2022SUMMER PF-MEDIA.CO.UK • Patient perspective: living with a rare disease • Clinical pharmacists: the new front line • Tackling inequalitieshealthindiabetes care
A word from the Publisher As industry leaders, Karl Hamer shares how Pf Media is shifting with the market and truly embracing the digital revolution going forward. With that in mind, the time has come to say farewell to Pf Magazine . We’ll continue to publish the high-quality pharma and healthcare content you expect online at Pf-media.co.uk –where you can read and watch what interests you and share it with your colleagues in one easy click. Closing the print magazine is not a decision we’ve taken lightly. Over the years, we have taken steps to become more sustainable, printing on FSC-certified paper and using compositable wraps. But we know there are still limits to this so to be truly ethically sustainable, we believe the next step is to put all of our efforts into embracing digital. We want to thank all of our fantastic contributors and advertisers, who have helped us build the Pf brand to the success it is now. There are more opportunities for you all to showcase your expertise, and share your opinions on Pf Media, and we’ll work with you to ensure the transition is a positive one. And to you, our faithful readers, thank you. We know you enjoy reading the magazine as much as we have loved producing it. But everything you know, and more, is now available at your fingertips at Pf-media.co.uk and, there, the opportunities are endless. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you online.
W e all know that digital reigns supreme and we’re not going back to pre-pandemic life. Even now, most of us are still working from home, at least some of the week, engaging virtually and only returning to the office in a hybrid manner. During Covid, we listened to our readership when they told us how they wanted to consume content. We introduced videos, webinars and a new In Depth section with customised articles that have the look of a glossy magazine spread. With more and more people opting for online, the Pf Media team re-launched Pf-Media.co.uk and our digital traffic has doubled.
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EDITOR Emma emma.cooper@e4h.co.ukCooper HEAD OF MARKETING OPERATIONS Emma emma.morriss@e4h.co.ukMorriss CREATIVE DIRECTOR Emma emma@e4h.co.ukWarfield MID WEIGHT DESIGNER Sigrid sigrid@e4h.co.ukDalland COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Hazel hazel@e4h.co.ukLodge FINANCIAL CONTROLLER Fiona finance@e4h.co.ukBeard PUBLISHER Karl karl@e4h.co.ukHamer HEAD OFFICE 3 Waterloo Farm Courtyard, Stotfold Road Arlesey, Bedfordshire SG15 6XP United Kingdom NEWS DESK newsdesk@pharmafield.co.uk www.pf-media.co.ukwww.e4h.co.uk ADVERTISING For sales and advertising, sales@pharmafield.co.ukcontact 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. Events4Healthcare 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 (Events4Healthcare) 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. No copying, distribution, adaptation, extraction, reutilisation or other exploitation (whether in electronic or other format and whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes) may take place except with the express permission of the Publisher and the copyright owner (if other than the Publisher). The information contained in this magazine and/or any accompanying brochure is intended for sales and marketing professionals within the healthcare industry, and not the medical profession or the general public.
Our cover story for this issue focuses on connected health and why the pharma industry should be shaping proactive connected health models that empower people to take better care of their own health. We are taking a deeper look into diabetes in this issue, a therapy area which has been prominent in the news in recent months following updated NICE guidance recommending the use of real-time continuous glucose monitoring for adults and children living with type 1 diabetes, for the first time.
Inequalities in diabetes care have been recognised for a number of years and the pandemic has certainly exacerbated the issue. 2.7 million diabetes screening tests for high-risk groups were missed during six months in 2020 1 . Turn to page 12 to read about Lilly UK’s Charter for Change report and how they are working to bring about meaningful change in diabetes care.
