AbbVie celebrates 10 years in Canada
Tracey Ramsay talks to NPC Healthbiz Weekly about AbbVie Canada’s 10th anniversary milestone and what the future holds for the company (883 words, 4.5 minutes)
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Tracey Ramsay, Vice President and General Manager at AbbVie Canada, is very proud of everything AbbVie Canada has accomplished in the last decade, following the company’s 2013 spin-off from Abbott Laboratories. Ramsay’s professional journey with the company began while she was working for Allergan, which was acquired by AbbVie in May 2020. Allergan then became part of the new organization during the Covid-19 lockdown, which Ramsay says was challenging but also rewarding.
She notes the company’s success lies in the fact that they always put patients’ needs above anything else. “Our core ambition and vision are to make an incredible difference for patients, and that’s through innovative medicines,” she said. “Since 2013, we have extensively diversified our portfolio. In fact, we’ve brought 44 new indications or products to the Canadian market in the last 10 years.”
Ramsay [pictured below] also states that one of the company’s goals is to be the best in class and the first in class, which is why they prioritize research and clinical trials. She emphasizes, “We aim to elevate the standard of care through innovative medicines for patients.”
Ramsay also highlights AbbVie’s milestones from a cultural perspective. She says that AbbVie’s leaders think of their culture and talent as the core of everything they do. In 2022, they were recognized by the organization Great Place to Work, and she says it is because of their commitment to their employees. “In terms of diversity, equity, equality, and inclusion, we really have a high representation of females across our company, for example,” she said. “We’ve got great diversity at all levels of the organization and are proud of those key milestones.”
According to Ramsay, Canada plays an important role in AbbVie’s global strategy. She says that as a global organization, they are all driving toward the same vision and mission in terms of making a remarkable difference, and Canada is AbbVie’s second-largest affiliate.
“Our role is actually one of talent development because, in Canada, we’ve got a very complex healthcare environment,” she said. “What we’re able to do is be an incubator for talent development from our global organization into Canada, but also be a net exporter of talent from Canada to work with our global organization.” She added that aside from playing a key role in talent, Canada is also a game changer when it comes to R&D. She said the company has over 94 active trials in Canada.
Ramsay sees AbbVie’s future in Canada with optimism and excitement. She says the company's main ambition is to continue to play a leadership role in the Canadian life science market but also to advance their mid and late-stage pipelines. “We want to continue to be leaders in terms of helping to ensure a predictable, sustainable and timely regulatory policy framework that ensures timely access to innovations for patients,” she said.
“We would [also] like to continue to play a role in the modernization of the Canadian healthcare landscape,” she added. “Not only from a policy and regulatory perspective but also in terms of how Canada can be a leader. We believe that we can be a partner in this life science ecosystem to work with stakeholders and healthcare providers to do that.”
THIS WEEK 05/23/23
Eisai Co. and Biogen announced that Health Canada has accepted a New Drug Submission for lecanemab (Leqembi) for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease with confirmed amyloid pathology in the brain.
Novartis Canada inaugurated its new Montréal office in Old Montréal, located in Place Gare Viger. The office has been designed to provide a modern workplace for Novartis associates and facilitate collaboration with stakeholders.
Vifor Fresenius Medical Care Renal Pharma, based in Switzerland, and Cara Therapeutics, Inc. of Connecticut, announced that England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended difelikefalin (Kapruvia) for the treatment of moderate-to-severe CKD-associated pruritus in adult patients on hemodialysis.
Elvium Life Sciences’ methylphenidate hydrochloride (Foquest) has been added to the public drug formularies in Ontario and Quebec and can now be reimbursed in both provinces. Elvium is an independent, associated company of Purdue Pharma (Canada).
LISTEN NOW
In season nine of the NPC Podcast, Anastasia Lit, Co-founder of TechPharus, talks about using AI to enhance medical care and research, the rapid development of software and AI technologies, and how AI is transforming the labour market. Hear her in conversation with podcast hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain.
HEALTHBIZ REWIND
This new feature of NPC Healthbiz Weekly looks back at some of the most insightful moments from previous NPC Podcast episodes. In Healthbiz Rewind, you’ll read bold life sci predictions made during the renowned “Prognostication Korner” segment of the NPC Podcast.
Mark Smithyes
Toronto
Janus Life Sciences Consulting
President
Season 8, episode 05
Listen to this episode here
What bold predictions will you make about the life sciences industry during the coming 12 to 24 months?
We are going to see significant progress in the life sciences sector. There is a strong ecosystem, and all the pieces are coming together. I think the government is starting to recognize how important we are and that the impact we have on the economy and on the well-being of Ontarians is extraordinary. There is also a lot of investment going into lab spaces in Ontario.
What I see [in Canada] is all the ingredients of an incredible life sciences community that rivals Boston, San Francisco, and those areas. I think in the next 12 or 24 months, we will be entering the “golden age” of life sciences in Ontario.
NEXT WEEK
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