Javier Alvarado, general manager of Mundipharma Spain, discusses his current priorities and the innovation the company is bringing to the market through a diversified portfolio. Furthermore, he points out the importance of long-term strategic partnerships for the company´s success and his future aspirations for the affiliate.
What is your impression of the Spanish pharmaceutical market today?
The Spanish pharmaceutical market has managed to maintain a favourable level of access to innovative medicines by maintaining control of pharmaceutical expenditure that guarantees the sustainability of the system. It is true that in Spain we are facing increasingly restrictive processes to ensure that innovative drugs, financed by the administrations, reach the pharmaceutical market. Nevertheless, ensuring that patients continue to have access to these drugs that enable them to significantly improve their quality of life, without putting our current health system at risk, should be the major goal of all those who, in one way or another, are involved in health care.
What are your current priorities as the general manager of Mundipharma Spain?
In Mundipharma Spain one of the key priorities we are committed to is facilitating access to new medicines and aligned with this priority we hope to launch two new innovative drugs in the first quarter of 2019.
However, accessibility to innovative therapies is an essential factor in guaranteeing the sustainability of the system. With this objective in mind, we are taking an important step in that direction by entering the market of biosimilars in Spain. This is an area in which other independent associated companies within the group have already successfully demonstrated their commercial excellence by building a market leading platform. We are excited about following their lead this year.
What do you consider to be the success drivers for Mundipharma in Spain?
We have a very clear direction to focus on innovation and commercial excellence through building partnerships. We are proud to be a learning organization; learning from our setbacks and celebrating successes.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the commitment and passion of our people. We put a great emphasis on hiring and retaining talented individuals who enjoy working in an environment which fosters their growth and offers them multiple development opportunities. The proof of our commitment to our employees is that Mundipharma Spain has been awarded the lead position as a Great Place to Work not just once, but several times over.
The transparency, communication, and commitment allow the people working for Mundipharma to have a clear direction of where they are going in the company. Our talent differentiates us from other companies in the industry and we strive to find team members who share the same goals and be willing to build projects together. It is important to have the right assets, but also essential to have the right people to drive the assets forward.
What is the strategic importance of Spain for Mundipharma in Europe and how has the affiliate evolved over the last two years?
The importance of Spain in Mundipharma Europe has increased exponentially in recent years, mainly thanks to the significant financial results of the Spanish affiliate, the implementation of a product diversification strategy aligned with European objectives, and our focus on the development of collaboration agreements with third-party companies – the role of partnerships is fundamental in achieving commercial excellence.
We are absolutely convinced that it is impossible to make significant progress alone nowadays. That is why becoming a partnership centred organization with other stakeholders is crucial for Mundipharma. We have extensive experience in establishing collaboration agreements and it is an area in which we will continue to work intensely because we have already experienced the success of these types of initiatives.
From a different perspective, we are making an enormous contribution towards achieving our European objectives, as more and more people who started at Mundipharma Spain are now leading European projects or assuming international responsibilities in important roles for the group such as business development, financial, and legal areas. A personal example is that I have recently assumed the leadership of Mundipharma Portugal, and I am very excited about the opportunity to lead another great team.
Can you offer an overview of the portfolio being offered in Spain and its key growth drivers?
In the upcoming pipeline, we have new drugs that we hope to market very soon. Among them is the launch of Flutiform K-haler®, a new drug for the treatment of asthma, which greatly simplifies one of the major problems of the treatment of this disease, the inhalation technique. In the area of analgesia, we are aiming to obtain reimbursement of an inhaled analgesic for the relief of acute pain in the field of medical emergency, in which both the drug and its method of administration represent a great advancement for patients.
The other great growth engine is the recent collaboration with Janssen that allowed us to enter the diabetes area last year with Invokana® and Vokanamet®. Two drugs based on a molecule of the most novel therapeutic group in the treatment of this pathology, the so-called inhibitors of SGLT2 receptors.
Finally, and also strategically very important for us, is the fact that we have strengthened our position as a leader in biosimilars with the acquisition of the development company Cinfa Biotech. This expands our biosimilar platform beyond commercial excellence to development.
Thanks to this acquisition we will be able to market Pelmeg®, our first biosimilar in Spain. We are confident that our entry into this market will open the door for yet more success for the Company.
What is the strategy of Mundipharma Spain to manage the fragmented nature of the ecosystem with 17 autonomous communities?
Our strategy is based on dialogue and collaboration with national and regional administrations which are responsible for health competencies. We consider it essential to facilitate the access of innovative drugs for patients, ensuring the sustainability and equity of the system.
How is Mundipharma working with key stakeholders to add extra value to the healthcare ecosystem?
If one of the company’s priorities is to encourage the establishment of collaboration agreements with third parties, it is evident that the development of initiatives that favour this interaction is part of our DNA. One example is the collaboration for the design, execution, and analysis of a clinical trial with the Spanish Clinical Research Network (SCReN). SCReN a non-profit platform that brings together Clinical Research Units of 12 autonomous communities, integrated within a scientific community in which decisions about medical practice are based on evidence obtained from quality clinical research.
Additionally, we have entered into a collaboration for the pharma-economics training of primary care pharmacists selected by a Scientific Society, through the Chair of Economics at the Carlos III University – considered a center of excellence.
What is your vision for Mundipharma Spain in the upcoming years?
Looking towards the future is always exciting as we are an ambitious company and will continue creating competitive advantages. We will face interesting challenges and will deal with them by showing responsible management, having efficient processes in place, and of course, by maintaining our accountable, can-do mindset.
An important objective moving forward will be related to the great common goal of accessibility and sustainability, and we will do our utmost to achieve important improvements in this national objective.
