Pf Magazine September 2016

ss e n k th c i s In n heal &i

September 2016 PHARMAFI E LD.CO.U K

The 2017 Pf Awards are now open The Pf Awards are now in their 17th year and are recognised as the largest sales awards in the UK Pharmaceutical and Medical Device industry.

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EDITOR

John Pinching john@pharmafield.co.uk A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R

Amy Schofield amy@pharmafield.co.uk ART DIRECTOR

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Spirella Building Bridge Road Letchworth Garden City Hertfordshire SG6 4ET United Kingdom Cover illustration by Alex Buccheri alexbuccheri.com The content of and information contained in this magazine are the opinions of the contributors and/or the authors of such content and/or information. Events 4 Healthcare accepts no responsibility or liability for any loss, cost, claim or expense arising from any reliance on such content or information. Users should independently verify such content or information before relying on it. The Publisher (Events 4 Healthcare) and its Directors shall not be responsible for any errors, omissions or inaccuracies within the publication, or within other sources that are referred to within the magazine.

The Publisher provides the features and advertisements on an ‘as is’ basis, without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability or fi tness for a particular purpose, other than those warranties that are implied by and capable of exclusion, restriction, or modification under the laws applicable to this agreement.

W

Letter from the Editor

atching the Trump locomotive steam through America is pure voyeurism. The USA is in disarray − guns dominate and civil rights are disappearing in smoke − it’s as if Martin Luther King and Malcolm X never happened. They want change, but is this guy the ‘trump card’ they need? Doubt lingers because change can only live if it is oxygenated by positivity.

In comparison, our EU exit seems like a minor bun fight. Britain’s ability to change and make new circumstances work has always been our great strength. Furthermore, I still think we are one of the most diverse societies in the world. There is still much to be proud of if you’re British.

That extends to our record in fighting disease. Across pharma, however, there has been a historical reticence when it comes to doing things differently. Not in the development of therapies, but in how they are delivered, marketed and communicated.

Recently, however, I have noticed a braver approach. In this edition we will witness the way a pharma company has collaborated with a comic book legend to defeat taboos about long term conditions, and we will see how strategies for specific patients can trigger better medicines adherence. We will, in essence, see the coming of age for pharma, when it comes to engaging with patients.

The ability to transform and reach unchartered professional summits will also be realised through interviews with the ABPI’s Steve Turley − who loves a chicken madras − and former Pf Award winner Ian Robinson, who still remembers 2002 with great affection.

In many ways, Pf Magazine is a bastion of positive change and in this issue we celebrate those that are flying to new horizons.

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Pf is published monthly. For subscription details, telephone 01462 476119 or email hello@pharmafield.co.uk.

HAVE AN OPINION ON SOMETHING YOU ' VE RE AD IN P f MAGA ZINE? @NewPfMag

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 1

MAGAZINE

Contents Adherence to taking medicines is more than the simple act of taking the medication – a creative approach, which recognises the complex behaviours around adherence, is key to improving adherence and health outcomes.

Cover story, page 8

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Where we bring you this month's essential headlines

Superman and Batman step aside – there’s a new hero and he’s got a long term disease

Another jaunt down memory lane as we unearth a Pf Award winner from yesteryear

N E WS

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F E AT U R E

The only place where the virtues of cockroach milk are honestly deconstructed

8

F E AT U R E

What happens when the worlds of science and creativity collide in matrimony

10 F E AT U R E

Let’s take a delightful jaunt around the ‘brand new' Department of Health team

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F E AT U R E

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F E AT U R E

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OPINION

P H A R M ATA L E N T

It’s the illness-related word that gets Brits talking more than any other – yep, ‘flu’ is back

We reveal the people jumping on and off the pharma merry go-round

OPINION

C O F F E E B R E A K V P H A R M ATA L E N T

Henry Rubinstein returns, and he’s as mad as hell, and he’s not going take it anymore

Steve Turley tells JP why he isn’t an accountant in Sunderland

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20 F E AT U R E

Modelling and simulation is paving the way for a brave new pharma revolution

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P f N E WS : B R IN G IN G YOU TH I S M O NTH ' S E SS ENTI A L H E A D LIN E S

ASTHMA

BREATH of FRESH AIR for ASTHMA SUFFERERS

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he first new asthma pill for nearly 20 years has the power to significantly reduce symptoms in severe sufferers, a study by the University of Leicester has found.

The research was funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the EU (AirPROM).

ALZHEIMER'S. DISEASE.

PROACTIVE PROTEIN PROVIDES ALZHEIMER’S HOPE

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Fevipiprant (QAW039) improved lung function, reduced inflammation and repaired the lining of airways and is currently being evaluated in late stage clinical trials for efficacy in patients with severe asthma, according to ClinTrials.gov.

Lead researcher Professor Chris Brightling, NIHR Senior Research Fellow at the University of Leicester, said: “Fevipiprant could help to stop preventable asthma attacks, reduce hospital admissions and improve day-to-day symptoms.”

new protein to help scientists understand why nerve cells die in people with Alzheimer’s disease has been designed in a laboratory at the University of Sussex.

Amyloid-beta (Abeta) proteins stick together to make amyloid fibrils, which form clumps between neurons in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. It is thought that these build-ups kill off brain cells, leading to the cognitive decline associated with the disease.

It is not known why the stickiness of these proteins causes brain cells to die and, until now, scientists have not been able to accurately test whether they have

M E R G E R S & AC Q U I S I T I O N S

Friends with benefits Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Allergan have announced that Teva has successfully completed its acquisition of Allergan’s generics business, Actavis Generics.

As part of the approval from the European Commission, and in order to guarantee continuity of competition in the UK and Irish markets, the Commission instructed Teva to divest a viable standalone business operation based around Actavis’ assets. This includes a portfolio of generic molecules, Actavis’ Barnstaple manufacturing plant, and personnel to run the business unit in the UK and Ireland. This standalone operation will be sold in the near future.

The remainder of Allergan’s generics business in the UK and Ireland is to be integrated with Teva’s operation, in line with the global transaction.

Over 30 roles will move from Actavis into the Teva UK business, as well as several generic lines, medicines to treat cystic fibrosis and some over-the-counter products.

Currently, 1300 people in the UK, across multiple locations, are employed in the research and development, manufacturing, production, packaging and marketing of devices used in the UK and across the world.

different effects, compared with individual proteins that are not stuck together.

University of Sussex scientists have now created a new protein which closely resembles the Abeta version in size and shape, but which contains two different amino acids. The new protein does not form amyloid fibres or sticky clumps, and is not toxic to nerve cells – unlike Abeta – according to a study published in the open access Nature Publishing Group Journal.

The designers are now working with the Sussex Innovation Centre to research commercial opportunities for the protein.

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 3

BAC K T WE ET THE WORD ON CYBER STREET SOMETHING TO SAY? @NewPfMag

ANIMAL TESTING

Scientists want end to ‘hidden’ animal tests

GSK @GSK

Our new #bioelectronics co will fuse the skills of GSK scientists & Verily engineers to develop meds of the future

Routine scientific procedures using millions of animals are still being authorised despite tried and tested alternatives being available, according to scientists investigating the production of antibodies.

Writing in the Cell Press Journal, the scientists said the use of animals in consumer society is effectively ‘hidden’ and products that the public believe to be ‘animal-friendly’ are far from it. They write that an animal-friendly antibody production technique, using bacteriophage viruses instead of live animals, is being overlooked, despite the enormous potential for a reduction in the use of animals for testing.

The global antibody industry relies heavily on animals to produce the antibodies that are used to detect a vast range of molecules indicative of health, safety or the environment.

Dr Alison Gray, a visiting researcher at The University of Nottingham’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, lamented the practices: “The target molecule to be detected is repeatedly injected into the animal, initiating an immune response. Months later, the animal is euthanased and antibodies to that molecule are extracted and incorporated into an in-vitro, ‘animal-free’ test.”

