Balancing innovation and industry challenges at Eli Lilly Canada
Having a background in neuroscience has benefited company President and GM Kenneth Custer (Issue #325, 1,100 words, 4.5 minutes)
Good morning, and welcome to the NPC Healthbiz Weekly e-newsletter from the National Pharmaceutical Congress and Chronicle Companies.
Advancements in therapeutics, innovation in healthcare, and the integration of technologies such as artificial intelligence are reshaping how pharma companies approach drug discovery, development, commercialization, and leadership. On an episode of the NPC Podcast, Kenneth Custer, President and General Manager of Eli Lilly Canada, said his neuroscience background has helped shape his industry perspective.
Custer [pictured below] said that when he led Lilly’s business development unit, he worked on acquisitions in gene therapy for neurodegenerative and sensory disorders. Now, the Lilly Canada team is working on the approval of donanemab, a disease-modifying medication for Alzheimer’s. “It’s been rewarding to revisit my background as an academic researcher in CNS [central nervous system] biology,” he said. “Anyone who has worked in this field knows how complex it is. Developing new medicines for the brain is challenging, and as an industry, we still have a long way to go. It’s a constant reminder of how much work remains to alleviate suffering.”
Custer’s leadership approach has been shaped by his diverse experience across sales, marketing, research and development, and business development. He emphasized the importance of balancing innovation with the social contract inherent in the pharmaceutical industry. “We sell medicines for money, but that money is then used to fuel the next wave of discoveries,” he said. “I’ve led teams through moments when molecules failed. This is a tough business. It’s important to engage policymakers and customers by explaining the realities of our work and the great things we can achieve.”
Innovation remains central to Custer’s philosophy. He highlighted Eli Lilly’s commitment to continuous improvement during challenging times, such as patent expirations for major drugs such as Prozac and Zyprexa. Despite external pressures to alter its approach, leadership remained committed to scientific advancement, leading to renewed success starting in 2014.
Two therapeutic areas Custer finds particularly promising are obesity and Alzheimer’s disease. He noted that new advancements in obesity treatments can deliver weight loss comparable to bariatric surgery but with greater ease of use. Custer also highlighted the progress in Alzheimer’s research, where years of setbacks have led to developing a promising therapy. “We now have a molecule that has two concordant clinical trials showing benefits on cognition and function,” he said. “This is exciting because, as everyone knows, Alzheimer’s is not a little disease. This is something that could begin to bend the curve.” He said these developments at Lilly represent important steps toward addressing widespread health challenges.
Custer also discussed how Eli Lilly leverages artificial intelligence (AI) in its R&D processes. Collaborations with organizations, including OpenAI, aim to accelerate drug discovery through generative AI tools. He said Eli Lilly is building capabilities such as molecule diversity testing and regulatory submission optimization using large language models. While acknowledging that the full impact remains uncertain, Custer is optimistic. “These things help us design better medicines and develop them faster,” he said. “The full impact [of AI] is still unknown, but I’m bullish.”
THIS WEEK 04/01/25
Health Canada approved Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a nanti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by Keytruda as a single agent, for the treatment of adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma.
Health Canada expanded the marketing authorization for Takeda’s normal immunoglobulin [human] 10% and recombinant human hyaluronidase solution for subcutaneous infusion (HyQvia) for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy as maintenance therapy after stabilization with intravenous immunoglobulin to prevent relapse of neuromuscular disability and impairment in adults.
GSK announced the U.S. FDA has approved gepotidacin (Blujepa) for the treatment of female adults and pediatric patients with uncomplicated urinary tract infections caused by the following susceptible microorganisms: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii complex, Staphylococcus saprophyticus and Enterococcus faecalis.
The U.S. FDA approved Soleno Therapeutics’ diazoxide choline (Vykat XR) for treating hyperphagia in adults and children four years and older with Prader-Willi syndrome..
NOW LISTEN UP: HERE’S LISA MULLETT OF SUMITOMO PHARMA
In season 13 of the NPC Podcast, Paul Levesque, President and CEO of Theratechnologies Inc., gives insights into biopharma innovation, tariffs' effects on the supply chain and pharma manufacturing, and cross-border business development. Hear him in conversation with podcast hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea, and Mark McElwain.
HEALTHBIZ REWIND
This feature of NPC Healthbiz Weekly looks back at some of the most insightful moments from previous NPC Podcast episodes. You can listen to the podcast here.
Rami Fayed
Vice President and General Manager, Canada
AbbVie
Montreal
Season 12, episode 07
Listen to this episode here
(This episode was recorded in May 2024.)
What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in the Canadian healthcare market?
There are multiple challenges. If we look at the system, access to new and innovative medications is critical, and that’s one of the biggest challenges. AbbVie is focused on bringing these treatments to market and ensuring patients can access them.
One major challenge in Canada is how the access environment works. Canada ranks 19th out of 20 among OECD countries, meaning it takes a long time for patients to receive new medications. We need to address this key issue by working with various stakeholders and government agencies to improve access to innovative treatments.
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