Covid-19's impact on patient-focused charities
Patient advocate Zal Press discusses the pandemic’s effects on the charitable sector and how Pharma can help
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is presented to you in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions
With the Covid-19 pandemic dramatically impacting the charitable sector, and patient-focused groups struggling to survive, Patient Commando released the report State of Patient Associations in Canada which provides a benchmark of the capacity of patient-focused charities’ just prior to the coronavirus.
The report, which received support from The Pangaea Group, was released in August 2020 and analyzed over 1,000 disease-specific patient-charities across Canada.
The 140-page document, the first of its kind, analyzed charities’ financial, operational and human resource capacity of charities based on annual information returns to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
“What we’ve got is really that snapshot of the state of these groups pre-coronavirus. We’ve basically got a benchmark for where they were at,” explained Press (photo below) in an interview with NPC Healthbiz Weekly. “Now we can compare the impact of Covid-19 on an organization and the sector as a whole once that collective information becomes more available.”
The coronavirus has literally laid waste to the entire charitable sector, with patient-focused groups struggling for survival, said Press. Further, revenue losses are predicted to be as much as 50 per cent or more. With the cancellation of charitable events that are the primary sources of revenue, Press said charities are scrambling to adapt.
Though the actual figures to demonstrate losses resulting from Covid-19 won’t be available until 2021 when returns are filed with the CRA, the Canadian Cancer Society has already warned of a $80-to-$100 million shortfall this fiscal year. The organization laid off roughly 300 employees across the country, as a result of the shortfall.
The staff layoffs in the charitable sector have been across the board, said Press, leaving charities to manage increasing demand with fewer human resources.
“Most organizations, certainly the larger ones, are declaring revenue losses of up to 40 to 50 per cent,” Press said. “The questions that have to be asked are how will these organizations sustain themselves? How might they have to re-align their work, and the focus of their work, in order to be able to work within their new capacities? How does that all relate to pharmaceutical companies who are partnered with them or support them? How does everybody now take a look at what the relationship should be and how that support should come?”
Adding to the burden of the coronavirus pandemic is the recent WE scandal which saw the federal government offer the WE Charity money to run a program for students hard hit by the economic slump.
According to Press, the WE scandal pointed a finger at management and administration expenditures as a valuable indicator of a charity’s operational efficiency and whether or not the charity is applying the maximum possible funding to actual charitable activities.
Press said that while each individual charity is different, the patient-focused charitable sector is performing quite well.
In September, the Angus Reid Institute released a survey which showed 85 per cent of Canadians who donate say the WE scandal will affect their giving behaviour. The scandal trained a spotlight on charitable trust and transparency.
“Just the fact that its changing people’s giving behaviour, I mean really that is scary,” Press said. “People [are] concerned with transparency in charities [and] industry members need to be concerned about that as well. They can’t make the same kinds of mistakes that our idiotic federal government did.”
As a result of the WE scandal, due diligence in relationships is more important than ever for the highly regulated pharma industry.
Press acknowledges that Pharma won’t be stepping in to cover charities’ shortfalls resulting from the pandemic, but suggests the industry has the resources to help assist charities through the pandemic and beyond.
“The strategic perspective of the relationship is going to change,” he said. “I think drug companies can show great leadership by accessing the different types of expertise they have within their organizations to bring that expertise to the right table in the right ways to support these organizations in new ways.”
The takeaway: Press believes there needs to be better relationships formed between government and patient-charity groups in the post-Covid era, and feels Pharma can help facilitate this.
“[Pharma has] such a wealth of information and knowledge in terms of government relations,” Press said. “So far, it has only been applied on a disease-specific issue. It has not been applied in terms of what matters to patients across the country.
“I think that is a really important role that the industry can play—industry can support and industry can enable.”
Further reading: Canadians aren’t only changing their giving behaviours during the pandemic. JP Morgan researchers have a detailed article on how Canadians’ spending has changed during Covid-19. Story here.
YOUR HEALTHBIZ WEEK 11/03/20
Mississauga-based KYE Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced Firdapse (amifampridine phosphate), the first amifampridine product approved in Canada, is now available for the treatment of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS) in adults. As part of the announcement, KYE is also introduced the Firdapse patient support program designed to assist patients in navigating prescription drug reimbursement.
The U.S. FDA has deferred a decision on Spectrum Pharmaceuticals' treatment candidate to treat chemotherapy-induced loss of white blood cells in cancer patients due to Covid-19 related travel issues. The health regulator was unable to inspect the company’s South Korea-based manufacturing plant, a step required before the approval of the drug. Spectrum is seeking approval for its drug Rolontis for the treatment of neutropenia, a side effect of the treatment of cancer with chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Exact Sciences Corp. and Thrive Earlier Detection Corp. (Thrive) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Exact Sciences to acquire Thrive for cash and stock consideration of up to $2.15 billion. The deal, which combines Thrive's early-stage screening test, CancerSEEK, with Exact Sciences' scientific platform, clinical organization, and commercial infrastructure will establish Exact Sciences as a leader in blood-based, multi-cancer screening.
EMD Serono announced that eligible patients have access to Mavenclad (cladribine tablets) through seven provincial public drug plans including the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) and the Ontario Drug Benefit Exceptional Access Program. This will provide patients across Canada with broader access to the therapy. Eligible patients in Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) can now access Mavenclad through their public drug programs.
