Managing pharma industry challenges presented by Covid-19
The global pandemic has created sleepless nights for pharma execs. Robin Hunter, GM of Mallinckrodt, describes how to manage during a crisis without a playbook (reading time: 5 minutes)
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Many in the pharmaceutical industry have faced challenges during Covid-19, and Robin Hunter and his team at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals are no different. Mallinckrodt has a hospital product which can help Covid-19 patients. While this presented the company with an opportunity during the pandemic, it also came with a variety of challenges.
When it came time to disinfecting the company’s offices, Hunter, the Canadian General Manager of Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, decided with the ongoing pandemic to step it up and do an industrial disinfecting of the warehouse.
Hunter hired what he believed to be a professional sanitation company. However, the cleaners entered the premises without PPE or any proper equipment, stood around for 40 minutes, and left without conducting any disinfecting procedures.
“Luckily, we have cameras and we were able to spot that. We ended up having to fire them and then source another company to do this,” said Hunter (photo above) on a recent episode of the “NPC podcast,” a program for pharma executives hosted by Peter Brenders, Founder and President of Kontollo Health. (Listen to the episode here.)
“We were about three weeks late on our disinfecting that we wanted to do. My employees were worried, ‘Can we come into that office? Is it going to be safe?’ and without those four people I had working, we had no devices that we could deliver to hospitals.”
Issues with a sanitation company was the last thing Hunter and his team needed during the pandemic.
Mallinckrodt’s inhaled nitric oxide treatment, which has been used to treat lung complications in Covid-19 patients, was in high demand and creating supply issues for the global business which develops, manufactures and distributes specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies.
“There was a time where our business tripled in one month, and we were not certain if we were going to still be able to supply patients,” Hunter said. “You have a drug that is being used in the ICU for ventilated patients who have Covid-19, and then you are getting questions about research and the safety.”
The inhaled nitric oxide treatment comes in a cylinder, but since it is considered dangerous goods, the supply chain has additional regulations.
Hunter noted that many supply chain companies can't handle the product or don’t want to implement the dangerous goods standard operating procedures required in order to ship the product which created further complications for the company.
“The other problem is this is a drug that can be toxic in the wrong doses, so it comes with a class three medical device. And that's a completely different regulatory pathway, completely different supply chain. It all comes with a very interesting business model,” said Hunter. “We were prepared when Covid-19 hit that we were likely going to see an increased demand.”
Part of keeping up with the demand put Hunter in a position to make some difficult decisions. Though he has had positive interactions with regulators during Covid-19, keeping the Canadian market on the radar and a priority during the pandemic has been challenging with other areas such as the U.S. being hit harder by the Covid-19 virus.
“I found myself having to make decisions on who is going to get this product and who is not because we could not supply everybody,” Hunter explained. “I know I was losing a ton of sleep probably all of April and into the middle of May trying to make decisions like that. We managed to ship some of our devices to the U.S.”
“A lot of learnings, tough decision making, decisions I did not like to have to make.”
The takeaway: Having dealt with regulators during a pandemic, Hunter’s advice to his peers gearing up to bring Covid-19 related treatments to Canada is to reach out to all levels of government, not just Health Canada, to form approval pathways. Hunter believes this could create an expedited process should a company run into supply issues.
Further reading: Covid-19 has also created challenges for hospitals. A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal suggests it could take 84 weeks to clear the backlog of surgeries postponed due to the coronavirus in Ontario hospitals. Story here.
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YOUR HEALTHBIZ WEEK 09/08/20
New Brunswick-based Pulmonem received Health Canada approval for the Phase III randomized clinical trial of an oral Tx to reduce or prevent the development of severe pulmonary inflammation caused by Covid-19. The candidate is a patented reformulation of dapsone. The Tx is believed to prevent excessive immune reaction which is the most frequent cause of worsening Covid-19 symptoms and complications leading to hospital admissions, ICU stays, and fatalities.
Revive Therapeutics announced it has entered into a clinical trial agreement with the University of Wisconsin to conduct a study focused on the use of psilocybin in adults with methamphetamine use disorder. Psilocybin is a chemical found in magic mushrooms used to treat a variety of diseases and disorders.
AstraZeneca has started Phase 3 trials of its experimental Covid-19 vaccine in the U.S. The British drugmaker is the third company to begin late-stage trials of a vaccine to prevent the coronavirus joining Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTec. AstraZeneca is recruiting 30,000 adults aged 18 years or older. Participants will receive two active or placebo doses, spaced four weeks apart. Phase 3 trials of AstraZeneca’s vaccine are currently taking place in Britain, Brazil and South Africa with trials also planned for Japan and Russia.