Dr Andrew Bennett, Director of the Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) Laboratory, which is based in The University of Nottingham Medical School, added: “Antibodies can be made without using animals and the technology is both accessible and robust. FRAME will be working with and supporting Dr Gray in order to promote the use of phage display technology.”

Jeremy Hunt @Jeremy_Hunt

Excellent to see massive improvement in cancer survival rates, where we now treat 130 more people every day vs 2010 British HumanistsVerified @BHAhumanists

Great work by @NAT_AIDS_Trust, establishing through judicial review that the NHS can fund HIV prevention drug #PrEP Irrational_Chap @Irrational_Chap

A customer of a pharma company will pay a lot to get his life saved.

A customer of a tobacco company will pay a lot for just the opposite.

Nicola Blackwood @nicolablackwood

Delighted to be appointed as Minister in @DHgovuk. I’ll miss superb @CommonsSTC team a lot but will keep fighting for science & innovation Pfizer Inc. @pfizer

It takes an average of 1,600 scientists to bring one medicine to life.

Owen 4 PM @OwenSmith4PM

@Valpatg @tobyperkinsmp Owen has not promoted the privatisation of the NHS. Working for Pfizer does not make you a bad person.

PCWHF @pcwhf

We’re planning our #meded courses for 2017! So far you’ve suggested webinars on #headache and #transgender health.

What else should we do??

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C

INVESTMENT

hase Search and Selection Limited (‘CHASE’) has secured significant investment from the private equity firm Vespa Capital. Advising CHASE in this process were corporate finance specialists, Clearwater International.

Vespa Capital will support CHASE’s continued development, with investment in existing and new personnel and systems to promote further growth. They will also assist the company in its ambitions to deliver a wider set of flexible contract and permanent recruitment solutions to the pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare sectors.

The award-winning business, established in 1998 by Chris and Judy Phillips, started life as a permanent recruitment agency serving the pharmaceutical sector. Today, CHASE is the largest independent recruitment and contract sales organisation (CSO) in the UK, providing specialist sales, nursing and marketing personnel to pharmaceutical, biotech and healthcare customers.

Chris Phillips, Chairman, said: “We considered both trade and private equity solutions, but concluded that CHASE is a great fit to Vespa Capital, who demonstrate similar beliefs, business practices and ethics.”

NEWS

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CANCER

Catchpole in the wry The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has responded to the new Cancer Drugs Fund (CDF) ‘going live’.

Dr Paul Catchpole, the ABPI’s Director of Value & Access, called the CDF a “welcome step in the right direction for researchers, developers and manufacturers of cancer medicines, and good news for the NHS and patients”. He did add, however, that although the ABPI welcomes parts of the new Fund, further evolution of NICE’s appraisal process is required.

“By joining the dots between NICE and NHS England to ensure medicines are made available during periods of evidence collection and further analysis, drugs companies who provide access to the latest innovations in oncology, and patients, should eventually both benefit from a more simplified process,” he said.

Dr Catchpole noted that without further evolution of NICE, “we may see the clock set back on access to innovation”.

He added that medicines for rare diseases and with smaller markets are currently being held back due to NICE’s current decision–making process: “We will continue to be at risk of seeing more medicines routinely turned down for use unless there is greater flexibility in NICE’s core appraisal process.”

GENETICS.

DAFT DARE DOUSES DISEASE

n international research team, which benefitted from ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ donations has identified a new amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) gene. 'NEK1' is now recognised as among the most common genes that contribute to the disease.

The genome-wide association study was part of Project MinE’s global gene sequencing effort and the discovery will also provide scientists with another potential therapy for ALS. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The study involved contributions from over 80 researchers in 11 countries, making it the largest-ever of familial (inherited) ALS. NEK1 was discovered through a genome-wide search for ALS risk genes in over 1000 ALS families, and was independently found through different means in an isolated population in The Netherlands.

Lucie Bruijn, Ph.D., chief scientist for the ALS Association, said: “The Ice Bucket Challenge enabled The ALS Association to create large biorepositories of ALS biosamples that are designed to allow exactly this kind of research and to produce exactly this kind of result.”

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A P P R OVA L S

NICE to see you

ICE has published draft guidance recommending AstraZeneca’s anti-clotting drug Brilinta (ticagrelor), in combination with aspirin, for people who have had a heart attack. NICE recommends ticagrelor 60 mg, at a cost of around £1 per tablet – with aspirin – taken twice a day for up to three years. It will be specifically for people who have had a heart attack at least 12 months ago, and remain at high risk of having a further heart attack or stroke. Draft guidance states there should be no delay between treating at the higher 90 mg dose and the lower dose.

NICE is looking at the use of ticagrelor at a lower dose, beyond the initial 12-month period, as a continuation of their previous ticagrelor treatment. In 2012/13 there were around 140,000 hospital admissions for heart attacks in England.

Professor Carole Longson MBE, NICE Health Technology Evaluation Centre Director, said: “As many as a quarter of people who have had a heart attack go on to have another heart attack or stroke – often with devastating consequences. We are pleased to be able to increase the treatment options available to many thousands.”

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 5

HIV

PrEP talk A High Court judge has ruled that there is nothing to stop NHS England from funding a ‘game-changing’ HIV prevention drug.

NHS England (NSHE) had argued that it was not their responsibility to fund the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) drug, saying that it was for local councils to decide.

The National AIDS Trust (NAT) challenged the stance and Mr Justice Green ruled that NHSE bosses had “erred” in their argument.

Despite the ruling, however, PrEP will not automatically be funded.

NHSE plans to appeal, and while awaiting the hearing, will carry out a review of the evidence.

The once-daily treatment has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection from unprotected sex in men, by more than 90%. It works by disabling the virus and stopping it multiplying, and costs £400 a month, per person.

The treatment is currently used in the US, Canada, Australia and France.

In May, NHSE said that it did not have the legal power to commission PrEP. Meanwhile, The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) responded to the ruling by calling for a consistent commissioning process. Chief Executive Mike Thompson said: “NHS England and drugs companies must now find a way to ensure the very latest medical innovations get to the patients who need them as quickly and efficiently as possible, and this must be done within a commissioning process that is fair, consistent and transparent.”

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CANCER

Cancer becomes top Euro killer According to new data, cancer now kills more people than heart disease in a number of European countries.

It becomes the main cause of death in 12 countries, with 17.3 million deaths globally.

The study, published in the European Heart Journal, showed that in the European region – which is defined as the 53 member states of the World Health Organisation – more men die of cancer than diseases of the heart and blood vessels.

The findings showed that in France, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain and

ANTIMICROBIAL .

R E S I S TA N C E .

GETTING UP YOUR NOSE

S

Britain, more men die of cancer than of cardiovascular disease (CVD). This was also the case in Norway and Israel, which are not members of the EU. Meanwhile, France was the first country where cancer overtook heart disease as the main cause of death in men.

According to figures from 2011, 92,375 men in France died from cancer and 64,659 died from heart diseases. Figures from Spain, which emerged in 2013, suggested that 67,711 men died from cancer and 53,487 died from heart disease. In Britain, 87,511 men died from cancer and 79,935 from CVD, in 2013.

cientists have discovered a new class of antibiotics by studying the bacterial battles being waged up people’s noses.

Researchers at Germany’s University of Tubingen realised that people with the bug Staphylococcus lugdunensis (S. lugdunensis), present in their nostrils, were less likely to have Staphylococcus aureus (S. auresus) – found in the noses of 30% the population.

The researchers used various strains of genetically-modified S. lugdunensis to identify the piece of genetic code that made it victorious in the nasal battle. Their search led them to a single gene that contained the instructions for building a new antibiotic which could treat superbug infections, naming it ‘lugdunin’ in the process.

F E AT U R E WORDS BY

Amy Schofield

Could cockroach milk save humanity?

Don’t believe the hype: health headlines dissected

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recent study revealed that the most nutrient-rich milk in the world comes from cockroaches.

