Pharm Exec Podcast

How to price a bio/pharmaceutical drug is one of the most complex topics for pharmaceutical executives, as there are many factors to consider. Alice Valder Curran, life sciences regulatory expert and partner, Hogan Lovells LLP, reveals the following to Pharmaceutical Executive® in this exclusive Pharm Exec Podcast interview: 1) the biggest drug pricing challenges today; 2) current efforts to lower drug pricing; 3) what companies should consider as it relates to drug pricing from a legal perspective; 3) the status of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), specifically what should companies be watching for; 4) potential impact on companies from the IRA; 5) IRA milestones we will be seeing through the end of the year; and 6) drug pricing recommendations (from a legal perspective). ACT podcast: https://www.appliedclinicaltrialsonline.com/editorial-podcasts

In this podcast, Sharlene Jenner, vice president of engagement strategy at Abelson Taylor and professor of AI and personalization for digital marketers at Southern Methodist University, leads a panel of five industry leaders in a roundtable discussion. The conversation delves into the practicalities of current AI applications and confronts the ethical and regulatory issues related to the technology. The panelists also explore the direct consequences and prospective implications of AI, providing listeners with a snapshot of the present and an outlook on the transformative potential of emerging technologies in the pharmaceutical marketing sphere. The panel consists of: Faruk Capan, chief innovation officer, EVERSANA, and CEO, EVERSANA INTOUCH; Anurag Banerjee, CEO and founder, Quilt.AI; Jeff Headd, vice president, commercial data science, The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson; and Stephen Onikoro, senior principal, head of strategy, PharmaForceIQ. Sponsored by: ZS https://www.zs.com/

In this podcast, Mohit Manrao, the SVP and head of US oncology at AstraZeneca, shares his journey from growing up in Northern India with aspirations of becoming a doctor, to leading oncology initiatives at AstraZeneca in the US. A central strategy to ultimately eliminate cancer includes ensuring that the latest scientific advancements are accessible to patients in every zip code and the necessity of integrating the patient perspective at every stage—from early discovery to commercialization, recognizing the importance of diverse patient needs, non-invasive diagnostics, and alleviating challenges in access to screenings and treatments.

Welcome to a riveting episode of the Pharm Exec podcast, where we dive headfirst into the transformative world of AI in healthcare with Sharlene Jenner, vice president of engagement strategy with the award-winning agency Abelson Taylor. This enlightening conversation traverses the advancements and potential risks of AI, the revolution it is stirring in pharmaceutical marketing, and its game-changing role in understanding complex protein structures. Amid the rapid innovation, we explore the urgent need for ethical guidelines and regulations to keep pace with technology.

We all know that the pharma industry is about people—bettering the lives of others through good research, life-changing pharmaceuticals, and keeping the patient front and center. But Jag Dosanjh, president, US neuroscience and eye care, AbbVie, lives that principle. In this podcast episode, Meg Rivers, managing editor, talks with Dosanjh about what he calls a “people business” and his approach to leadership. He starts his career in the medical sales space before working in many different roles and therapeutic areas before ultimately landing at AbbVie. He was also nominated HBA’s mentor of the year and shares insights into being a good leader and mentor. One of his tips was: “If you listen well, you can learn well.” In addition, he emphasized the importance of curiosity, learning, and the pursuit of a smile.

This Pharma 50 companion episode delves into the vital topic of trust within the pharmaceutical industry. Morton Nielsen, senior partner for the life sciences practice at Wittkieffer, dissects the concept, drawing on parallels to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and discusses practical methods for measuring and operationally improving trust. This episode is a must-listen for those interested in understanding the current state and future evolution of trust in the pharmaceutical sector, an industry where trust forms a fundamental pillar for delivering on its mission statement. Read the 2023 Pharma 50 article here: https://www.pharmexec.com/view/2023-pharm-exec-top-50-companies

