How staying six feet apart brought us closer

Ronnie Miller details how the pandemic improved Pharma's relationship with the government (490 words, 3 min)

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Oct 05, 2021

“Before Covid-19, the Pharma industry had an arms-length relationship with the federal government,” said Ronnie Miller, President & CEO of Roche Canada, but during the pandemic, “all the stakeholders, including the public, have realized the importance of a strong partnership between industry and government.”

During the NPC Summer Webinar, Miller (photo below) described how the pandemic has pushed the federal government “to be more involved in a partnership [with the pharmaceutical industry] in a way that we’ve not seen for the past 20 years.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, the industry “took a leadership role in diagnostics, therapies, and vaccines,” Miller said, “and suddenly we were on speed dial with the premiers and with the federal government, who really wanted to produce supply faster for the Canadian population.”

“As an industry, we’re investing all the time in new science and innovation,” Miller said, “but [if] the government doesn’t welcome innovation, our head offices are unlikely to invest in the Canadian environment.”

“During Covid-19, we’ve seen some remarkable investments that are a complete about-face by the federal government. They’ve announced a $2.2 billion investment over the next seven years in the life sciences sector and included in that a pan-Canadian genomic strategy worth about $400 million and investment in artificial intelligence up to $450 million,” Miller said. “It’s certainly a very, very progressive step forward.”

According to Miller, the government’s recognition of the industry and its commitment to long-lasting partnership “will lead to a more resilient healthcare system and ultimately better outcomes for patients.”

“The shift from a transactional relationship to an interactive relationship,” he said, “will strengthen [our] partnership, attract investment in life sciences, foster innovation, and enhance Canada’s international competitiveness.”

“The industry is engaged with the healthcare system across Canada, and it’s certainly looking to contribute further. Areas of interest include artificial intelligence, biomanufacturing, digital health, and health data infrastructure,” Miller said. “Real partnership is possible now in a way we could never have imagined before.”

In the future, Miller believes lessons learned during the pandemic can be applied to emerging issues caused by Covid-19. “A collaborative approach,” he said, “must be taken to tackle the backlog in cancer diagnosis and treatment, and that should apply across a number of therapeutic areas.”

Improved engagement, Miller said, means that “in the future, there will be more roundtable discussions at the provincial and federal government levels to improve life sciences and healthcare strategies in the long term.”

15TH ANNUAL NATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL CONGRESS

Registration is now open for the 15th Annual National Pharmaceutical Congress.

In celebration of the 15th year of NPC, this year’s theme is Fifteen Big Ideas Driving Pharma Forward Post-Covid. This year’s conference will be held virtually on October 20 & 27, 2021.

Use our promo code “HEALTHBIZ” for 30 percent off the registration price.

WEEK 10/05/21

GSK announced it signed an agreement with the Government of Canada to supply 10,000 doses of Sotrovimab for injection, a Covid-19 monoclonal antibody therapy developed by GSK and Vir Biotechnology. The deal will allow provincial and territorial healthcare systems to access Sotrovimab starting in October 2021 to treat patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 symptoms at high risk.
Indivior UK Ltd. announced the Canadian launch of their new formulation of SUBOXONE, a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone used to treat opioid dependence. While buprenorphine is an opioid medication, naloxone blocks the effects of opioids that can lead to abuse and addiction.
Merck and Acceleron Pharma Inc. announced that the companies had entered an agreement where A subsidiary of Merck will acquire acceleron. Acceleron’s portfolio includes REBLOZYL (luspatercept-aamt), a prescription drug approved in Canada for the treatment of anemia in certain rare blood disorders.
Bayer Inc. announced that it is recalling six unexpired lots of Tinactin sprays and Lotrimin products in Canada with lot numbers beginning with TN, CV, and NAA due to benzene in some of the products. Bayer’s decision to recall these products is precautionary as the detected levels of benzene are not expected to be harmful.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Season Five of the NPC Podcast explored Pharma's purpose, process, and people with a diverse list of guests across eight episodes. Podcast host Peter Brenders spoke with guests on clinical trials, laws and regulations, investments in lifesci, manufacturing, working with the Canadian government, and implications of Covid-19. 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.

2016 Inductee
Sylvie Pilon
Montreal

Editor’s Note: Sylvie is currently Business Unit Manager at AbbVie.

Making an impact on patient’s lives is something that has driven Sylvie Pilon in her 20-plus years in the pharmaceutical industry. Now head of the CNS Business Unit at Lundbeck Canada, Pilon is leading a newly created business unit devoted to improving mental health care in Canada, focusing on the treatment of conditions like schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder.

“We want to make sure patients are getting the best possible treatment,” said Pilon. “We believe that some of the drugs we are bringing to market will do that. there is a whole slew of people who are not seeking help because of the stigma around mental health. It can take up to two years for a depressed patient to visit a physician.”

A condition like depression affects individuals all of ages, including teens and the elderly and the prevalence is thought to be underreported, according to Pilon. “depression may not be properly addressed in schools, and many of the elderly are not treated because they don’t want to talk about it with their doctor, and then they suffer in silence,” explained Pilon.

Lundbeck is using multiple channels like social media to increase awareness around mental health and partner with Bell Media in its “Let’s talk” Mental Health Initiative, where a portion of revenues from texting, talking, and tweeting are donated to mental health services in Canada.

“We are doing a lot of things to help reduce the stigma and encourage patients to seek help,” said Pilon. “With a condition like schizophrenia, for example, patients need to be treated early on to get the best possible outcome.” Choosing the pharmaceutical industry was a good fit for Pilon, who started her professional life as a dietician working with cancer patients. “I wanted to mix business with science, and this was a way to be able to do both,” she said.

Pilon worked as a sales representative, sales manager, and sales and marketing director with other pharma firms before joining Lundbeck, and oncology was a particular focus. In her previous position as Head of Oncology Business Unit, senior director at Lundbeck, Pilon built and led a unit to increase access to therapies for patients with leukemia and lymphoma and reached record sales in hematology at the helm of that unit.

“I feel that we have had an impact in oncology through ensuring rapid access to our drugs and providing proper education of the disease state,” said Pilon. “I try to instill in the people that I manage that we can make an impact on patients and that patients will have the drugs that they need in order to get better.” Indeed, oncology is a rapidly changing area, and therapies like Lundbeck's Trenada have contributed to that change. “Effective therapies have turned a deadly disease [cancer] into a chronic disease,” said Pilon.

She wants to ensure that industry colleagues continue to work closely together to ensure that Canadian patients access new innovative medicine and the best possible care. Partnering with the healthcare providers in creative ways is essential to ensure optimal use and access to the therapeutic options that are being launched in the Canadian market, Pilon said.

NEXT WEEK

In the 10/12 edition of the NPC Healthbiz Weekly, see insights from Brian Canestraro, GM at Intercept Pharmaceuticals, on post-lockdown customer engagement. 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.

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