In our article on page 20, Cat Metcalfe, Head of Insights at CHASE, examines the role of the clinical pharmacist and explores how industry can engage with them effectively. There is also interesting insight into why diabetes, in particular, presents challenges for clinical pharmacists. On page 28 we share a patient’s perspective of living with a rare and progressive neuromuscular disease. Gemma talks about receiving a diagnosis 20 years after first experiencing symptoms and how she is helping the Sanofi Rare Disease Team to raise awareness of Pompe disease. We also have an interview with the winner of the Pf Awards 2022 Future Leader award, Irfan Mohammed. Turn to page 18 to read his reflections on the night, why he thinks the pandemic has redefined leadership and his careers ambitions going forward.Asyouwillhaveseeninthenotefrom our publisher, Karl Hamer, this will be the last issue of Pf Magazine . I am proud of the content this magazine has produced since I became editor and, in particular, giving a voice to the individuals and organisations that have truly made a difference to patient’s lives during the pandemic. I’ve witnessed the reputation of pharma transform over the last two years and it’s exciting to see the opportunities that lay ahead for the industry. We’ll continue to keep you up to date with everything at Pf-media.co.uk Hello.
W elcome to the Summer edition of Pf Magazine
1 Holland D et al. Assessment of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on UK HbA1c testing: implications for diabetes management and diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Pathology. Published online October 2021.
Summer Pf Magazine@pharmafield @pharmajobsuk HAVE YOUR SAY: If you’d like to share an idea for a feature or collaborate with us on a captivating advertorial, please get in touch. GET IN TOUCH: hello@pharmafield.co.uk Contributors
Tackling
HCP engagement solutions,
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Joe Corrigan Joe is Head of intelligent Healthcare at Cambridge part of CapgeminiConsultants,Invent. Story, page 08 Dr Kunal Gulati Dr Kunal is Executive Director, Medical – Diabetes, Lilly UK & Northern Europe. inequalities for minority ethnic groups living with diabetes, page 12 Emma Morriss Emma is Head of Marketing Operations at E 4H. page
Cover
Joanne Hay-Dick Joanne is Associate Director, Head of Operations at Accord. Career close-up, page 32
26 INSIGHT
The funding climate for pharma, page 26
28
Irfan Mohammed Irfan is Head of Healthcare System Partnerships at Novartis. Leading the way, page 18 Cat Metcalfe Cat is Head of Insights at CHASE. Clinical pharmacists, page 20 Jason Smith Jason is CTO, AI & Analytic Within3.
In this 22issue INSIGHT
04 ICYMI An overview of the best bits recently published www.pf-media.co.ukon 06 INDUSTRY ROUND-UP A round-up of the latest news, current collaborations and ones to watch in the industry 08 COVER STORY Connected Health: What is it and which therapy areas are benefitting from it? 12 INSIGHT Tackling inequalities for minority ethnic groups living with diabetes 14 INSIGHT HCP engagement solutions 18 INTERVIEW We talk to Pf Awards 2022
David Rosevear David is Account Manager at Kreston Reeves. The funding climate for pharma, page 26 Gemma Seyfang Gemma is a patient living with the rare and progressive neuromuscular disease, Pompe disease. Patient perspective, page 28
Future Leader winner, Irfan Mohammed 20 ADVERTORIAL Clinical pharmacists: the new front line How AI is changing how pharma companies listen 24 INSIGHT Pharmacogenomics: Can personalised prescribing deliver a new, modern healthcare system? The funding climate for pharma
Gaining insights from intelligence, page 22 Rich Quelch R ich is Global Head of Marketing at Origin. He is an experienced global marketer within the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector. Pharmacogenomics, page 24 Scott Miles S cott is co-chair of the Kreston Global Life Sciences and Healthcare Group.
PATIENT PERSPECTIVE What living with a rare disease is really like 34 MOVERS AND SHAKERS Who’s moving where in the industry? 36 CAREERS Pf talks to Joanne Hay-Dick, who has recently been promoted to Associate Director Head of Operations at Accord. “Not only could personal prescribing maximise medical efficacy and improve patient outcomes, it could also reduce spending and over-prescribing in the NHS” Rich Quelch, page 24
ICYMIMORETHANJUSTPRINT. In between your quarterly issues of Pf Magazine, you will find daily news, exclusive web articles and thought leadership opinion pieces on www.pf-media.co.uk Take a look at some of the exclusive content you may have missed and the exciting things we’ve got coming up. PF-MEDIA.CO.UK Get in touch to contribute thought leadership opinion pieces and add your voice to conversation.the HAVE YOUR SAY DO YOU HAVE ANTOYOUOPINIONWANTSHARE? hello@pharmafield.co.uk DIGITAL ADVERTISING Would you like to advertise in the digital issue of Pf Magazine? Pf Media can create bespoke advertising which is engaging and impactful. From animation and video to audio and interviews, convey your message your own way. GET IN TOUCH hello@pharmafield.co.uk IN CASE YOU MISSED IT 4 | PF-MEDIA.CO.UK
Major changes are underway affecting the way the NHS commissions, funds and delivers cancer services, with big implications for pharma companies. Healthcare’sWilmingtonOliHudson casts his eye over what is happening.