But don’t worry, baby roaches won’t be dragged screaming from their mothers for the sake of your latte. Analysis of the composition of cockroach milk could provide us with a blueprint for developing new superfoods for humans, without a hair on any cockroach’s head being harmed − although, funnily enough, they can actually live up to a week without their head.

TH E S TU DY The naturally-formed crystals in the embryos intrigued the scientists. They set out to discover how the cockroaches achieved this rare feat, and whether it could be replicated in the laboratory to create a nutritional super-supplement.

Researchers from the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (inStem) in Bengaluru, India, sequenced the genes responsible for producing the milk protein crystals. The research was duly published in the Journal of the International Union of Crystallography.

TH E S TO RY The crystallised form of proteins, sugars and fats that make up cockroach milk is a potent protein-rich nutritional powerhouse, which could potentially save the day in the event of world food shortages.

The study looked at how the larvae of the Diploptera punctata − also known as the Pacific beetle cockroach − take in nutrients from their mother. The cockroach female feeds the embryo with a milk with a protein concentration that is up to 60 times higher than without it. The embryo doesn’t guzzle it all at once, instead crystallising the liquid in its gut and using it gradually over time.

W HAT TH E PR E S S SA I D : ‘Cockroach milk could be good for you’ TIME ‘Roach proteins show way to superfood’ Times of India; ‘Forget kale and quinoa − the new superfood is cockroach milk’ Metro.

TH E R E S U LT S The researchers found that a single protein crystal from the cockroach embryo’s gut contains more than three times the energy of buffalo milk. Lead author Subramanian Ramaswamy said: “If you need food that is calorifically high, that is time-released and food that is complete. This is it.”

TH E D E A L While you won’t be pouring cockroach milk on your cornflakes any time soon, as a food supplement, such a dense source of protein and nutrients, this holds great potential. Now that researchers have identified the sequence, they plan to use yeast to produce the crystal in much larger amounts. With further testing, using human nutrients, this method could help alleviate world food shortages.

MILKING IT People with a

FEAR OF COCKROACHES ARE CALLED

KATSARIDAPHOBES

Cockroaches can hold their breath for

40 MINUTES

33

They can spread

different kinds of bacteria PF’S ART DIRECTOR ONCE ATE AN ENTIRE COCKROACH AS PART OF A RECKLESS $20 BET

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 7

In sickness & in health How can science and creativity marry to create better medicines adherence?

WORDS BY

Amy Schofield

A

ccording to NICE, it is thought that between a third and a half of all medicines prescribed for long‑term conditions are not taken as recommended.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation reports that adherence among patients with chronic diseases averages only 50% in developed countries. Add to this the fact that non-communicable and mental illnesses are expected to exceed 65% of the global burden of disease in 2020, and the true cost of failing to take the tablets becomes apparent.

These statistics represent a huge loss – both personally and economically – to patients, the healthcare system and society. Non-adherence limits the benefits of medicines, leading to a decline in positive health outcomes and resulting in a massive financial cost. This emerges, not only from wasted medicines, but also increased demands for further innovation, when a patient’s health deteriorates as a result of not taking the medicine in the first place. It’s a vicious circle that must be cured.

Now, as the healthcare landscape shifts from acute to chronic disease management, pharma and other stakeholders are delivering programmes that help patients to self-manage their conditions.

Adherence among patients with chronic diseases averages only 50% in developed countries.

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COVER STORY

B I T TE R P I L L TO S WA L LOW Adherence to taking medicines is more than the simple act of taking the medication – there are many barriers to taking medication regularly, as it is a complex behaviour. A creative approach, which recognises the complex behaviours around adherence – and the barriers created by each patient – is key to improving adherence and health outcomes.

According to Heidi Wright, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Policy and Practice Lead for England, failure to adhere can be intentional or unintentional, and can encompass differing factors: “A person may simply forget to take their medicines or they may not understand how and why they should take them, due to information not being communicated to them in a format they understand. They may make a decision to not take them, perhaps due to perceptions about the medicine, their religious beliefs, side effects, or the cost of the medicine,” she explained.“Other factors that can lead to poor adherence can relate to the care of the person being provided by a number of different care providers.” Clearly non-adherence is about far more than simply forgetting to take the medication, and there is an urgent need for programmes which target the more deep-seated factors that cause people not to adhere.

S TAG I N G A N I NTE RV E NTI O N Atlantis Healthcare recently published a white paper, ‘The Art & Science of Designing Personalized Interventions’. It provides clinical insights into the value of individually tailored interventions, and highlights the importance of creativity in engaging each patient and their healthcare team, inspiring improved adherence within real-world settings.

According to Clare Moloney, Clinical Strategy Director at Atlantis Healthcare, any programme which looks at influencing adherence should be tailored to address those deep-seated factors which most influence that individual’s behaviour. “There is no onesize-fits-all approach to improving self-management. It is critical that effective support systems are in place which are designed to be flexible and meet changing patient needs over time and as external factors change.”

A specific programme by Atlantis Healthcare targeted women with breast cancer who were taking adjuvant hormonal therapy (HT), which, in spite of its benefit on mortality, traditionally has low adherence rates. Atlantis designed an evidence-based patient support programme for women with breast cancer to improve adherence to treatment which, when coupled with a marketing campaign, resulted in a treatment discontinuation decline, demonstrating the importance of creativity within such programmes.

Heidi says that open communication is key: “Ultimately it is about two experts.

Healthcare professional, as the expert in the medicines, the condition and treatments – and the patient, as the expert in their life, coming together and making a shared decision.”

K E E P I N G I T I N TH E CO M M U N IT Y Community pharmacists have an essential part to play in encouraging patients to adhere, with their capacity to spend time with patients and support them around their medicines.

As a creative example of encouraging patient adherence, Heidi cites the pharmacists delivering person-centred Pharmacy Care Plans for patients, with multiple long-term conditions, across 43 pharmacies from the Wakefield and North Kirklees areas.

“Patients are encouraged to set their own personal health goals as part of a package of care designed around their needs, including the use of Patient Activation Measure (PAM), reviews of medicines and appliances, as well as lifestyle and behavioural support,” she said.

Over 12 months, a frequent ‘light touch support’ approach is used, in addition to more formal reviews of progress.

The ‘Making Time’ project, based in the south of Leeds, is another ambitious initiative.

It has been developed by NHS Leeds North CCG and Community Pharmacy West Yorkshire in partnership with Leeds City Council Adult Social Care Learning Disability Services, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and service users.

“This project is about a proactive process of planning the care and services offered to patients, with improved patient involvement and a personalised approach which supports self-management,” Heidi explained. “So far 65 individuals are receiving the service and the feedback is positive from both service user and pharmacy teams.”

The key to improving adherence is to ensure the patient is put at the centre of the decision making process.

W H AT I S P H A R M A D O I N G? The key to improving adherence is to ensure the patient is put at the centre of the decision making process. This is one of the core principles of Medicines Optimisation set out in the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s document ‘Medicines Optimisation: Helping patients to make the most of medicines’.

By sharing decisions, the patient is far more likely to adhere to their treatment.

Boehringer Ingelheim, for example, has worked in collaboration with NICE and Keele University to develop a shared decision-making tool that supports patients to make an informed decision on anticoagulation therapy, for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in atrial fibrillation.

Clare Moloney said: “Over the past few years, we have seen a positive shift in how much focus the pharma industry is giving, not only to treatment adherence programmes, but to holistic patient self-management support.”

Adherence must be a flexible partnership between patient and healthcare professionals, she concluded: “In chronic disease management, effective support has to recognise the self-management roles of individuals and must be able to flex over time to meet their changing personal needs and disease fluctuations.”

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 9

Team pursuit Within days of a new government forming, parliament took its long summer break, and policy activity duly ground to a halt.

In terms of what we should make of the new-look Department of Health team might be, few clues were left.

Here, I’ll take the opportunity to assess who the new faces are and what challenges they can expect.

