What makes a great leader?
The prexy of Acerus Pharma describes three significant challenges facing pharmaceutical leadership (620 words, 3 minutes)
NPC Healthbiz Weekly is presented to you in cooperation with Peak Pharma Solutions
Edward Gudaitis (photo below), president and CEO of Acerus Pharma, recently spoke on the NPC Podcast with guest host Tiana DiMichele about some of the most pressing challenges pharmaceutical leaders currently face.
According to Gudaitis, one major challenge will be returning to work after Covid. He said it was easy for many employees to transition to remote work, but a more significant concern will be returning to the workplace. Some employees may not be ready to return to work, he said. And for some companies, this could affect employee morale.
Another challenge to pharmaceutical leadership comes from a global business development perspective, Gudaitis said. The question may arise in distant headquarters: Does Canada even matter, in a global sense? With ever-changing regulations and proposed changes to PMPRB (see NPC Healthbiz Weekly passim), it remains to be seen whether Pharma corporations will rank Canada among jurisdictions selected for product launches and investment, he said.
“With public companies, there is a trend towards delisting and dropping TSX listings to go to NASDAQ because the healthcare investment dollar is much more focused in the US,” explained Gudaitis. “From a business development perspective, Canada holds a much smaller piece of the pie, with a lot more competition.”
Gudaitis adds a third challenge: When the Pharma industry emerges from the Covid pandemic, with which business model will the industry go forward? Pharma leaders do not yet know what the future state will look like.
“Our employees are going to be facing uncertainty, and they are going to have concerns,” said Gudaitis. Good leaders will need to be empathetic to this, he says.
Within work teams, leaders also need to ask themselves if they have contributed to their employees’ pressure and stress, he says.
Successful leaders can make informed, relevant, and timely decisions, and they are adaptable in their implementation. He adds, noting that above all, leaders are the ones who think about what’s suitable for everyone else.
Gudaitis concludes: “I think good leaders need to be prepared for change as well, both ourselves as leaders, but also the changes that we're going to have to lead the way through.”
LISTEN NOW
Hear the whole story: In this special episode of the NPC Podcast, Tiana DiMichele speaks with Ed Gudaitis, President and CEO of Acerus Pharmaceuticals, and Janine Pajot, VP of Human Resources at Bayer, about leading with authenticity, creating a culture of leadership, and the challenges that leaders in the Pharma industry must face.
15TH ANNUAL NATIONAL PHARMACEUTICAL CONGRESS
Registration is now open for the 15th Annual National Pharmaceutical Congress.
In celebration of the 15th year of NPC, this year’s theme is Fifteen Big Ideas Driving Pharma Forward Post-Covid. This year’s conference will be held virtually on October 20 & 27, 2021. Use our promo code “HEALTHBIZ” for 30 per cent off the registration price.
THE WEEK AHEAD: 09/21/21
Phase II trial results have found Enhertu (fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki), a HER2-directed antibody drug conjugate (ADC) from Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca, provided meaningful and durable tumour response in patients with HER2-positive metastatic or unresectable gastric cancer. Enhertu is already approved in Canada for treating HER2-positive breast cancer.
Bioscience Association Manitoba has published a new report identifying risks to the supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) in Manitoba. The report recommended reducing regulatory barriers (including by increasing regulatory staffing) and promoting innovation in materials and manufacturing.
GSK’s Nucala (mepolizumab) has been approved in Canada as an add-on to standard therapy for hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), a rare disorder characterized by over-production of eoosinophils, a type of white blood cell. Nucala is the first biologic approved for HES in Canada; this is Nucala’s third approved indication.
Jemincare Group has announced the completion of the Phase 1 trial assessing the safety and tolerability of its new SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibody JM2002, which saw no serious adverse events. The company intends to pursue further clinical efficacy trials for JM2002 in patients with Covid-19.
Crescita Therapeutics has announced an exclusive Canadian distribution agreement with Obagi Cosmeceuticals for the Obagi Medical product line. Obagi’s products are formulated to minimize signs of ageing, address dark spots, hyperpigmentation, fine lines and wrinkles, and enhance skin tone and texture.
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.
2016 Inductee
Heidi Forman
Toronto
Editor’s Note: Heidi Forman is SVP Managing Director at Klick Health
There are three things about Heidi Forman that are quickly noticed. First, she makes friends everywhere—airport gate attendants greet her by name (colleagues refer to this as her “art of the woo”). Second, she’s radically transparent—you always know what she’s thinking. And third, she’s relentless—if she can’t reach you by email, she’ll try to chat, text, or phone until she connects.
Twenty-five years ago, those trains combined to spur a big career change. Forman was a respiratory therapist and befriended and anesthetist. His wife was an art buyer at Ogilvy and Mather, an agency with a respiratory medicine portfolio. “Through this connection, Forman said, “I came to the realization about the existence of pharmaceutical advertising agencies.”
Being honest with herself, she loved patient care—but not other aspects of her job. She was ready for a change. So she networked and relentlessly followed up with Ogilvy and Mather until they hired her. “That’s how I got started in healthcare marketing,” said Forman.
Five years ago, Forman made another big leap, from traditional advertising as the managing director of Medicus Canada to a digital role with Klick Health. At Klick, she leads a business group focused on digital Agency of Record assignments for primary care and specialty brands, as well as enterprise technology solutions to drive efficiencies and best practices in healthcare marketing.
Now, Forman has reached a contented point in her life where she has never been so happy. “I got remarried this past summer. I have an incredible group of people in my life. I am grateful for my husband, our children, my friends and colleagues at work,” she said.
But that hasn’t made her any less relentless. She just channels it into her work. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my clients,” she said.
NEXT WEEK
In the 09/28 edition of the NPC Healthbiz Weekly, catch part two of the special interview on leadership in pharma, featuring Janine Pajot, VP of Human Resources at Bayer. 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.