14th ANNUAL NATIONAL PHARMA CONGRESS UPDATE
CONTINUING TOMORROW (11/04/20): Chronicle Companies is honoured to host the 14th Annual National Pharmaceutical Congress, a virtual series of weekly webinars. As Canada's largest stage for leaders in the pharmaceutical industry, the Congress presents industry reflections, ideas, and innovations. The Congress has been attended by more than 200 delegates every year and is an opportunity to learn and reflect with the industry's most prominent thought leaders and visionaries. Organized in cooperation with Pangaea Consultants. (Hot tip: NPC Healthbiz Weekly readers get an additional 20% discount on registration fees by using the code NPC20.
The scheduled agenda:
Wednesday 11/04 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EST
Session 1: How Do We Launch Products Post Covid-19
Sponsored by Bayshore HealthcareSession 2: Inclusion and Diversity in a Virtual and Real-Life World
Sponsored by Ashfield Healthcare Canada
This scheduled speakers
Pamela Fralick, Innovative Medicines Canada
Andrew Casey, BIOTECanada
Jason Field, Life Sciences Ontario
Ronnie Miller, Hoffmann-La Roche
Brian Bloom, Bloom Burton
Pat Forsythe, Eisai
Danielle Portnik, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals
Marissa Poole, Sanofi Genzyme
Eileen McMahon, Torys
Paul Petrelli, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Jim Hall, Covis Pharma
Carol Stiff, Santen Pharmaceuticals
Zal Press, CADTH
Brian Canestraro, Intercept Pharmaceuticals
Sylvie Pilon, Emergent Biosolutions
Peter Brenders, Kontollo Health
David Renwick, Emergent Biosolutions
Arima Ventin, Allergan
Ross Glover, Taiho Pharma
others to be announced; see updated list at pharmacongress.info
Profits from the 2020 National Pharmaceutical Congress support Sandi’s Fund for Camp Liberté. More than $50,000 has been raised for Canadian health charities through the National Pharmaceutical Congress.
Watch a “greatest hits” encore presentation from a past NPC event
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 avocation and are an inspiration to others.
More than 100 honourees have been selected during the past 18 years. They stand for, in the view of the selection committee, 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.
2019 Inductee
Suzanne Campbell
AbbVie
Montreal
Editor’s note: Suzanne Campbell joined AbbVie in 2010 as the company’s Regional Medical Advisor, Immunology Division for Ontario & Western Canada. In 2018, she was promoted to Senior Brand Manager & Brand Team Lead for HUMIRA-Dermatology, a position she currently holds.
Suzanne Campbell, Senior Brand Manager and Brand Team Lead for Humira-Dermatology at AbbVie, has always had an interest in healthcare. After graduating with an Honours Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from the University of Toronto, Campbell started her pharmaceutical career at GSK. This was the beginning of a career focused on marketing pharmaceutical products that are on the cutting edge of science.
Campbell credits her success to the team around her, which coincidently encompasses a motto that has governed her career—Together Everyone Achieves More (TEAM). “I constantly see that any idea or strategy gets so much better when you have the brain power of multiple colleagues and multiple perspectives,” said Campbell. “And that collaboration makes any project more robust.”
According to Campbell, it is not only her colleagues who make up her TEAM, but in the pharma industry it is also physicians and patients. “I can’t even express the gratitude I have for the physicians who have partnered with us,” said Campbell.
Currently, Campbell is working with AbbVie on the launch and marketing of Humira for Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS), the first approved treatment for HS, a project that she is extremely proud of and passionate about. “The work I have done [on HS] over the last four to six years has been so meaningful, and so fulfilling in many ways,” said Campbell. “Intellectually, it has been incredible to open up this unchartered territory of a disease that no company—and really no specialty—has spent a lot of time working on before.” Campbell also said that patients have kept her motivated. “When I started meeting people with HS, their journey, which had been a very negative one in the healthcare system, became my passion project.”
Throughout her career, Campbell has learned many lessons, but she says one that stands out is that it is okay to make mistakes. When mistakes are made, “this is where some of our greatest learning happens,” said Campbell. “I do think it is important to let people know it is okay to make mistakes, that these are learning opportunities.”
In addition to being a leader in pharmaceutical marketing, Campbell has been actively involved in her community since the age of 13, starting with volunteer work at Montreal Children’s Hospital. This sense of community was instilled during her high school years, specifically, the Latin phrase Non Nobis Sed Erbi Et Orbi, which translates to Not for ourselves but for the community and the world. Later, Campbell got involved with the Toronto Fringe Festival and was on the Board of Directors for over 10 years. “I loved that I could contribute the skillset from my business life into the arts community,” she said.
For those looking to start a career in the pharma industry, Campbell said they have to be ready to work hard and be open to constant learning. “This industry offers incredible opportunity to make a difference and create change in the world. We have so much to be proud of, we really do make a remarkable impact on people’s lives.”
NEXT WEEK
The 11/10 edition of NPC Healthbiz Weekly will feature Sheila Frame from Sandoz on helping Pharma colleagues and rethinking skill sets during Covid-19. 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 and stay on your game. We’ll see you again next Tuesday.