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THE RT HON JEREMY HUNT MP

PHILIP DUNNE MP

DAVID MOWAT MP

Secretary of State for Health MP for South West Surrey

Minister of State for Health MP for Ludlow

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Community Health and Care MP for Warrington South

Hunt was one of very few cabinet ministers to retain their post, after Theresa May took over at No 10. As one of the leastliked figures in Cameron’s government, some had expected Hunt to be hastily ‘moved away’ from the health brief.

Retaining Hunt is an interesting move on the PM’s part and consistent with her other bold personnel decisions.

With this continuity at the very top of the Department, we should expect more of the same in health policy too, particularly regarding the key themes of cocommissioning, devolution and the ‘arm’s length’ management of the NHS delivery structure.

Meanwhile, Hunt has explicitly gained the role of champion for mental health issues, seen as a direct trumping of Labour’s earlier move to appoint a shadow mental health minister.

So how does the rest of his team shape up?

Dunne had a 20-year business career before entering politics, and has enormous personal wealth. He has responsibility over hospital productivity, secondary care commissioning and NHS performance, and will be the key contact for issues concerning patient safety, the Care Quality Commission and NHS Improvement. He will also have oversight of workforce and education concerns, which may place him in the firing line for high-profile issues such as doctor and nurse numbers.

Retaining Hunt is an interesting move on the PM’s part and consistent with her other bold personnel decisions.

Mowat represents a seat more typically associated with Labour, and has some record of focusing on poverty and increasing social mobility. He has called for more investment in applied science, engineering and innovation to create jobs, and has spoken on the economy of the North West.

His DH role includes adult social care – a significant downgrading of the priority given to an area that previously had its own minister. The implication of this for plans to integrate health and social care mean any interaction Mowat has with colleagues in other departments, such as the Department of Work and Pensions, ought to be carefully scrutinised.

Mowat’s additional responsibilities include primary care, clinical commissioning groups, NHS transformation, older people, cancer, third sector, personal health budgets and long-term conditions.

POLITICS

Claudia uncovers the Department of Health’s new ministerial team WORDS BY

Claudia Rubin

I N D U S TR IAL E S TATE C L AU D IA CO N S I D E R S TH E C HALLE N G E …

Photography via conservatives.com/OurTeam (Jeremy Hunt and Nicola Blackwood); healthinparliament.org (Lord David Prior); warringtonsouthconservatives.com (David Mowat); modmedia.blog.gov.uk (Philip Dunne).

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NICOLA BLACKWOOD MP

LORD PRIOR OF BRAMPTON

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Innovation MP for Oxford West &Abingdon

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health

Nicola Blackwood spent much of her life living, studying and working in Oxford, before being elected as an MP there in 2010.

Her first victory arrived with a majority of just 176, which increased to a landslide 9,852 in 2015.

In the run-up to the 2015 General Election, Blackwood revealed that she was suffering from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, hoping to help reduce the stigma of chronic illness.

As the Minister for Innovation and Public Health, Blackwood has taken on an amalgamation of George Freeman and Jane Ellison’s old roles. Her responsibilities include health protection, health improvement and mental health services.

Particular mention is given to her responsibility for diabetes, augmenting the new PM’s reputation for getting to grips with issues that have the potential to overshadow successes elsewhere.

The only minister to survive in post at the department – other than Hunt – Lord Prior is a man many industry figures will now reluctantly need to break bread with. Son of Jim Prior, Employment Secretary in Thatcher’s government and, by all accounts, a thoroughly charming man, the junior Prior has a rather pricklier reputation.

Briefly a Tory MP, he went on to hold prolific posts in the healthcare field, notably as Chairman of the Care Quality Commission.

Lord Prior’s new role involves greater ministerial responsibility than he held previously. This emerged after a glowing endorsement, presumably from the erstwhile PM. As well as his old brief, Prior has been given the bulk of policy areas that had been in George Freeman’s remit, including medicines & industry, the cancer drugs fund and uptake of new drugs and medical technologies.

He has also been given departmental responsibility for leaving the EU, covering scientific research, licensing and vaccines procurement, to name a few.

iven his responsibility for medicines, industry and procurement, Prior is now – theoretically – the main point of contact for industry liaison. This has not been met with huge enthusiasm, but that is no surprise, given the industry insider he has replaced. Compared to the business acumen of Freeman, Prior is a public sector figure seen as occassionally tactless, rather dismissive and in the habit of winding people up the wrong way!

Though this means he would not be first choice to be out there fighting industry’s corner, his ability to resolve otherwise messy situations may prove handy in the uncertain post-Brexit climate.

With Blackwood given the remit of life sciences innovation – but key policy areas such as drugs uptake handed to Lord Prior – vital responsibilities have been split between two ministers, and quite crudely it seems.

Without control over some fundamental policy areas, such as specialised commissioning, Blackwood’s ability to drive innovation through the system is questionable and may reflect its de-prioritisation, at least for now.

Given his massive brief and concerns about the potential protection offered by his relative unaccountability in the Lords, both of which lend him the opportunity to remain aloof, Prior may have scant time to champion pharma.

Prior is seen as [being] in the habit of winding people up the wrong way, but his ability to resolve otherwise messy situations may prove handy in the uncertain post-Brexit climate.

With this considered, it will be ever more important for effective scrutiny to take place in the House of Lords, demanding a more prominent role, perhaps, for Lord Hunt, Labour’s stalwart health expert.

With questions over Prior’s capacity to function as the main ministerial lead for industry, it may be that Blackwood and the rest of the team become pivotal industry advocates too.

Claudia Rubin is a Government Affairs Strategist at Decideum.

Go to decideum.com

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 1 1

TRANSFORMERS DAN MASQUELIER, PARTNER, CORMIS PARTNERSHIP, TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF CONNECTION, CAPABILITIES AND CULTURE IN A MODERN PHARMA ECOSYSTEM.

OUR REACH IN 2016 SO FAR...

WE HAVE DELIVERED PROGRAMMES AND TRAINING ACROSS THE GLOBE

30 1008 12

COUNTRIES

DELEGATES

CLIENTS

Q What is Cormis and why the name? Cormis is a company that specialises in the development of capabilities for the pharmaceutical industry. Formerly known as Ask Global, our business has evolved over the last five years and we wanted a name that more accurately reflected our values and approach. 'Cormis' is derived from the Latin for 'connecting minds', which is central to our philosophy of active engagement with our clients.

Q What does Cormis focus on? At Cormis we focus our efforts on developing the skills and capabilities of individuals and teams, in sales, marketing and medical. Our work concentrates on transforming potential to organisation-wide success. We have a wealth of services covering all capability needs for sales, marketing and field medical, and will actively work with clients to develop bespoke solutions to meet their specific needs.

Q Tell me about the team. We currently have offices in the UK and US. We are a team of highly-experienced industry experts who have held senior leadership positions in sales, marketing, learning and development. In addition, we have a significant global network of highly-qualified associates, bringing international experience and the ability to deliver programmes in multiple languages.

Q How do you approach your work? We live by our philosophy of active engagement through our unique immersion approach. We like to immerse ourselves in their business to understand the company, environment and culture, working with our clients to understand their issues, opportunities and challenges. Importantly, we identify areas of potential and capacity for growth, development and achievement.

1 2 | PH A R M A FI EL D.CO.U K

ADVERTORIAL

I N T R O D U CI N G We also aim to develop and offer solutions that motivate and engage their teams, develop capabilities and ultimately transform performance.

As we support and drive the impact of any intervention, we actively calibrate and assess to ensure the change is enhanced and sustained.

Through close partnership with individuals and teams, our ambition is the transformation of their potential for breakthrough performance.

Q Why do pharmaceutical companies choose to work with Cormis? We constantly receive feedback on the quality of our partnership and engagement with clients. With over 100 years of pharma experience in our senior leadership team, our clients consistently tell us that we understand their environment which allows us to quickly effect behaviour change, leading to stronger performance. We have many testimonials to support this and we’re recognised for delivering high quality, high impact programmes but, most importantly, for our work with organisations to embed and sustain the change.

