Adapting to the new hybrid or remote workplace
2022 NPC Spring Webinar panelists discuss how Pharma is tackling the return to the office and options for remote work (500 words, 2.5 min)
“We are embarking on a completely different way of working now,” said Leandra Wells, VP Respiratory at GSK. “Whether it’s remote or whether it’s in-office, we want to give people the flexibility. GSK is saying, we want to meet you where you work your best.”
During the 2022 NPC Spring Webinar, Wells and fellow panelists Jim Shea, Peter Brenders, and Danny Goldman (photos below) discussed how the pandemic has transformed Pharma’s physical work environment.
Wells described her company’s new workspace arrangement, which will be managed via an app. “Our offices are structured so that you need to book your station ahead of time,” she said. “For the most part, most of us will be working in a hybrid environment where it will be remote, or if you prefer to go in-office, you go in-office.”
“It’ll be interesting because it’s a completely different way for most of us to work,” Wells said, “but allowing us that flexibility is really energizing.”
Brenders, General Manager, Canada at BeiGene, said his company is using a similar flexible hybrid model. “Maybe for BeiGene it was easier for us in some sense. We didn’t have all the big dinosaurs of process that were in place.”
Goldman, Sanofi Canada’s Head of Strategy and Portfolio Operations, described his company’s more structured “two-three hybrid work schedule, [where] you have to be in the office roughly two days a week.”
“When you start coming into the office it’s near-impossible to keep up the same level of productivity,” Goldman said. “The challenge is to plan your days strategically and not come to the office if you’re just going to be sitting in Zoom meetings all day long.”
“As we get more familiar with coming back to the office, people are getting better at knowing which days to come in versus which days to stay home,” Goldman said.
“This is the interesting part where we’re going to have to coordinate our schedules,” said Wells. “Even if I choose to work from home one day, the people I might be meeting with may be on the road.”
“When you think about workflow, I think about it more in terms of output and what are we accomplishing,” Brenders said. “That’s perhaps been a refresher for a lot of us, that you actually don’t need to be in the office. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to find the best way for people to engage.”
Shea, General Manager of CCPE, said that in many cases staff is fully remote with no plans to return in person. “My staff, basically a lot of clerical work, they’ve dispersed away from a centralized head office. One person is now working from Florida, another person has moved to where his kids are,” he said.
“Now they’re able to live closer to their family by moving away from a head office situation and having a better quality of life, quite frankly. And has quality of work gone down? Absolutely not,” Shea said. “They’re saying it’s amazing what I can get done from home.”
THIS WEEK 04/19/22
AstraZeneca announced that Evusheld (tixagevimab co-packaged with cilgavimab), a long-acting antibody combination, has received a Notice of Compliance from Health Canada for the pre-exposure prevention of Covid-19 in patients 12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg. Additionally, Evusheld is indicated for individuals who have not had a known recent exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and who are immune-compromised.
Boehringer Ingelheim Canada and Eli Lilly Canada announced that Health Canada has granted marketing authorization for JARDIANCE (empagliflozin) for the treatment of chronic heart failure in adult patients.
Bristol Myers Squibb Canada (BMS) announced that Health Canada has approved ZEPOSIA (ozanimod) for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) who have had an inadequate response, loss of response, or had an intolerance to either conventional treatment or a biologic agent.
Amneal Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA has approved its Biologics License Application (BLA) for bevacizumab-maly, a biosimilar referencing Avastin. The product will be marketed under the name Alymsys and is the third bevacizumab biosimilar approved in the United States.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Season Six of the NPC Podcast has concluded, an ongoing exploration of Pharma’s purpose, process, and people with a diverse list of guests across eight episodes.
Podcast co-hosts Mitch Shannon, Jim Shea and Mark McElwain spoke with guests for various perspectives on career development, understanding cancer patient journeys, the impact of the pandemic on work in Pharma, and lessons from the vaccine rollout. 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.
2013 Inductee
Carol Levine
Toronto and Montreal
A healthcare PR veteran and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of energi PR, Digital, Communications, Carol Levine has been involved in the development of award-winning public relations programs. After graduating from Montreal’s McGill University, Levine worked in the non-profit and consumer sectors and currently applies her expertise to successfully delivering innovative healthcare PR programs to a client list that has included companies such as Astellas
Pharma Canada, Abbott, Biovail, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Galderma, Paladin laboratories, Triton, and Merck, to name a few.
An entrepreneur at heart, Levine set up a PR consultancy in the 1980s and later partnered with Esther Buchsbaum. The duo created a successful and national PR firm operating as communications MECA. After merging with another PR shop to form energi PR, with offices in Toronto and Montreal, they bought out their partner less than two years ago.
Some notable accomplishments in Levine's career have been the launch of Zostrix®, a therapy designed to treat post-herpetic neuralgia, the Canadian launch of Protopic®, a non-steroidal medication for eczema, as well as the launch and promotion of the biological agents Raptiva® (efalizumab) and Amevive® (alefacept), both innovative treatments for psoriasis.
Levine’s firm has been involved in the development of numerous patient education programs in dermatology and urology, focusing on conditions such as rosacea and eczema and overactive bladder. One patient education project she developed is a pre-transplant program aimed at preparing renal transplant recipients for the transplant process. Today, the program is available in numerous transplant centres in Canada and is compulsory in some.
The role of the PR professional is to be the client’s trusted advisor, according to Levine, immediate Past Chair of the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms and chair of the Business Committee of the Public Relations Global network. “Ultimately, you’re being paid to provide your expertise,” says Levine. “Sometimes, that means disagreeing with a client but, done in a productive and positive way, it helps everyone get to the best answer for the business.”
A new challenge in healthcare PR is managing the opportunities and impact of social media. Even if a client isn’t ready to take the plunge, they are counselled to understand social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter, as well as to monitor what’s being said about their brands online, notes Levine.
Levine and her firm are also involved in patient advocacy and work with clients to help “bring the patient’s voice forward in a meaningful and impactful way,” says Levine. “A lot of very forward-thinking pharmaceutical companies have been building brands with public relations,” says Levine. She is honoured to be inducted into the Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame, viewing this acknowledgement as recognition of PR within the healthcare marketing industry.
NEXT WEEK
In the 04/26 edition of the NPC Healthbiz Weekly, more from the recent 2022 NPC Spring Webinar, New Career Skills for Pharma’s Post-Covid Era. 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.