Managing change and risks during Covid-19
Paul Petrelli of Jazz Pharmaceuticals discusses what he’s learned about the industry after 14 months of the pandemic (650 words, 3 mins.)
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While adjustments required by Covid-19 have shown the Pharma industry new approaches, Paul Petrelli, the General Manager of Jazz Pharmaceuticals Canada, suggests the industry can do more to meet the changing needs of its customers.
“If you think about it from our customer’s point of view, they’re changing. The decision-makers have changed,” Petrelli explained. “When we think about data, the data is at [everyone’s] fingertips.
“Now, think about the pharma industry. Originally, the sales rep role was designed for a detailer to go in [to a doctor’s office] at a time when there weren’t computers, there was no Internet and [the rep] helped inform physicians about new launches and prescribing information. That information is at everyone's fingertips now. Yet, prior to the pandemic, we were still doing the same things over and over again.”
Petrelli (photo below) discussed the need for change and risk tolerance in the pharma industry on a recent episode of the NPC Podcast, a program for Pharma executives hosted by Peter Brenders. (Listen to the episode here.)
According to Petrelli, one of the biggest challenges in Pharma is the way the industry thinks. He added executives are always questioning, ‘What if we’re wrong?’ rather than looking at the potential positive outcomes of change.
“Maybe it's time we turn this around and say, ‘What if we’re right? What if we do something, and there is actually upside?’ I think it’s [about] how we manage change and how we manage risks. You don’t have to eat the elephant all at once,” he said. “There are areas in our business where we can make small incremental changes to sort of move that needle forward.”
Nearly 14 months into the pandemic, the one thing Petrelli said he has learned is that as an industry Pharma needs to evolve even further.
He added that in comparison to other industries, Pharma has shown resiliency.
“I think depending on what data source you look at, the industry in Canada is still going to grow, call it anywhere between three to five per cent year on year,” Petrelli said. “We're in a pretty good place that way.”
Though the pandemic has taught the industry it can be nimble and make small incremental changes, more change is needed, Petrelli said.
“Think about how late we were to the party on social media. We were always one of those industries saying, ‘Oh, you can’t be there, what if that happens, etc.’ Covid-19 happened and we very quickly [changed] and relied on social media to be able to communicate,” he said.
The pandemic only changed how the interaction occurs between sales reps and health care practitioners, Petrelli remarked, adding the model remains similar.
“It's still about reach and frequency and we just use a computer as an interface,” said Petrelli. “I think we need to change what that model looks like.”
The takeaway: With the customer evolving and changing, Petrelli said Pharma needs to look at how it can create partnerships and add value.
In the past, where little data was available, the sales rep served a role; however, now with data readily available, Pharma needs to look at changing the role of the rep.
He also suggested the potential for a hybrid role of salespeople and medical science liaisons.
“Using the analogy of medical devices where you have people that not only sell the product but help negotiate pricing on it and are actually in surgery, showing physicians how to use it,” Petrelli said. “Do we really need MSLs as well as sales reps in new roles, especially in the rare disease space where there's not a lot of competitors? Maybe the true value is coming in and actually helping [healthcare practitioners] navigate systems, being able to work through the hospital environment so that they can increase productivity.”
Further reading: The publication Pharma Exec looks at why a new mix of field skills is crucial to thriving in the digital era. Story here.
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YOUR HEALTHBIZ WEEK 04/27/21
Bausch Health’s U.S. prescription dermatology subsidiary, Ortho Dermatologics, announced positive results from its second Phase III trial for IDP-126, a three-compound combination gel tested in 193 patients with acne vulgaris. Trial data showed reductions in both inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions at week 12. On the back of the two positive Phase III trials, Ortho said it will submit a new drug application to the U.S. FDA in the second half of 2022.
The U.S. FDA has approved GlaxoSmithKline’s checkpoint inhibitor, dostarlimab, for patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer. The approval is for patients with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer who have progressed on or after previous treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and whose cancers have a dMMR genetic anomaly. Dostarlimab is an antineoplastic monoclonal antibody that improves T-cell responses, including anti-tumour responses via blockade of PD-1 binding to PD-L1 and PD-L2 ligands.
AbbVie announced that Health Canada has approved adalimumab for inducing and maintaining clinical remission in pediatric patients five years of age and older with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who have had an inadequate response to conventional therapy or who are intolerant to such therapies. With this approval, adalimumab offers pediatric patients the first subcutaneous anti-TNF therapeutic option for this condition.
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced that Health Canada has approved daratumumab injection, a subcutaneous formulation of daratumumab, in combination with bortezomib, cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed light chain (AL) amyloidosis. The regimen is the first Health Canada-approved treatment for patients with AL amyloidosis, a rare blood cell disorder.
UPCOMING NATIONAL PHARMA CONGRESS WEBINARS
The National Pharma Congress Spring Webinar is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12, 2021 (click here to register), and the Summer Webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Be sure to watch the NPC HealthBiz Weekly for updates on the events.
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.
Mark McElwain
Phil Diamond Award for Community Service
Toronto
Editor’s note: Mark currently works in the Greater Toronto Area as an independent consultant to healthcare marketers.
In the mid-1990S, Mark McElwain entered the pharmaceutical industry as an outsider and an agent of change as the Commissioner CEO of the Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board (PAAB). “We started a process of change that involved raising the standards, reforming compliance processes, and basically making the agency more accountable to the public,” said McElwain.
It was a high-pressure transition for McElwain, who earned a Master’s Degree from the London School of Economics and began his career working for the Government of Ontario.
After a four-year tenure as the Ceo of paab, mcelwain “crossed the street” and became Vice President of the agency Allard Johnson, more recently KBS+ Toronto.
“I wanted to do useful work for our clients while, at the same time, being able to keep the message consistent with the industry standards, and be able to keep the industry in good stead with the public interest,” he said.
He spent the next 20 years of his career in that role, guided by a philosophy that steered him to do work that not only met clients’ objectives but also which he could be proud to talk about. He also strove to surround himself with a strong team that he could stay on good terms with even after they no longer worked together.
“There are no secrets,” he said. “With the rapid turnover among companies, and agencies, everything will be public someday, so let’s do things the right way,” he said.
He developed these principles with the help of a strong set of mentors including Terry Johnson, the President of Allard Johnson. He also credits Perrin Beatty, the former Federal Minister of Health and Welfare for helping him grow in his career.
“He was a beacon of how to stay accountable to the people who put you there,” said McElwain.
Now, as an independent consultant, he said he enjoys stepping out from the large office and focusing his attention on a handful of clients.
McElwain has also been a volunteer for local non-profits and has more recently supported children’s charities in Eastern Europe, with a key role in sponsoring and integrating a family of Syrian refugees.
As a friend of Phil Diamond, he said he is honoured to be receiving the Phil Diamond Award this year.
“I am proud that I got to know Phil Diamond quite well when he was working to keep the lines of communication open between industry and PAAB,” said McElwain.
Reflecting on his career, which saw him in a number of different roles, McElwain took the opportunity to look at the bigger picture.
“It indicates how much healthcare marketing has changed over the years, that not all marketers come from the same background. now there is a greater variety of different perspectives in the industry.”
NEXT WEEK
The 05/04 edition of NPC Healthbiz Weekly will feature Sheryl Groeneweg, the Director General of the Manufacturing and Life Sciences branch of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, on the world of government and its role in life sciences in Canada. 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.