Q What does the future hold for Cormis? We continually adapt to meet the ever-changing needs of the pharmaceutical industry and we constantly strive to ensure that our services future-proof companies for success. We are a growing organisation and we envisage that we will open offices in Asia in the future. As our business expands, we are always interested in talking to talented individuals who may want to join Cormis. For more information email: contact@cormispartnership.com

Our work concentrates on transforming potential to drive breakthrough performance and organisation-wide success.

I N T R O D U C I N G

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M AG Awww.cormispartnership.com ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 13

Star unequivocally wins most preferred contract sales organisation (‘CSO’) in Pf’s Company Perception, Motivation and Satisfaction survey 2016, and retains its most preferred recruitment agency status for the second year running.

“We’re thrilled,” said Star’s Chief Operating Officer, Tim Webster.

“Last year’s joint first CSO result was incredible but we weren’t content; we were determined to up our game and earn most preferred CSO unequivocally by delivering quality to more and more customers.”

Star’s General Manager Lucy O’Neill, said: “Post-acquisition, we set out to realise the best of both worlds, maximising the benefits brought to Star by Uniphar’s scale, innovative technology, distribution networks and customer relationships, while retaining the tailored, personal approach that customers expect from Star, and it seems to be working – our outsourcing business has doubled in size in the last 12 months. We’re delighted that our customers are pleased with what we’re doing, and we will continue to focus on making our best even better.”

Achieve your professional goals with a company you’ll love.

Send your CV to solutions@starmedical.co.uk or call 01628 581 240.

Find out how Star’s most preferred outsourcing and resourcing services can deliver the best people, insight and commercial outcomes for your business.

Contact Lucy O’Neill on 01628 581 240.

B

y harnessing the superpowers of a comic book hero, people living with inflammatory bowel disease are finally being empowered.

CR E ATIVIT Y, A UTH ENTICIT Y A N D PATI ENT- CENTRICIT Y

"SCIENTIST

BY DAY, SU PE R H E RO

BY NIGHT, H E COU R A GEOUSLY TA KES ON TH E M EN ACE O F CR OHN’S DISE ASE & ULCE R ATIV E COLITIS."

Patients must be at the centre of everything we do, and recently that ‘patient centricity’ came to life for me and my team, in an especially poignant and personal way.

At the recent launch of our global disease awareness campaign, ‘IBD Unmasked’, a patient tweeted “Finally my mutation makes me an acknowledged superhero.

I love this.” We realised immediately that our goal of inspiring those living with IBD − a debilitating, painful, scary disease − by using engaging content and motivational messages, had hit its mark.

IBD Unmasked had a very organic start, with a basis in the experiences and real-life stories of people living with IBD. We knew that the only way to develop content, which would touch lives − even hearts − was to learn from those who are suffering every day, and the medical experts helping to treat the disease.

Meet Samarium, the world’s first super hero for people with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and a first for the pharma industry

Acomhes eyoruroway Takeda’s Elissa Johnsen talks about the unique collaboration between a pharma company and a comic publishing legend

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WORDS BY

Elissa Johnsen

F E AT U R E

IBD UNM ASK E D TA KES FLIG HT

A

A RT IM ITA TIN G LIF E

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iving with IBD often means unpredictable and debilitating physical, emotional and social challenges that require constant navigation. A lack of public awareness leaves many feeling isolated.

It was incredibly moving to work with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients on the campaign − they shared their stories and embraced our creative vision. While we listened to them we were struck by their courage and commitment to helping others in the IBD community. We were clearly among real-life super heroes.

As our ‘super hero’ theme became apparent, we homed in on a platform unlike anything else. We would attempt to shift these feelings, from fear to empowerment − unmasking the realities of IBD and celebrating this incredible community.

R E AL LIF E H E RO ES

W

hile IBD super hero Samarium has monopolised science laboratory explosions, there are a number of other personalities who live with IBD. Five-time Olympic rowing champion, Sir Steve Redgrave, was diagnosed with the condition in 1992, and still won three further gold medals.

Meanwhile, in the current Rio Olympics, USA swimmer Kathleen Baker has won two medals, including a gold, and Britain’s Siobhan-Marie O’Connor also claimed a silver in the pool – both have IBD. Other stars with the disease include Rugby World Cup winner, Lewis Moody, and former Manchester United player Darren Fletcher.

fter everything we learned from patients, we launched IBD Unmasked this year, with global and U.S.-specific websites, including a graphic novel series that features Samarium − the first-ever newly-conceived super hero to champion people fighting IBD. The initiative is a first-of-its-kind global collaboration between Takeda, members of the IBD community and Marvel Custom Solutions. Samarium − the super hero we created together − is powerful, resilient and determined in the face of IBD, just like the people we worked with.

The campaign centrepiece features a

wealth of information to engage and inform people living with IBD. This includes the first chapter chronicling Samarium’s adventures. Scientist by day, super hero by night he courageously takes on the menace of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

From day one, IBD Unmasked attracted significant attention from global broadcast, consumer and medical media, and received a very positive reaction from patients around the world. We have seen an amazing response on social media, with hundreds of posts about the campaign and Samarium.

B

ringing IBD Unmasked to life has allowed us to prioritise patients and revolutionise how we connect with them.

It offers the potential to make extraordinary headway in bringing IBD to the forefront of public awareness − helping patients advocate for themselves and receive the individualised care they need. Above all, we are passionate about providing patients with the belief that they can accomplish whatever they set their mind to, in relation to their own care − through creative content and conversation.

The early success of this campaign sheds light on what pharma as an industry can do, and how much of a positive impact we can have in genuinely transforming the patient experience. It starts with closely engaging with patients, asking the right questions, being open and really listening to them. This involves acknowledging their positive experiences, to recognising their struggles, and discerning what they want and need.

The vital element is extracting what is learned and applying it to distinctly creative, tangible and useable platforms, which ultimately benefit the patient.

By looking beyond the standard channels for patient education and awareness, embracing something new and letting the excitement at the heart of this campaign take shape, we’ve created an initiative that has the power to elevate patient expectations.

Samarium isn’t just the face of IBD; he highlights what can be achieved through highly creative patient communication. Indeed, for those who have the courage to escape from traditional boundaries, Samarium points to a new pharma odyssey. Go to ibdunmasked.com

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 17

OPINION

Pharmacists provided a staggering 595,467 flu vaccinations to patients in 2015/16

Ill behaviour It’s not as exciting as the festival or football season but flu season cannot be ignored WORDS BY

Niamh McMillan

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I

t’s nearly that time of year again when community pharmacy begins to prepare itself for the upcoming ‘flu season’.

In May, NHS England announced that the snappily-titled ‘Community Pharmacy Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Advanced Service’ would, once again, be commissioned for 2016/17. Furthermore, terms and fees for the service will remain the same as 2015/16 – hurrah! The only discernible difference is that this year the service will run slightly longer, from 1st September 2016 to 31st March 2017.

The NHS Business Services Authority has published the Advance Flu Report for the 2015/16 season, detailing the community pharmacy contractors who signed up to deliver the service. It also included specifics such as the NHS England area, name of vaccine administered, manufacturer, quantity and drug and fee costs.

The number of community pharmacies who provided the national NHS Flu Vaccination Service in 2015/16 was 7,195 – 60.9% of all community pharmacies in England – with pharmacists providing a staggering 595,467 flu vaccinations to patients.

The injected flu vaccine is offered free of charge on the NHS to people who are ‘at risk’. This is to ensure they are protected against catching flu and developing serious complications.

Patients eligible to receive a free vaccine must meet one or more of the following criteria: • 65 years of age or over • P regnant • Certain medical conditions • Very overweight • Living in a long-stay care facility • Receiving a carer’s allowance • Main carer for an elderly or disabled person • Front-line health and social care worker.

While the commissioning of a fifth advanced service is a definite move in the right direction it would be even better to see this expanded to include under 18s. Despite listing people aged six months to less than 65 years of age – in a clinical risk group – as being in the inclusion criteria, the service level agreement for community pharmacy was explicit in stating that pharmacy was only able to vaccinate those over 18 years of age.

