Over the past year, PharmaBoardroom has spoken to pharma executives the world over, collecting unique perspectives from all sides of the industry. Here are the ten most-read interviews of 2022 that range from conversations with one of Korea’s top CDMOs to the American generics association and the Italian regulatory agency, via a dynamic Middle East hospital group, strong local affiliates and heavy-hitting European midcaps.
John Rim – CEO, Samsung Biologics
After a dynamic two years as CEO of Samsung Biologics, John Rim highlights some of the fundamentals behind the company’s rapid growth as a CDMO, including the creation of huge new manufacturing facilities to cope with increased demand, a dedication to carrying out technology transfers at half the speed of the industry average, and a focus on its people. Rim also touches on Samsung Biologics’ ESG commitments as part of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, his thoughts on Korea’s bio innovation ecosystem, and some of the key learnings arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are the only CDMO represented in the SMI’s Health Systems Task Force … This foregrounds our positioning as a strategic partner to pharma and a contributor to the betterment of society, global health, and the planet
David Hadley, CEO – Mediclinic Middle East
Mediclinic Middle East’s CEO David Hadley explains the UAE’s response to the pandemic and how Mediclinic was involved. He also discusses the oversupply of hospitals and other healthcare trends in the region.
The pandemic encouraged people to focus more on their health in one way or another. This creates the opportunity for a bigger focus on preventative care. We will obviously approach this very scientifically and thus decided to invest in a precision medicine laboratory
Juan Carlos Conde Ibarra – General Manager Spain & Portugal, Teva
Teva’s general manager for Spain and Portugal, Juan Carlos Conde Ibarra, dives into the recently announced strategy for the affiliate, including the move to a single brand in generics, and a bigger focus on specialty products, biologics and digitalization. In addition, he reflects on his 18 years with the company, the evolution he has seen firsthand, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current status of the company after five years with Kåre Schultz as CEO.
One in ten generics prescriptions in Spain – more than half of what retail pharmacies dispense to patients – are Teva products
Giorgio Palú, President, Italian Medicines Agency
Giorgio Palú, President of the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) helps us understand how the agency works, explains the criteria they use to evaluate innovative medicines and tells us about AIFA’s independent research program.
AIFA has always favoured innovation and, in this context, has defined specific criteria with the aim of guaranteeing quick access to medicines that have a clear therapeutic added value and of incentivising the development of drugs that offer substantial therapeutic benefits for patients
Allan Finkel – SVP LatAm, Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk’s Latin America lead Allan Finkel outlines the “alarming” burden of diabetes and obesity in his region, the progress that has been made via national campaigns against diabetes, and why countries in LatAm need to recognise obesity as the disease it is considering its heavy impact on patients’ lives and its links to many other diseases. Finkel also explains how LatAm is now the firm’s fastest growing region across all international operations and delineates his excitement at bringing next-generation Novo Nordisk products to the continent.
Our job in LatAm is to ensure that the population in general, as well as healthcare providers and governments, understand the importance of diagnosing and treating diabetes early, as well as recognising obesity as a disease to be able to treat it correctly
Gianfranco Nazzi – CEO, Almirall
Almirall CEO Gianfranco Nazzi dives into the new strategic focus of the global biopharmaceutical company with HQ in Barcelona as it seeks to serve the European medical dermatology market. The Italian executive reflects on his first few months at the helm, the cumulative experience of Almirall’s management board, the global dermatology market, and reveals why expansion of the company’s European footprint is crucial in order to be the in-licensing partner of choice in medical dermatology.
We truly believe that our R&D expertise, partnership appeal and focused go-to-market model make a recipe for success
Riad Armanious – CEO, EVA Pharma
With over 100 years of pharmaceutical industry heritage behind it, EVA Pharma has expanded rapidly in recent years, with a CAGR of 24.39 percent over the last three years, propelling the firm to second place in the overall Egyptian pharma market. CEO Riad Armanious explains why EVA Pharma is intensifying its innovative footprint – its Mounir Armanious Research Center (MARC) is now the largest dedicated site for pharmaceutical development and services in the MENA region –, outlines the exciting transformation underway within Egyptian healthcare, and talks about making EVA Pharma a ‘pan-African’ pharma champion.
At EVA Pharma, we are trying to be a pan-African company and, while we already have a presence in Western Europe and the Middle East, we see the biggest opportunity in Africa
Luis Arosemena – SVP Emerging Markets, GSK
GSK’s head of Emerging Markets, Luis Arosemena, comments on the strategic importance of this wide-ranging country grouping for the company, the structure of his organisation in Latin America, the importance of the country manager role, and explains how strong institutions make up for volatility in Latin America.
Five of the 16 countries that together account for 85 percent of the growth of [GSK’s emerging markets] region are from Latin America
Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi – Managing Director, Dubai Science Park
The managing director of Dubai Science Park (DSP), Marwan Abdulaziz Janahi, comments on Dubai’s success in becoming a regional hub for life sciences companies, the challenging reality of localizing high-tech manufacturing, and the move towards specialized centers of excellence within Dubai’s hospital infrastructure.
The community DSP is building comprises global companies as well as startups and we offer opportunities to companies regardless of where they are in the value chain, which is one of our key advantages
Dan Leonard & Erik C. Komendant – Association for Accessible Medicines
Dan Leonard, president and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) and Erik C. Komendant, the organisation’s senior vice president of Government Affairs, spoke to us about drug pricing issues in the United States and where the AAM stands with respect to the Biden administration’s initiatives to make medicines more affordable for American patients.
… if high drug prices are the problem – and this administration says that a lot – then generics and biosimilars are the solution. I think we are in alignment around the general idea that more affordable medicines for patients is the goal