4 collaborationtochallengesThreeglobal
3 MedTechhurdlesfinancialNavigatinginastart-up
1 How will NHS prescribing?influencereformsoncology
Natalie DiMambro, VP Product Commercialisation and Training at Within3, shares some and solutions.insight
What challenges does global collaboration pose to the life science industry?
How have companiesMedTechnegotiated the last two years where clinical trials slowed or stopped, electronic components have been difficult to secure and issues such as Brexit have added further uncertainty?
2 Is technology in vascular care the key to more responsive treatment? Nick West explores how rapid innovation and deployment of novel technology can help deliver optimal patient care, reduce suffering and limit fatalities in vascular care.
MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 5 ICYMI
NEWS | WEB.EXCLUSIVES | TECH | COVID-19 | GLOBAL .PHARMA | VIDEO FOUR MUST-READ ARTICLES THIS MONTH HAVE YOU CAUGHT UP ON OUR NEW IN SECTIONDEPTHYET? Our latest article is a MedicinesNHSwithconversationBlakeDark,CommercialDirector at NHS England, about how pharma can work in partnership with NHS England to improve patient access to new medicines.promising QUICK LOOK
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www.infinity.health
INFINITY HEALTH Infinity Health is a digital platform on which health and care staff can log, share and coordinate their daily care tasks in real-time. The company’s mission is to make handover and task management in the NHS safer and more efficient and to make patient flow smoother. It aims to do this by putting a collaborative, digital task list into every healthcare professional’s pocket, eliminating Excel from healthcare management and planning and purging the pager from routine clinical practice. With real-time visibility of all activity, from bed-management to granular task-level, ward and site managers can effectively plan and understand where there might be unnecessary delays or blockages, and respond to them.
www.hoopsy.co
BIOIVT BioIVT, a leading provider of biospecimens, research models and services for drug and diagnostic development, has acquired Cypex, a renowned manufacturer of recombinant xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes, based in Dundee, Scotland. Cypex’s extensive enzyme portfolio covers a wide range of proteins involved in drug metabolism.
Edinburgh based Fitabeo Therapeutics has been identified as one of the most exciting new businesses in Scotland after being shortlisted in the StartUp Awards National Series. Fitabeo Therapeutics is a clinical stage, specialty pharmaceutical company developing medicines for patients with advanced incurable diseases and debilitating chronic conditions. Fitabeo technology enables the complex release of one or more drugs on a fast dissolving, single layered film, capable of releasing drugs for up to twelve hours. This technology has the potential to be life changing, by enabling the development and commercialisation of drugs that reduce medicine intake to twice a day, replacing traditional dosing and often invasive, hospital-based treatments. This would allow patients to maintain autonomy at home for longer, with predicted savings for healthcare across the world of more than £600 million a year by 2030.
ACQUISITIONS&MERGERS
Ones to watch
FITABEO THERAPEUTICS
Start-ups that have caught our attention HOOPSY New Femtech brand Hoopsy has launched a pregnancy test made of 99% paper. Hoopsy’s founder, Lara Solomon, created the product after realising the shocking amount of plastic waste being sent to landfill. The paper test can be cut in half so that the part that is urinated on goes in the bin and the other half in paper recycling. The cardboard packaging can be recycled in paper recycling and the pouch the test comes in can be recycled in soft plastics at the supermarket.ThetestshaveanhCGsensitivity of 25mIU/ml and are over 99% accurate from the day of an expected period. Clinical trials have taken place to prove the accuracy and laboratory tests to ensure the sensitivity levels of the tests. It’s also registered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
www.fitabeo.com
BioIVT Chief Executive Officer Richard Haigh commented: “We are delighted that the Cypex team is joining BioIVT, bringing with them not only their market-leading products, but also their in vitro drug metabolism technology expertise. The acquisition of Cypex enhances BioIVT’s product portfolio, ensuring that we continue to meet all our entire R&Drequirementscustomers’biopharmaceuticalresearchfortheirpipeline.”