The 2023 Emerging Pharma Leaders share with Meg Rivers, managing editor of Pharmaceutical Executive, and the editorial team what makes a good leader, what has made them the proudest in their career, lessons they wish they had known when starting out, and more. Congratulations to the 2023 Emerging Pharma Leaders: Natasha A. Hernday, chief business officer, Seagen; Simon Holland, vice president, women's health commercial lead, Organon; Justin To, chief operating officer, skeletal dysplasias and gene therapy, Bridge Bio; Frank Watanabe, president and CEO, Arcutis Biotherapeutics; and Hanadie Yousef, PhD, co-founder and CEO, Juvena Therapeutics. SPONSOR: APEX Awards https://www.pharmexec.com/apex-awards

Launching a drug and receiving approvals—whether it’s in the U.S. or globally—is challenging to navigate. It’s a process that often takes years and a lot of back-and-forth communication with regulatory bodies. In this episode, Torrey Cope, partner, food, drug, and medical device practice, Sidley Austin LLP, discusses drug approvals and drug launches from a legal perspective, including 1) his work as an attorney; 2) tips for drug approvals from a legal perspective; 3) current regulatory challenges the industry is facing in the U.S.; 4) the shift away from a one-sized-fits all approach to marketing and global launches; 5) tips for companies navigating the regulatory landscape in the U.S.; 6) when to launch a drug in a country outside of the U.S.; and 7) drug pricing. Join Meg Rivers, managing editor, as she dives into this topic with Cope.

In this episode of the Pharmaceutical Executive Podcast, we dive into a conversation with Frank Watanabe, president and CEO of Arcutis, a medical dermatology company with a patient-first approach. Discover how Arcutis is transforming the dermatology landscape with its innovative product offerings, such as FDA-approved Zoryve for topical treatment of plaque psoriasis and their upcoming products for seborrheic dermatitis and atopic dermatitis. Learn about the company's guiding principles, the importance of keeping patients at the forefront of decision-making, and the need for further innovation in the dermatology sector after decades of stagnation.

Elizabeth (Beth) Garner, chief scientific officer for Ferring Pharmaceuticals, speaks with Meg Rivers, managing editor, about: 1) her journey into the world of pharma, including her transition from being a physician/surgeon to working in clinical trials; 2) both women’s and men’s reproductive health; 3) the latest technologies in fertility treatment (for men and women); 4) unmet needs in fertility care; 5) trends in contraception and fertility treatment; 6) DE&I and access to care, and 7) predictions for the contraception and fertility treatment spaces in the coming years

Two companies join forces to unlock the hidden potential in existing drugs to save lives suffering from rare diseases. In 2010, Dr. David Fajgenbaum, co-founder, Every Cure, was a third-year medical student when he became critically ill with Castleman disease (CD). After months of hospitalization and in critical condition, nearly dying several times, he launched an initiative to find treatments to save his life and others. Fajgenbaum and Michelle Longmire, CEO and co-founder, Medable—both physicians and entrepreneurs—team up in a new partnership to treat rare diseases by repurposing drugs that are already on the market and finding other therapeutic areas where these drugs can have an impact.

Cathi Ahearn is a seasoned biotechnology leaders with formative stints at Genentech, Roche, and now at Bristol Myers Squibb, as SVP of worldwide commercial portfolio strategy. Cathi is focused on one goal: shortening the path between creating medical innovation and getting that innovation to patients. Cathi chats with senior editor at Pharmaceutical Executive about her experiences in the past 20+ years and most importantly, the power of cross-functional collaboration, bringing different teams together and tearing down silos that limit the impact new innovations can have for patients.

Across most industries, finding and keeping the right talent is a constant challenge for companies. This challenge is perhaps even more prevalent in the pharmaceutical industry, which requires a significant amount of specialization. Rebekah Martin, senior VP of reward, inclusion, and talent acquisition for AstraZeneca, discusses recruiting talent in pharma with Meg Rivers, managing editor. Specifically, Martin talks about 1) her journey into pharma; 2) reasons that finding and keeping talent is a challenge today in pharma; 3) ways to address the need for talent; 4) identifying and nurturing young talent; 5) increasing interest in working in bio/pharma, particularly among students; 6) how talent can be nurtured; and 7)how the industry can support and encourage diversity in the workforce.

