How Covid-19 disrupts the Pharma industry
James Hall of Covis Pharma Canada offers advice on adapting to changing conditions (500 words, 3 min. read)
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is presented to you in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions
Over the past 10 months, Covid-19 has created disruptions to the Pharma industry that will have a lasting impact, according to veteran Pharma executive James Hall.
Hall, the senior vice president and general manager of Covis Pharma Canada, believes companies who adapt to the disruption and change that has occurred throughout the pandemic will be able to survive and thrive in the post-Covid world.
“I do believe there is an opportunity for all of us [in Pharma], for all of our companies and we just need to unlock that opportunity and harness the change and disruption that is occurring,” said Hall (photo below) during his presentation at the 14th National Pharmaceutical Conference.
Hall sees both short-term and long-term changes occurring to the industry, as a result of the coronavirus.
Data compiled by the consultancy IQVIA, which Hall presented, showed a backlog of over 1.4 million patients dating back to July 2020 who have not been able to see a doctor due to the pandemic.
“Patients are not getting treated when they should be and in some cases are not getting prescribed medications when they should be,” Hall said. “It is a big issue short-term; however, I believe that as we emerge out of the pandemic, back to normal, this will go away. It is more of a short-term issue that we are all grappling with.”
In the long-term Hall believes the reduction of face-to-face in-person meetings between Pharma reps and doctors will not change.
As Hall notes, many in Pharma pulled their reps from the field last spring, and while some reps did return in the summer of 2020, the second wave of the pandemic has halted to face-to-face meetings.
“There is a significant reduction in face-to-face calls which has resulted in the emergence of other channels for communicating and interacting with our physicians through a necessity,” Hall said. “We have always been, for the most part, dabbling in these other channels: digital media, e-meetings, etc., but we all have to take this seriously now.”
Hall expects the reduction in interactions, as a result of the pandemic, to return to normal levels in the post-Covid world.
However, he believes the evolution of how sales reps interact with physicians, and the demand for new channels to conduct interactions, will continue to be present well after the pandemic ends. Hall added that he thinks face-to-face calls, as Pharma once knew, will never return.
“We all need to think about how we’re going to operate in this new environment beyond just having virtual details on a webcam,” Hall explained. “Pharma needs to think of more innovative and creative ways to bring value to our customers—I think individuals and companies that figure that out and unlock that are going to be the most successful.”
The takeaway: While the pandemic has created disruption across Pharma for nearly a year, Hall maintains the disruption isn’t completely negative. The disruption experienced within the industry can help remove complacency, he said.
“The pandemic has changed the way healthcare is delivered and the way we need to interact with our customers and bring value to our customers to grow business,” Hall said. “We need to re-evaluate our go-to-market strategies. If companies don’t do that, they are going to fall to the back of the pack and those who do it well are going to be leading the pack.”
Further reading: As Pharma execs grapple with the changing landscape, the folks at PharmaExec.com have suggestions on how Pharma reps and managers can work to overcome the in-person HCP barrier. Story here.
YOUR HEALTHBIZ WEEK 01/19/21
AstraZeneca announced that its cancer drug Imfinzi has been approved in Europe and Britain for a four-week, fixed-dose regimen in a common type of lung cancer to help reduce the frequency of hospital visits while continuing treatment, according to a report from Reuters. The British drugmaker notes that an additional dosing option of a 1,500 mg fixed-dose, given every four weeks, was approved for use in adults with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, whose tumours cannot be surgically removed.
Health Canada has approved Lundbeck’s eptinezumab for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults who have at least four migraine days per month. Eptinezumab is the first Health Canada-approved intravenous (IV) treatment for migraine prevention. Its IV administration delivers prevention of migraine as soon as day one post-infusion through to 3 months. Eptinezumab is a 30-minute IV infusion administered every 12 weeks and offers patients with migraines a preventive therapy through four treatments per year.
The U.S. FDA has approved Pfizer’s Xalkori (crizotinib) for pediatric patients one year of age and older and young adults with relapsed or refractory, systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) that is anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive. The FDA approval is based on data from Study ADVL0912, a multicentre, single-arm, open-label trial in 121 patients ranging in ages from one to 21 years, and included 26 patients with r/r/, systemic ALK-positive ALCL after at least one systemic treatment. The data showed an objective response rate of 88%. In the 23 patients who achieved a response, 39% maintained that response for at least six months, and 22% maintained it for at least a year.
Bristol Myers Squibb announced that it received Health Canada approval for Onureg® (azacitidine tablets) as maintenance therapy for adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia who achieved complete remission or complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery following induction therapy with or without consolidation treatment, and who are not eligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The azacitidine tablets are a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor that is taken orally and prevents cancer cells from growing.
NATIONAL PHARMA CONGRESS WINTER WEBINAR
The National Pharmaceutical Congress Winter Webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, February 10, 2021. As a reader of the NPC HealthBiz Weekly you are invited to attend the webinar at no charge. Register now at pharmacongress.info
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. 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.
2018 Inductee
Arima Ventin
Allergan
Markham, Ont.
Editor’s note: Arima Ventin joined Allergan in 2014. She is currently the company’s Executive Director of Market Access, Pricing and Government Relations.
Working for companies big and small, and with a background as a licensed pharmacist, Arima Ventin has seen many different perspectives of the pharmaceutical industry. All along, her passion for improving patient outcomes and making an impact on their lives has been her driving force.
“I think one of the reasons I’ve been successful—and I truly enjoy my job every day—is because I really do believe that we make a difference,” she said.
In 1994, Ventin graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Pharmacy. With a desire to go into health sciences, she became a clinical pharmacist, following her mother’s path. That path eventually veered toward the business end of things, a path may be slightly more influenced by her father; an immigrant and entrepreneur, from whom she says she learned the value of hard work.
“I loved patient care, but I wanted to get more involved in terms of understanding and positioning products appropriately for clinical use, ” she said.
After earning her MBA in Business Administration and Management from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra in Barcelona, Spain, she soon moved into the pharmaceutical marketing world, breaking into sales marketing and sales management with Eli Lilly in Canada. From there, she went to Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which later became Pfizer, before moving to a series of small start-ups including Basilea Pharmaceuticals, where she became the Vice President of Marketing and Market Access, and then Forest Laboratories, which was based in Toronto.
Forest Laboratories was eventually purchased by Actavis, and soon after that, Actavis bought Allergan and adopted that name.
She says she was drawn to these smaller companies because she liked the fast-paced environment where decisions can be made quicker. Healthcare is changing fast and she believes that as a critical stakeholder, pharmaceutical companies need to be able to respond quickly to meet the changing needs of all types of customers.
“At Allergan, even though we’re larger now, we still have that same philosophy. We strive to work collaboratively by building bridges with key stakeholders and customers, and we take action quickly. Above all, we do what is right. We call it ‘being bold.’”
Now, as Executive Director of Market Access, Pricing and Government Relations at Allergan, she recognizes that simply put, her goal is to make the lives of patients better.
“This has to be the guiding principle in pharmaceuticals and in healthcare,” she said. “If you stray from that, you won’t be successful.”
At the end of the day, the number one thing in her life is her family.
“I would never sacrifice my family for my career. I think for most career women, or most women who are working with a family, you just find a way to get it done.”
NEXT WEEK
The 01/26 edition of NPC Healthbiz Weekly will feature Brian Canestraro, General Manager of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, on managing a career in pharma during the age of 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, stay sure, and stay on your game. We’ll see you again next Tuesday.