Leading a start-up through crises
Alto Pharmaceuticals’ Joan Chypyha describes how she needed to be agile to navigate her business through uncertain market conditions. (1,340 words, 6.5 minutes)
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Guiding a start-up through economic instability and turbulent markets is precisely what Joan Chypyha, founder and CEO of Alto Pharmaceuticals, has had to navigate. With over two decades of sales and marketing experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including a stint as general manager of Cipher Pharmaceuticals Canada, Chypyha first launched her dermatology- and nail-care-focused start-up in 2008. She discussed her unique pathway during a recent episode of the NPC Podcast.
“That year [2008] probably wasn’t the smartest time to launch a company because financing was very difficult. I broke one of my golden rules and financed myself,” she said. After leaving Cipher in 2017, Chypyha had a new vision for Alto and launched two new over-the-counter products in the fall of 2019, one to prevent nail biting and one for onychomycosis [fungal infection of the nails that causes discoloration, thickening, and separation from the nail bed]. “We were in the middle of launching, and that’s when the [Covid-19] pandemic hit.”
As the Covid-19 pandemic worsened, Chypyha faced constant import delays. “Retailers were so focused on getting in PPE [personal protective equipment], they put a hold on many of the new products they were bringing in. After two years with no customers in the stores, I didn't sell too many products and had to take some back.”
However, the pandemic also presented a significant business opportunity for Chypyha and Alto. “Those same retailers who needed PPE came to me and said they couldn’t get hand sanitizers. So, Alto partnered with a company called Pepper and Pink, a soap company,” she explained. This partnership proved lucrative, and Alto helped provide hand sanitizers and soaps to various vendors with the help of Pepper and Pink.
Chypyha has also had to assess the changing technological requirements of the pharma industry.
“I'm not a technology expert and bigger companies have implemented this ERP software [enterprise resource planning],” she said. This software automates business activities such as procurement and supply chain management, improving efficiency.
Big Pharma is becoming increasingly more competitive with its use of innovative, expensive technology and it is sometimes a challenge for new start-ups to keep pace. “I wish there was a solution for small businesses that didn't cost millions to implement because I could use a little technological help, but I haven't quite figured out how to get it or what that might look like for me,” said Chypyha.
THIS WEEK 06/21/22
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA approved Amvuttra (vutrisiran), an RNAi subcutaneous quarterly injection for the treatment of polyneuropathy related to hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis in adult patients.
Pfizer and BioNTech announced the U.S. FDA granted emergency use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine as a three-dose series for children between six months and four years of age.
Pharmascience International launched Bortezomib for injection in the United States. Bortezomib, a bioequivalent to the brand Velcade, is an anti-cancer medication used to treat multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma.
Theramex announced that the European Commission granted Marketing Authorization to Yselty (linzagolix), an oral GnRH antagonist, for the treatment of moderate to severe symptoms of uterine fibroids in adult women of reproductive age.
LISTEN NOW
In season seven of the NPC Podcast, Jody Engel, Canada Country Lead at Knight Therapeutics, talks about company cultures, women leadership in pharma and attracting talent during the pandemic and retaining it. Hear her in conversation with podcast co-hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain.
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 represent a cross-section of the qualities that make our business unique and fulfilling. NPC Healthbiz Weekly will acknowledge one past Hall of Fame Honoree each week.
2006 Inductee
Liette Landry
Blainville, Que.
Editor’s Note: Liette is now Marketing Director at AVIR Pharma Inc
To say that Liette Landry has come a long way since her days as the sole female territory manager for food giant Carnation (Nestle) is an understatement. These days, and some 19 years later, as the Director of the Oncology Business Unit for Schering Canada Inc., Landry’s first job supplying French fries to institutional kitchens seems light-years away, but she remembers every detail. Indeed, “I can remember everything, good and bad, and I am often told about my sixth sense,” jokes Landry, who admits that having “total recall” was a bit unnerving for some of her colleagues.
Her venture into the world of pharma on the advice of a Montreal neighbour was “quite an improvement” over having to get up at 5 a.m. to service her institutional accounts. Landry spent nine years at Lederle (Cyanamid) handling a variety of portfolios, from dermatology to infectious disease, and her first love, oncology. After being promoted to Oncology Product Manager, she assumed responsibility for developing, implementing, and monitoring effective marketing programs for Novantrone and Leucovorin.
By the mid-1990s, she’d set off to discover new horizons, snagging a post at Technilab Pharma as Product Manager with a portfolio of 33 brands that included brand name and generic products. By 1997, Landry obtained a position at Rhone Poulenc Rorer Canada as Oncology Product Manager and was responsible for the progress and success of products such as Taxotere, Oncaspar, Bonefos, and Gliadel. Landry was back in her environment, oncology.
It was at Schering Canada Inc. in 1999 where her intense interest in oncology would be tapped as Sales and Marketing Manager. She got the opportunity to launch two breakthrough products- Caely, for ovarian cancer and Temodal. This drug would greatly improve the quality of life for brain tumour patients and their families.
After two short years, she assumed the role of Marketing Director, Oncology, and Product Manager for Temodal, a position that led to a critical accomplishment- the implementation of an innovative brain tumour multidisciplinary M.E. program, developed in partnership with the Canadian Brain Tumor Consortium, and eventually incorporated as a best practice at Schering-Plough, Schering Canada’s parent company.
In her current position as Schering’s Director, Oncology Business Unit, she oversees 18 sales and marketing team members. The company has seen its oncology business sales increase with a strong double-digit growth year after year, and the business has doubled since 2002. For Landry, however, corporate success isn’t measured merely by numbers: “To me, my work is not just work--it’s my passion.”
Over the last 18 years in oncology, Landry feels proud that she has had an opportunity to help save lives and points to the “flowers, letters, and testimonials from patients and families that tell me I made a difference.” She admits that recently witnessing the cancer experience with a close family member has reinforced her dedication and commitment to what she does.
Believing strongly in “enhancing life and advancing treatment”-an excerpt from Schering Oncology’s mission statement--Landry maintains, “I really live my job.” Accomplished from a professional standpoint, Landry is an individual with boundless energy. She’s a key motivator when it comes to fund-raising activities for cancer and is well known for her participation in the annual 5 km Canadian Cancer Society’s Run for the Cure which she “walks not runs” with her seven-year-old-daughter and her two dogs, and for raising money for Breast Cancer Research at the Schering Canada Head Office in Pointe-Claire, Qué.
Her motto is: “Living each day to the fullest, and when they ask me where I see myself in five years... easy! Doing exactly what I am doing now, working hard toward patient care.”
NEXT WEEK
In the 06/28 edition of the NPC Healthbiz Weekly, Angelique Berg, President and CEO of the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management, talks about advancing technology, sharing data among stakeholder groups and managing supply chain disruptions. 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.