 years of age for the prevention of infection caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58. This market authorization was granted subject to the results of clinical trials to establish its clinical benefit.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Season Six of the NPC Podcast has concluded, an ongoing exploration of Pharma’s purpose, process, and people with a diverse list of guests across eight episodes.
Podcast co-hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain spoke with guests for various perspectives on career development, understanding cancer patient journeys, the impact of the pandemic on work in Pharma, and lessons from the vaccine rollout. Did you miss an episode? Catch up now!
CANADIAN HEALTHCARE MARKETING HALL OF FAME
The Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame awards were established in 2002 to honour healthcare marketers who have contributed to our vocation and inspire others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 18 years. In the selection committee’s view, they stand for a representative cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. Each week, NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge one past Hall of Fame Honouree.
2013 Inductee
Joanne Klue
Scarborough, Ont.
Editor’s Note: Joanne is currently Director of Account Services & Strategic Planning at PTM OneSource.
Joanne Klue, Marketing Services Director at Cegedim Relationship Management in Scarborough, Ont., has adapted to many changes in her career at the company, a career that has now spanned nearly three decades and seen several changes in corporate names and management. Klue joined the firm in 1985 when it was called Walsh as an account manager, back when customer relationship management (CRM) solutions were paper-based. Since that time, the firm has been known as IMS Health Strategic Technologies, Synavant, Dendrite, Cegedim Dendrite and now Cegedim, the only global solutions provider of both sales and marketing products and services solutions for the life sciences sector.
Klue was instrumental in establishing a marketing services division within the company and has held various sales and management positions at the organization. She has been responsible for all direct marketing applications and custom communications, publisher circulation development and list supply, marketing target lists, print and full-service letter shop services, as well as Physician Connect, the company’s Key Opinion Leader mapping and identification system.
Over time, Klue has witnessed the dwindling of field forces across the pharma industry and has seen marketing efforts transform from huge endeavours to reach mass numbers of physicians to smaller projects focusing on marketing specialty products that are of interest to a specific group of physicians.
“I think one of the big changes is that the days of clients marketing
blockbuster drugs are gone,” says Klue. “It’s more about reaching specialty audiences to market niche products. We work directly with the pharma company or advertising agency to create a customized program where we will recommend multiple waves [of marketing content] that are highly personalized.”
Targeting smaller numbers of physicians creates an opportunity for relationship marketing, according to Klue. “We try to encourage communication between the client and the audience more than we ever have before,” she says.
And even in a digital age, Klue says a mix of media is optimal for effective marketing to healthcare professionals. “There will always be room for different approaches to marketing,” says Klue. “Marketing has to be multi-faceted to be successful. Print is still valuable and is one of the best ways of communicating information.”
Relationship management demands staying current with the needs of the marketer and the acceptance level of the target market adds Klue.
She can attest to the axiom that the more things change, the more they stay the same. “As things have changed in the industry, we have to sometimes work in a very different way with our clients, but it is about going back to basics and applying marketing principles,” she says.
Klue, who recently stepped down after a decade of sitting on the Board of Directors of the Ontario Pharmaceutical Marketing.
NEXT WEEK
In the 04/19 edition of the NPC Healthbiz Weekly, we’ll start our recap of last week’s 2022 NPC Spring Webinar, New Career Skills for Pharma’s Post-Covid Era. It’s easy to get your no-charge subscription and have the issue sent to your phone or inbox each Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. sharp.
Stay safe, stay sure, and stay on your game. We’ll see you again next week.