Many community pharmacies offer a private flu vaccination service with significantly wider inclusion criteria. At Superdrug, for example, we are offering a private flu vaccination service, in pharmacies and Nurse Clinics, to those aged two and upwards. I hope that all readers are preparing themselves for the flu season and that all those that require a jab get one.

Combatting the effects of the dreaded flu is a life-long battle for everyone, but it is one we are gradually winning.

Niamh is Clinical Development Manager at Superdrug.

Please note, these are Niamh’s personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of the Superdrug business.

OPINION

Citizen cone Henry urges us to stop hurtling toward oblivion and kick back with an ice cream instead WORDS BY

Henry Rubinstein

S

ummer is well and truly under way. Many will be dusting off the picnic hamper, packing trunks and heading to the seaside for a well-earned break. No such luck for yours truly, I’m tied to my desk, penning my next column for this most prestigious publication – under the beady eye of the editor.

My only comfort is a rapidly-melting Cornetto, as I try to conjure up the perfect angle for this article.

Far too often, we overlook life’s simple pleasures in our quest to seek the ‘big pay-off’. You play Euromillions each week, in the hope of landing the jackpot, but it's an utterly futile affair, unlikely to be fulfilled.

In contrast, if you're near a newsagent, on a baking-hot day, you can obtain a cooling ice cream for less than the price of a lottery ticket. It’s instantly satisfying and easily achieved.

In the cutthroat world of business, it seems the big win is instantly recognised, but smaller, consistently good work, taken for granted.

The Glass Bead Game – a novel by German author Hermann Hesse – revolves around the career of Joseph Knecht, and his quest to master a nuanced exercise, requiring deep spiritual vision and a technocratic approach.

It’s as much of a slog for the reader as it is for the central character.

Throughout the tome he rises through the rankings of ‘The Game’, but he starts to question the purpose of succeeding within its confines.

Ultimately, he becomes so disillusioned that – with the end-goal in sight – he exits ‘The Game’ to seek a simpler, more rewarding life. Years of pursuing a carrot, dangling on an endless stick, only leads to regret and resentment. I believe this is something we see all too often in the professional world.

Perhaps people would gain far more reward within their workplace if they set themselves smaller, more achievable goals and then personally celebrated them. For example, when I have a difficult PR strategy to prepare, I give myself a little incentive. Yesterday it was a fine Havana cigar, smoked in the bath, with a large single malt – a reward for bullying myself back into taking exercise.

With this considered, don’t start the day saying: ‘I must make a million, before I can relax and enjoy myself’. Far better to say: ‘This year, I’d like to make a million, let’s see how I’m getting on at end of the month’.

George Benson, on his 1977 hit single, The Greatest Love of All, implores the listener to remember, ‘The greatest love of all, is easy to achieve, learning to love yourself, (it) is the greatest love of all’.

Sound advice! We must learn to congratulate ourselves on our successes, whether it be that Cornetto at your desk, a cigar in the bath or even just taking a whole hour for lunch.

Henry Rubinstein is planning manager at Triggerfish Communications. Go to triggerfish.co.uk

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 19

THE

GAME

CHANGER Modelling and simulation in drug development could change the commercial and regulatory landscape forever WORDS BY

Edmundo Muniz

Modelling and simulation can deliver significant business, scientific and clinical value to companies.

I

t could easily be said that the current drug development process is broken. Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development reports that the average cost to develop and gain marketing approval for a new drug is more than $2.5 billion. Furthermore, only 10% of drugs entering clinical trials achieve regulatory success. The current approach to developing new drugs, employed by most biopharmaceutical companies, clearly requires an overhaul.

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Sponsors need to be able to determine a new drug candidate’s likelihood of success, at important milestones, throughout its development, so they can ‘course correct’ if necessary. They have to better understand the probability of success for everything, from proof-of-concept studies, to interactions with regulatory agencies and acceptance on formularies. By increasing those odds, using proper scientific approaches and technologies, they can intelligently inform core decisions.

F E AT U R E

ENHANCED DECISION-MAKING n the quest to improve drug development’s return on investment (ROI), biopharmaceutical companies have sought methods, technologies and operational programmes to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Most of those approaches, however, have focused on improving clinical trial management, rather than systematically enhancing the research and development (R&D) decisionmaking process, especially in early-phase development.

Modelling and simulation (M&S) – also known as biosimulation, or ‘model-informed drug discovery and development’ (MID3) – can deliver significant business and scientific value to companies that fully integrate it into their drug development strategy. M&S combines two transformative and constantly-evolving technologies: computer-aided mathematical simulation and biological sciences. It uses pre-clinical and clinical data, combined with published industry data, to determine the relationships between drug exposure, drug response and patient outcomes.

M&S can influence every phase of the drug development process, including commercial decisions around the benefits of bringing a specific drug to market. It can also be used to compare the safety and efficacy of drug candidates; select dose and dose regimen to be used in clinical trials; and identify potential drug-drug and drug-food interactions.

Knowledge of drug-drug interactions is particularly important for patients who are being treated for multiple conditions, and M&S is increasingly enabling that information to be included on drug labels.

In addition, M&S can be used to investigate how a new drug candidate will behave in patient populations which, for practical or ethical reasons, have traditionally been considered untestable. This includes paediatric patients, pregnant women and patients with rare diseases.

Certara has developed specific models of those patient populations within the Simcyp® Populationbased Simulator. This simulator integrates knowledge of the physiochemistry of a drug with human biology, anatomy, physiology and genetics to simulate how that drug will behave in virtual patient populations.

Proprietary databases enable Certara to create virtual patient populations, which also consider different environmental circumstances, and adjust enzyme levels to reflect genetic differences.

The simulator combines that knowledge with pre-clinical and clinical data to predict differences in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic response between individuals. Pharmacokinetics describes how a drug moves through the body during absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion, while pharmacodynamics looks at the relationship between drug concentration and effect.

I

Dosing a virtual patient will always be less risky than dosing a real patient.

WO R K I N G WITH G LO BAL R EG U L ATO RS Like the tortoise and the hare, M&S has slowly and steadily impacted both the efficiency and effectiveness of drug development. It does this by informing a myriad of crucial decisions along the development path, imbuing them with more reliability and predictability.

Furthermore, M&S is now encouraged by global regulators, who have referred to M&S as ‘a regulatory necessity.’ The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Medicines Agency and the Japanese Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) all use the Simcyp Simulator to inform drug label language.

In 2015 alone, Certara leveraged its M&S technology

and expertise on nine of 21 orphan drugs and four of the 10 breakthrough drugs approved by the US FDA. Using M&S, Certara was able to advise the drugs’ sponsors regarding trial design, helping them to develop the smallest and most targeted trials possible, and assisting them in identifying the correct drug dose to use from a safety and efficacy standpoint.

In many cases, Certara was able to eliminate the need for specific studies by simulating how particular drugs would interact in virtual patient populations. This provides more precision and ultimately reduced risk for patients.

Dosing a virtual patient, after all, will always be less risky than dosing a real patient.

TH E R E S U LT S B U S I N E S S &S informs biopharmaceutical companies’ most crucial drug development decisions, while optimising the data available for their crucial go/no-go drug and portfolio decisions. Ultimately, it permits a much larger number of potential drug-drug interactions to be investigated than could ever be undertaken in a clinical setting. All this additional high-quality data reduces the risks associated with bringing a new drug to market to the benefit of sponsors, payers and patients alike.

M

Edmundo Muniz, MD, PhD is Chief Executive Officer at Certara, a leading provider of decision support technology and consulting services for optimising drug development and improving health outcomes. Go to certara.com

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 2 1

Back in the day: Ian remembers the class of ‘02 as a close and determined team In the hot seat: Ian’s career has kept reaching new heights since winning a Pf Award

The award still sits above my desk as a reminder of the great team I had the privilege to work with.