Pfizer has been removed from the Dow as part of a reshuffling of the index. Pfizer has had a rough few years. It was among the Dow’s worst performers in 2019 after investors reacted poorly to the company’s announcement in late July it would spin off its generic drug unit, which will merge with the generic drugmaker Mylan. Additionally, investors have been concerned about several patent expirations coming up for Pfizer in 2026 when the company is scheduled to lose exclusive rights to five major drugs over three years.
Health Canada says it is willing to consider approving Covid-19 tests for use at home to screen for the virus, according to a Reuters report. The health authority previously said it would not review applications for home test kits over concern people may misuse the kits or misinterpret the results. Approval would allow for self-collection where samples are sent to a lab for processing. Additionally, Health Canada approval could spark the development of new tests to detect the virus at home.
14th ANNUAL NATIONAL PHARMA CONGRESS UPDATE
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 over 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. Just $319 plus HST for the three-day series. Bursaries may be available for students, retirees and transitioning executives. Contact us for details.)
This scheduled agenda
Wednesday 10/21 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EST
Session 1: Career Advice in the Post-Covid Life Science
Sponsored by ImpresSession 2: Industry Role and Partnerships: Have They Changed Through Covid-19
Sponsored by Digital Partners
Wednesday 10/28 11:00 am to 1:00 pm EST
Session 1: Future External Deployments, Structures and Skill Sets
Sponsored by Shoppers Specialty RxSession 2: Patient Centricity: What Does It Mean in Action?Sponsored by McKesson Canada
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
Jayne Paterson, GSK
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
others to be announced
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.
2018 Inductee
Sybil Dahan
Altius Healthcare Inc.
Montreal
Sybil Dahan is a self-starter. What she learned in her time working for multinational pharmaceutical companies, she applied to establish her own local, privately-held pharmaceutical company—twice. Now, as her latest endeavour, Altius Healthcare, has merged with Devonian, she has shifted her sights globally.
After graduating from the University of Montreal with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, she quickly moved to the field of pharmaceutical marketing as a sales representative with Hoechst in 1989. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Abbott Laboratories, where, while moving up the ranks, she became involved in the global pharmaceuticals market as the director of Latin America and Canada. That was followed by a move to Sweden where she became a managing director of the company’s Scandinavian affiliate. In both roles, she worked to prepare and launch the company’s major product, Humira. She returned to Canada to become the Commercial Director of Abbot Laboratories in 2008 before becoming the president of Triton Pharma in 2010.
“Coming back home, I wanted to do things for Canada as a Canadian. I had done what I had to do internationally,” she said.
While at Triton, she achieved her mandate of growing the company to sell—to Paladin labs in 2013.
It was then that Dahan was inspired to start her own company.
The first time around, it was Aspri Pharma, where she became co-owner and president of the company that would import and distribute pharmaceuticals throughout Canada.
“When you’re starting up, you’re doing everything. I’ll answer the door, I’ll answer the phone, just like I’ll make the big decisions and take one for the team if necessary,” she said.
The business was going well, and they quickly gained the attention of a company that would end up buying most of the Aspri assets in 2017.
“So now we figured, ok, what do we do? let’s do it again.”
For the second time, Dahan would start a new company applying the same approach, this time called Altius Healthcare. Now, with the company’s recent acquisition by Devonian, Altius has become a fully integrated Canadian pharmaceutical company. She believes that her guiding principles—to only ask of people what you would do yourself and to treat everybody fairly— got her to where she is now.
Reflecting on her career, she recognizes the mentors who guided her through challenging times—while appreciating the challenges as the learning experiences they were.
“I’ve always had great mentors. I’ve always had individuals supporting me, allowing me to move forward. There were times when I thought I was frustrated, things weren’t going my way, but in fact, I understood after, that they were the right things for me.”
All along the way, her family, her husband Vick Trieu, and son Audric have been her biggest fans and greatest supporters.
“We constantly thank each other. I thank him for the life we have and had, and he thanks me.”
NEXT WEEK
The 09/15 edition of NPC Healthbiz Weekly will feature Nancy White of Inagene Diagnostics on launching a startup company during the Covid-19 pandemic. Subscribe and have the issue sent to your phone or inbox each Tuesday at 6:00 am sharp.
Stay safe and stay on your game. We’ll see you again next Tuesday.