Toward a new era of LifeSci innovation
Mark Smithyes describes a promising future for the life sciences industry in Ontario (365 words, 2.5 min)
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is presented to you with support from Impres, Canada’s Next Generation Commercial Partner
“We’re entering a golden age in life sciences in Ontario,” said Mark Smithyes, President of Janus Life Sciences Consulting and Chair of the Board of Life Sciences Ontario.
Speaking on the latest episode in Season Eight of the NPC Podcast, Smithyes (photo below) laid out an extremely positive vision for the future of the domestic life sciences industry.
“In the next 12 to 24 months,” he predicted, “we’re going to see significant progress in the life sciences sector. There’s such a strong ecosystem, and the pieces are coming together.”
Smithyes said the provincial government is starting to recognize the impact of the LifeSci sector on not only the economy but also the well-being of all Ontarians, “in no small part due to Covid.” The direct result has been advancement in areas of policy that industry stakeholders have sought for years.
“We’ve seen from the current provincial government a commitment to build a life sciences strategy, something we’ve been asking for for a decade,” Smithyes said. “Not one built by the government, but with government, academia, and industry together.”
Other economic players are also recognizing the crucial role LifeSci plays, Smithyes said. “There’s a lot of investment going into lab space in Ontario,” he said. “Financing is there, and what they’re building is going to be amazing.”
“Opportunities [for investment] and innovation here in Ontario and more broadly in Canada is opening up,” Smithyes said, emphasizing that innovation and developing tech are “absolutely central” to the industry’s growth.
Smithyes’ role as a consultant, which often involves helping nascent life sciences companies find venture capital and angel funding and build their businesses, has afforded him a unique perspective of the latest advancements.
“I am dealing with the cutting-edge of technology and innovation,” Smithyes said, “and what I see is all the ingredients for an incredible life sciences community that rivals Boston and San Francisco.”
“It’s going to make our lives easier. It’s going to make clinical trials faster. It’s going to make the whole innovation process more efficient,” he said.
Innovation and leadership in the life sciences will be “the solution to the world’s problems, [such as] food insecurity [and] healthcare,” Smithyes believes. “I’m embracing it.”
THIS WEEK 11/08/22
Lundbeck Canada announced that Vyepti (eptinezumab for injection) is now available in Canada for the treatment of migraine in adult patients who have at least four migraines per month.
Health Canada has approved an update to the label of Novo Nordisk Canada’s Tresiba (insulin degludec injection) to allow its use in pregnant women with diabetes.
Roche Canada announced that the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH) Canadian Drug Expert Committee (CDEC) recommended Vabysmo (faricimab injection) for public reimbursement. This recommendation is for the treatment of diabetic macular edema in adult patients.
The EMPA-KIDNEY trial showed that Jardiance (empagliflozin) is effective in reducing kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death by 28% in people with chronic kidney disease. The trial, designed by the Medical Research Council Population Health Research Unit (at the University of Oxford, is being conducted in collaboration with Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly.
LISTEN NOW
In season eight of the NPC Podcast, Mark Smithyes, President of Janus Life Sciences Consulting, talks about balancing in-person meetings with virtual calls, how a background in political science helps in pharma and his volunteer work for non-profits. Hear him in conversation with podcast 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.
2002 Inductee
Angelo Botter
Montreal
This is the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame, and for the next few issues, we will be revisiting the inaugural class of inductees.
Editor’s note: Angelo is now retired.
“I will never forget my first sales call,” says Angelo Botter, who describes his first day as a drug rep as a rather “shaky” experience. Thirty years later, Botter has risen to the top of his game, honing his sales and marketing expertise along the way through progressive positions with numerous key companies in the industry.
Since joining Abbott in 1985, he has been promoted from a position as director of Abbott’s pharmaceutical products division to senior executive director of PPD with revenues estimated at a cool US$175 million.
Despite early aspirations to become a physician, fate would have it that Botter landed in the sales game early in life. “I was accepted into med school but couldn’t afford to go–and I don’t regret it. My Dad passed away and I had to get a job. I had absolutely no career plan whatsoever. I just went down to the local headhunter and they sent me to Bristol [Labs]. They offered me a job and I took it.”
Botter says he is sometimes still amazed at where his career has taken him and admits there has never been a dull minute. One of the most challenging moments of his career came when he was offered the job as national sales manager at Lederle in 1979, after working in the diagnostics business for seven years. “I had been out of the pharma industry for seven years and was 32 years old. The four district managers who reported to me were in their 50s. If you talk about learning on your feet–it was one of the steepest learning curves in business,” he recalls.
Ten years later, Botter would face one of the greatest challenges of his career as General Manager of Abbott South Africa (Pty) Ltd. Botter has vivid memories of his life and career in a new country where he was responsible for “very quickly” taking charge of the organization and setting in place the necessary strategies. “The whole country was undergoing massive change, and we saw the whole thing happen,” says Botter, referring to the intense political upheaval the country was experiencing at the time. From a business perspective, it was a three-year period that allowed Botter to do “my own thing” while being the international experience of a lifetime for both himself and his family.
These days, Botter reflects on the changes that are taking place in the industry. He notes, “In the days when I started it was reasonably simplistic–you had a drug, you had a sample, and if you made a good call, the drug was used. Today the sales rep is important but there’s a whole planning and strategic focus that has to happen before that rep hits the road. You have to have a strong company infrastructure to address all of the issues, including market access, opinion leader development, and the development of products. My advice for the younger folk who come into the business is: get schooled in the basics but get ready for a good competitive ride.”
NEXT WEEK
It’s easy to get your no-charge subscription to NPC Healthbiz Weekly, and we’ll send each issue to your phone or inbox each Tuesday at 6:00 a.m. sharp.
You are receiving this newsletter because you are a client of Chronicle Companies, attended a National Pharmaceutical Congress live event or webinar, or previously requested a subscription to one of our newsletters. If you no longer wish to subscribe to this newsletter, please send an email with the subject line “Unsubscribe NPC Healthbiz” to health@chronicle.org.
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is published by Chronicle Companies, 701 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, N.Y. 14203. Canadian Office: 555 Burnhamthorpe Road Suite 306, Toronto, Ont. M9C 2Y3 T 416 916 2476
Mitchell Shannon, Publisher; R. Allan Ryan, Editorial Director; John Evans, Kylie Rebernik, Jeremy Visser, Editors; Cristela Tello Ruiz, New Business Development; Catherine Dusome, Operations Manager
Content is copyright (c) 2022, Chronicle LifeSci America Corp., except as indicated. Are you interested in contributing to this newsletter or learning more about Chronicle’s services? Please write to us at health@chronicle.org.
Thanks for reading NPC Healthbiz Weekly. Subscribe for free to receive new posts directly to your inbox.