Are you a past Pf Award winner? We want to meet you!

We’re launching the Pf Award Winners Club with an exclusive event at The Commons, London.

To take part please call on 01462 476120 or email enquiries@pfawards.co.uk P FAWA R D S .CO.U K

2 2 | PH A R M A FI EL D.CO.U K

P f AWA R D W I N N E R S C LU B S P O N S O R

P H A R M ATA L E N T

AWA R D W I N N E R S :

Where are they now?

JP talks to Ian Robinson – now a Director at Ashfield – about an unforgettable evening in 2002 INTERVIEW BY

John Pinching

O

ne night, 14 years ago, Ian Robinson and his team were about to embark on a glorious adventure that would ultimately change their lives forever.

Who were you working for at the time?

Bristol-Myers Squibb as a Regional Sales Manager in the cardiovascular team.

What award did you win? Regional Sales Team 2002, with my team of 12 representatives. We entered the event following a fantastic year. The opportunity to showcase some of our ideas and demonstrate our capability, while facing the strongest competition, was fantastic.

What are your recollections of that evening? We were nervous as we knew we

were representing the company. Our award was fairly late on, so the tension was building for quite a while!

How did you celebrate? We drank some champagne and had a big party! It was brilliant to see the team being recognised for their performance and then being able to let their hair down in the evening. The win helped to drive an even stronger bond across the team.

Once the champagne had settled, how did you change? Winning brings a level of expectation. While there was a huge amount of recognition, both within B-MS and externally, we had to continue challenging ourselves to improve and innovate.

How did it impact on your career? The talent in the team was exceptional and I do believe that it raised their profile. A number of people went on to be promoted and this was fantastic to see. Personally, I began to get more involved in projects that had a wider impact on the business, and this supported my quest to achieve Executive Regional Business Manager status at B-MS. What was your next position? I was promoted to Regional Business Director in 2005. We had a co-promotion with Sanofi

and I was the national lead for one of the brands, working closely with the Sanofi lead to ensure a highly co-ordinated approach to commercialising the brand in the UK. There were then further joint ventures with AstraZeneca and Pfizer. This was a hugely rewarding time.

What are you doing now? For the last year I’ve been working at Ashfield UK Commercial and Clinical Businesses as a Business Development Director. The quality of the people and the real desire to partner with our clients for the benefit of their business and, ultimately, patients has really impressed me.

Would you recommend entering the Pf Awards? At first it can seem like additional work when you are already extremely busy, but the upside of challenging yourself against the best in the industry, receiving coaching and feedback from external judges and ultimately being recognised for winning is something that should not be passed up!

Do you still look back fondly on your win?

It’s long time ago but I have really good memories of the experience. The award still sits above my desk as a reminder of the great team I had the privilege to work with.

Go to pfawards.co.uk

Are you a future winner? Entries now open for 2017!

Take your talent, show your style, change your life. Pf Awards are the largest sales awards in the UK pharmaceutical industry. Jump online to see entry criteria.

P FAWA R D S .CO.U K

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 2 3

P H A R M ATA L E N T

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NATHAN TEUSCHER

DR ALASTAIR RIDDELL

Certara® has appointed Nathan Teuscher, PhD, as vice president of pharmacometric solutions. He will lead the company’s Phoenix ® software division. He was previously Certara’s vice-president of scientific training.

Nemesis Bioscience has welcomed Dr Alastair Riddell as non-executive Chairman. He has over 30 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical, life science and biotech industries including 18 years as a main board director and 12 years as CEO.

DR LISA BOYETTE

Curable’s CEO, Dr Lisa Boyette, has been named on the PharmaVOICE 100 list 2016.

Curable is a non-profit research accelerator that applies engineering approaches to medicine, while developing solutions for rare diseases. Founded in 2014 to develop a cure for primary sclerosing cholangitis, it duly saved the life of Dr Boyette’s brother, Jon, and other patients with the disease.

DAVID CHANTRY

WHO’S GOING WHERE AND WHY THEY’RE GOING THERE. WORDS BY

Amy Schofield

2 4 | PH A R M A FI EL D.CO.U K

David Chantry has joined Ashfield, part of UDG Healthcare, as Head of Quality and Compliance for the Commercial & Clinical businesses in the UK and Ireland. He has worked in healthcare for over 20 years, starting as a Registered Nurse and also working in independent healthcare settings.

TIMOTHY SHANNON

RACHEL BURTON

Inivata has appointed Timothy Shannon as Chief Financial Officer.

Shannon joins the cancer genomics company from Baxano Surgical and Talecris Biotherapeutics, where he implemented financial controls and process improvements.

Excel Communications is delighted to announce the promotion of Rachel Burton to the new role of Commercial Director. After great success as an Account Director she will lead the Account Management Team and marketing portfolio, bringing exceptional, bespoke training to yet more clients.

ADVERTORIAL DR TIMOTHY SCHULZUTERMOEHL & DR FRASER MURRAY (left)

The co-founders of Polleo Pharma, have joined Chronos Therapeutics as VPs, Pre-Clinical Development. Both former directors of Shire, they will apply their substantial scientific management expertise to three pre-clinical research programmes recently acquired by the private biotech company.

These will be focused on ageing diseases, brain and nervous system disorders.

DUNCAN MUNRO

Duncan Munro has joined Cello Health Insight as Joint Head of ‘IQ’ Practice and will be working alongside joint head, Gracie van Kemenade. He has worked in international healthcare market research since 1999 and brings experience that spans actionable segmentation, realistic demand assessment and multiple stakeholder pricing research.

JOHN C. LECHLEITER & DAVID A. RICKS

John C. Lechleiter, Ph.D., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Eli Lilly and Co, will retire from these roles at the end of 2016. David A. Ricks – current senior vice president and president, Lilly Bio-Medicines – has been unanimously elected by the board of directors to assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer and will join the board on 1 January 2017.

BUILDING BRIDGES

By Rachel Burton, Commercial Director, Excel Communications

Moving into any new role, you tend to reflect on what you have achieved to get there.

Looking back at my time as an Account Director I was often asked by colleagues “What is the key to your success?”

Without doubt, having a great product and a wonderful team are important, however, the main differentiator between good and great has undoubtedly been my relationships with customers. And this is just as true with customers in the NHS! So here are my top tips for building meaningful relationships with your customers: 1) Flex Your Style: When you meet a customer for the first time look for the behavioural cues that will help you recognise their preferred style. This allows you to better match their preferences, by being more versatile in your behaviours. It also builds a rapport and creates stronger partnerships.

2) Second Position: 'Step into the shoes' of your customers, look to really understand their world and, importantly, how they perceive it. Their perception will be very different to yours!

3) Actively Listen: Notice the language and phrases your customers use so you can reflect this back to them when you are presenting. It says to the customer ‘I speak your language’.

4) Exceed Expectations: Agree realistic actions and always aim to be 2–3 days ahead of the deadline. This makes the customer feel valued and proves that you are trustworthy.

Use these to develop meaningful relationships and customer loyalty will follow.

Email me to find out more: rachel.burton@excel-communications.com

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 2 5

STEVE TURLEY JP meets a man who wandered into the pharma community over 20 years ago and has been living there ever since INTERVIEW BY

In many ways UCB Managing Director, Steve Turley, epitomes what it takes to successfully traverse the vast industry mountain. But how did he arrive at the peak and what are his views like? Let’s hear his remarkable story and let’s hear it now.

JP Good morning, Steve, I’ll ask you straight off the bat − what do you think of our new unelected Prime Minister?

Regardless of who became Prime Minister, the most important thing was to get some certainty and we’ve now got that. We have to respect that the constitution allows for the government to follow this course. It would be the wrong time to call a general election anyway.

JP Indeed, there is no credible opposition at the moment. Currently, we wouldn’t really know what any of the parties stood for, but that situation should change in 12 months. By that time Theresa May’s agenda will be clearer, we will know what state the Labour Party is in and we will have a better understanding of EU exit negotiations. The public can then make an informed judgement in a general election.