Join Tina Fascetti, CCO of The Agency Network at MJH Life Sciences for a podcast interview with Ryan Potter, ACD Art, and Priscila Ramos, ACD Copy, from McCann Health as they share the "behind the creative" story of their Apex Award-winning consumer creative campaign for Entresto. The Apex Awards is judged by none other than the people they are aimed to connect with, the patients themselves.

In his position, Faruk Capan leads thousands of employees around the globe with a focus on bold innovation—one can imagine how excited he is about Chat GPT, which set the record for fastest-growing user base in history. Senior editor Fran Pollaro and Faruk go back and forth about positives, negatives, hopes, and fears attached to generative AI for us as regular humans, and as pharma marketers. The pair delve into content creation, creative, video production, research, sales and marketing…it’s clear that we’re on the precipice of life-changing innovation.

It is no easy feat to break into a male-dominated field as a woman, no less the bio/pharmaceutical industry. Piper Trelstad, PhD, head of chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC), Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute, shares with Meg Rivers, editor-in-chief of Pharmaceutical Executive, her experiences working in the industry, specifically in the vaccines space, as well as what it was like for her moving up the ranks as a woman. Other topics discussed include Trelstad’s predictions for more women working at the C-suite level, the inner workings of the Bill & Melinda Gates Medical Research Institute (including work on an infant probiotic), insight into her personal journey, and more.

Amanda Powers-Han, chief marketing officer at Greater Than One, has a couple of decades in the industry and is always on top of the latest trends in marketing and media for the pharma industry. She talks with senior editor Fran Pollaro about the ascension of social media as an incremental investment to one that is foundational. The pair delve into the honed focus on HCPs, especially in the rare disease space, building out sophisticated targeting strategies via multiple data partners, and the different uses across the social landscape, especially with video—from HCP social sites like Dermo and Medscape to the topical Twitter and its recognized peers like TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Cell and gene therapies are at the tip of everyone’s tongues in biopharma. Significant headway has been made in this space, though there is more research that needs to be done and many more therapeutic areas to eventually apply this method of treatment to. Chris Fox, president of Novartis Gene Therapies, shares insights into her work with gene therapies and discusses commercialization challenges. Through its gene therapies business, Novartis builds on the capabilities created through its experience with Zolgensma, a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy. Fox also dives into how she entered the pharma space, her role at Novartis, balancing work and home life, and what the Novartis team is most proud of from 2022 as well as what they are most excited about in 2023.

As a society and industry, we’re emerging out of a period of hyper-accelerated digital and virtual growth, a positive born out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many in the industry are wondering how the sales force is going to look and how they’re going to approach and communicate effectively with HCPs and patients. Pratap Khedkar, CEO of ZS, discusses this time of change with senior editor, Fran Pollaro, as well as the implications associated with the Inflation Reduction Act, the focus and importance of patient-centricity, what we might see in 2023 in the sales and marketing vertical, and more.

On this week’s episode, Meg Rivers, editor-in-chief, and Miranda Schmalfuhs, group social media editor, speak with Steve Paul, chairman of the board, president, and CEO of Karuna Therapeutics, as well as Andrew Miller, founder and chief operating officer of Karuna Therapeutics. Miller was also one of Pharm Exec’s 2020 Emerging Pharma Leaders. The editors speak with Paul and Miller about the following: 1) their journey into pharma; 2) the factors that impact their decision to pursue any individual drug product; 3) the mental health/disorder treatment landscape; 4) what treatment has been like, historically, for schizophrenia and psychosis in Alzheimer's disease; 5) the company’s drug, KarXT, which is being evaluated in schizophrenia and psychosis in Alzheimer's disease; and 6) potential marketing and commercialization challenges for KarXT.