JP Well said. What do you think the impact of the maelstrom will have on pharma? The short-term impact really depends on the profile of each individual company. Those that are fundamentally commercial enterprises

2 6 | PH A R M A FI EL D.CO.U K

John Pinching

in the UK − that book their sales in UK currency, but operate corporately in euros or dollars − have already seen the value of their business erode. The exchange rate fluctuation, however, may readjust itself over time. Those companies that have a significant cost base in the UK may experience less of a net impact.

JP How about over a longer period of time? Over the long-term there are some pretty clear questions that we will want answered − what will the regulatory environment look like, will there be grants for research and development, and will there be freedom of movement for skilled people? From a more commercial perspective, we would want to be sure that − as a result of any greater austerity moves − we don’t lose sight of the appropriate innovation uptake in the NHS. JP Did you always dream of working in pharma, Steve? It was accidental − serendipitous really. I always knew from graduating that I wanted to follow a career in some form of business. My degree was in public policy, which was a vocational degree if you want to go into local government. I didn’t want to do that, so I decided to take my accountancy training and join a firm of accountants in Sunderland, of all places. It was actually my dad, who is a GP, that suggested moving into the pharmaceutical sector.

If pharma, and indeed the healthcare profession, held a mirror up to itself, it would concede that some of the practices being carried out in the ‘80s and ‘90s were not acceptable.

C O F F E E B R E A K M E E T S P H A R M ATA L E N T

JP Someone from the NHS recommended you work for pharma!

He understood the value of medicines and knew that pharma was a very healthy business environment. From there I fell into it, and started, as many do, in a sales representative role. Since then I have taken a fairly orthodox commercial route through marketing, business unit roles, managerial positions and in global headquarters across a range of therapy areas.

JP What are the challenges for the ABPI? There are a number of things that are pertinent to us, as an industry, which cannot be taken on by only one company. When you look at the uptake of medicines and regulatory environments, particularly in the light of Brexit, we need to act as one. We must also develop an appropriate relationship with our customer, while understanding that the relationship is built on collaboration.

JP Tell me about your role at the ABPI. Based on my experience and UK environmental knowledge, I realised I could bring value to the ABPI, and sought election to the board, which I’ve now been on for six years. I am a fundamental believer that collectively we can achieve a great deal and that’s why it’s not just the ABPI board that I’ve engaged with, but also the European Medicines Group, and the work that they do on behalf of European headquartered companies.

JP Are you witnessing a crystallising of the mystical ‘joint working’ movement?

It’s still finding its feet. The concept of joint working has been around a number of years, but hasn’t fully taken traction. There are a few things that industry needs to establish to underpin partnerships − most notably, we should not shy away from the fact that we are commercial organisations. There is also a commonality, however, between the NHS and companies − I genuinely believe we are both trying to do our best for patients.

JP Has the public/private sector relationship changed? If pharma, and indeed the healthcare profession, held a mirror up to itself, it would concede that some of the practices being carried out in the ‘80s and ‘90s were not acceptable. The relationship has to be appropriate, and I do think that pharma has made great strides in the last decade when it comes to interfacing with customers. I fully support the idea of transparency, but would hate to see the current focus on ‘conflict of interest’ leading to doors being closed, because that would be detrimental to patient care.

JP How’s your bread and butter role going? Even though, when I first started off in the industry, my public policy education was the subject of some humour within a science-based industry, the irony is, twenty years later, so much of what challenges us is the policy environment. It’s gone full circle!

My role is to provide the internal leadership and direction of the organisation, to ensure we have clarity and goals, and that I am an effective external face of UCB. We have multiple business units and it is vital that, to the customer, we look like a cohesive, aligned and efficient company.

JP Is staff recognition important to you? I don’t want an overly hierarchical organisation; I want an organisation where we respect every role. To think that one person is more important than another is not a good way to progress. I’m big on accountability – I believe that to get stuff done you need to have a clear vision.

JP What would be your last supper?

Chicken madras.

JP Great choice. For that you can have a dessert, too. No thanks. I’ll have sag aloo, as a side dish instead.

JP Coming up! What record would you choose for the soundtrack of your life?

Proud, by M People.

JP Of course it is! Nice one, Steve.

Bye John Go to ucbpharma.co.uk

M AG A ZI N E | S EPT EM B ER 2016 | 2 7

E VENTS & CONFERENCES

DEAR DIARY

Up-and-coming pharma events for your diary DON' T MISS

12 S E P T E M B E R 2 016

18 -19 O C TO B E R 2 016

DigiPharm 2016

Lakeside Healthcare Vanguard

Evidence USA 2016

WHERE: Northamptonshire/ Corby

WHERE: Philadelphia

WHO: Morph Consultancy

WHO: Health Network Communications

INFO: morphconsultancy.co.uk

INFO: bit.ly/295fDQ0

CONTACT: 07581358272 or

CONTACT: 020 7092 1000

claire@morphconsultancy.co.uk

or customerservices@ healthnetworkcommunications.com

21 S E P T E M B E R 2 016

18 -19 O C TO B E R 2 016

NHS Improvement – where it’s going, drivers and policies

Market Access US 2016

WHERE: Durham

WHO: Health Network Communications

WHO: Morph Consultancy

INFO: bit.ly/295ivfO

INFO: morphconsultancy.co.uk

CONTACT: 020 7092 1000

CONTACT: 07581358272 or

claire@morphconsultancy.co.uk

or customerservices@ healthnetworkcommunications.com

2 3 S E P T E M B E R 2 016

18 -19 O C TO B E R 2 016

Vanguard Orthopaedic Alliance

World BioData Congress 2016

WHERE: Birmingham

WHO: Health Network Communications

WHO: Morph Consultancy

INFO: bit.ly/29b4MXT

INFO: morphconsultancy.co.uk

CONTACT: 020 7092 1000

CONTACT: 07581358272 or

claire@morphconsultancy.co.uk

or customerservices@ healthnetworkcommunications.com

3 O C TO B E R 2 016

21 O C TO B E R 2 016

The Role of AHSN (Academic Health Science Network)

NICE Technology Appraisals – the law, the process, the reality

WHERE: Bristol & Birmingham

WHERE: Leeds

WHO: Morph Consultancy

WHO: Morph Consultancy

INFO: morphconsultancy.co.uk

INFO: morphconsultancy.co.uk

CONTACT: 07581358272 or

CONTACT: 07581358272 or

claire@morphconsultancy.co.uk

claire@morphconsultancy.co.uk

5 - 6 O C TO B E R 2 016

2 3 N OV E M B E R 2 016

Pharma Compliance Congress 2016

The Primary Care womens health forum conference

WHERE: London

WHERE: Solihull

WHO: Health Network Communications

WHO: Primary Care womens health forum

INFO: bit.ly/292Y0PU

INFO: www.pcwhf.co.uk

CONTACT: 020 7092 1000

CONTACT: 01462 476120 or

or customerservices@ healthnetworkcommunications.com

hello@events4healthcare.co.uk

The 8th Annual DigiPharm Europe will explore mobile patient engagement strategy, innovation in digital pharma marketing and how to use digital tools to improve the patient experience. This is an excellent opportunity to engage and sit alongside the pioneers who are driving digital health technologies and learn about the challenges and opportunities in digital marketing and communications.

DigiPharm 2016 provides all you need to know about using digital tools in multichannel marketing campaigns. Learn how to manage the digital evolution, discuss what it means for you and discover how to use mobile marketing effectively.

5 - 6 O C TO B E R 2 016 WHERE: London WHO: Health Network Communications INFO: bit.ly/295fDQ0 CONTACT: 020 7092 1000

or customerservices@ healthnetworkcommunications.com

U P CO M I N G E V E N T W E S H O U L D K N OW A B O U T ?

H A Z EL @ P H A R M A F I EL D. CO. U K

2 8 | PH A R M A FI EL D.CO.U K

WHERE: Philadelphia

WHERE: Cambridge

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