CORNER
Mithi Thaya, Founder and CEO of Harper, commented: “At Harper we sit at the crossroads between mental health and health conditions to help every single patient going through treatment. Firstly to help the journey, as it is extremely difficult, but secondly, to help with the success of the outcomes. We are contributing to their mental and physical condition. For the first time ever, we are seeing a support system that improves the patient's journey, which is why we are so proud of the partnerships with the UK’s leading fertility clinics.”
Boehringer Ingelheim, the life science company Evotec SE, and bioMérieux, a world leader in in vitro diagnostics, have announced that they have formed a joint venture to create the next generation of antimicrobials along with actionable diagnostics to fight Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). The resulting company, Aurobac Therapeutics SAS, will combine the best capabilities of the three founding companies towards developing a new precision medicine approach, from diagnosis to cure. The aspiration is to succeed in the fight against AMR, which is a major public health threat.
CLINICAL TRIALS
NEURAXPHARM Neuraxpharm, the central nervous system (CNS) specialist, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire two product portfolios for CNS disorders, pain and vascular diseases from Sanofi. With the upcoming acquisition, Neuraxpharm will strengthen its position as a leading European specialty pharmaceutical company focused on CNS. The wellestablished products that Neuraxpharm will acquire are marketed globally in more than 50 countries. The first portfolio combines 15 products addressing CNS disorders and ranging across psychiatry and neurology. The second portfolio includes two products in pain and vascular diseases. The products benefit patients across a large spectrum of diseases including depression, anxiety, psychosis, alcohol dependence, myasthenia gravis and Parkinson disease.
COLLABORATION
FERTILITY Harper, a mental health platform designed to deliver personalised care to support patients receiving fertility treatment, has partnered with many of the UK’s leading fertility clinics including GENNET City Fertility, Harley Street Fertility Clinic, and King’s Fertility.
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HEALTHCARE GROUPBESINS
PHARMACEUTICALSJUVISÉ
ANTIMICROBIALS
SpectrumX, a UK-based healthcare and pharmaceutical company, has partnered with a leading UK-based specials contract manufacturing group with global reach to advance the production of its ground-breaking anti-pathogenic medicine for use in its planned Phase I clinical trials. SpectrumX plans to use its partner’s Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)-certified facility to produce SPX-001, the medical product based on the SPC-069 drug substance, for clinical trials. SPX-001 is a potential novel treatment, based on hypochlorous acid (HOCl), for respiratory infections and is a new drug candidate for Europe with broad-spectrum anti-pathogenic properties. SpectrumX will continue to produce its proprietary HOCl chemistry, essential to SPX-001’s success, at its production facility in Knutsford.
The Besins Healthcare Group has acquired a meetfuturethatsectorpositivetopositivecommented:ofcompany’sandofferingproductionBesinsaothersitesoneOestrogelincludingproductionwillDrogenbos,manufacturingpharmaceuticalsiteinBelgium.ThissitebecomesolelyfocusedontheofhormonalproductsBesinsHealthcare’s®(Estradiol).Thesite,currentlyusedasoftwomanufacturingfortheirgelproducts[thesitebeinginFrance],isstrategicpurchasetoallowHealthcaretoincreaseofitsownproducts,greaterefficienciesgreaterintegrationintothesupplyline.MadelaineMcTernan,HeadtheHRTSupplyTaskforce“Thisisverynews.BesinscontinueplayakeyroleinourongoingengagementwiththeandIwelcomethisstepshouldreinforceandexpandproductioncapacitytorisingdemand.”
MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 7 INDUSTRY ROUND-UP
People are increasingly ready to accept the democratisation of their own care, as the proliferation of smartphones, health apps and wearable wellbeing devices proves. It is now up to industry to respond by shaping proactive connected health models that empower people with the information they need to take better care of their own health. The rate of adoption will vary by disease, but ultimately very few – if any – therapy areas will be off limits.
WORDS BY Joe Corrigan
My role as Head of Intelligent Health at Cambridge Consultants (CC) involves helping companies get to grips with potentially transformative technology innovation. So, my colleagues and I are often asked by biopharma executives to share the state of play in digital health development. To deepen our insight, I joined up with CC’s parent Capgemini for a research initiative to explore connected health and its current benefits and limitations. The resulting Capgemini Research Institute report 1 confirms that the time is right for companies to accelerate their connected health commitment. We interviewed 523 executives from 166 biopharma companies across seven countries in North America, Europe, and Asia. 84% indicated that the market opportunity for connected health exceeds that of their traditional pharma business and will represent 13% of total revenue in five years’ time. Investment funding in digital health start-ups hit $57.2 billion in 2021, up 79% from 2020. What is connected health and which therapy areas are benefitting from it?
theup
TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY
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E
Joining
xtraordinary advances in digital technology are allowing us to reimagine health and social care models to help confront the primary challenge of our times – an ageing global population with greater levels of chronic disease. The objective of this digitally enabled revolution is to provide better quality healthcare for more people, which is why I always consider connected health chiefly from the perspective of patient empowerment.
There’s no doubt in my mind that companies will be pushing at an open door. Earlier 2020 findings by the Capgemini Research Institute revealed that 46% of consumers – and 56% of those in the 23–38 age range – were comfortable using technology to manage their health. They will be able to benefit from connected health in a variety of ways. In an ideal future, improved centralised coordination will allow patient data to be automatically sent to physicians and added instantly to medical histories. And as well as being able to make their own healthcare decisions and take more responsibility for their own care, patients will benefit from better remote care and improved access at times and locations convenient to them.
STRATEGIC APPROACH We’re working with companies both large and small to develop not just the sensing and reporting technology involved, but also the strategic approach. This can include defining key biomarkers and identifying small providers with unique information or sensing capabilities that might help provide objective data outputs in challenging conditions such as in mental health. With the advent of new sensors, it’s now possible to provide continuous monitoring of a wider range of diseases. Advances across analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and smart algorithms means it’s also possible to automate data analysis and present information to the user in a way that allows them to act. A good example of this is diabetes. Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre allows patients to take control of their condition in a more engaged way. The system automatically calculates the percentage time the user spends with their glucose level in their target range. This ‘time in range’ approach replaces the traditional HbA1c metric and reduces the number of harmful hypos and hypers.
MEASURING IT TO MANAGE IT
Let me dip into my day-to-day work at CC to reveal a little more detail about the innovation that is enabling this increasingly connected future. Right now, we’re helping clients to develop the technology that sits at the heart of a number of smart products and systems, including implantable devices, wearables and surgical systems. The deep technical and scientific understanding of our development teams is core to everything – including fundamental components such as novel sensors.Tosuccessfullymanageadisease or condition, we have to be able to measure it. We do this with digital biomarkers – essentially any physiological or biological signal that is captured digitally. They range from general measurements such as glucose levels or blood pressure to something very specific like a genetic marker. Clinically, these biomarkers can be applied in different ways during the patient care pathway. At the early stage sits susceptibility or risk biomarkers, which indicate the potential for an individual to develope a disease. Cognitive changes in healthy subjects could denote a risk of developing Alzheimer’s, for example. Then there are diagnostic biomarkers that are already in common use to detect the presence of conditions such as asthma. Further up the pathway are pharmacodynamic response biomarkers used to show that a biological response has occurred after a patient has taken a medical product.
dots MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 9 INSIGHT
1 www.capgemini.com/gb-en/research/unlocking-the-value-in-connected-health 2 www.rockleyphotonics.com/rockley-unveils-end-to-end-digital-health-monitoring-solution
As I’ve already mentioned, much of the current focus is on developing and identifying the key sensing technologies that can measure accurately enough to be medically useful – but slip seamlessly into people's lives. A promising emerging technology here is integrated photonics, which allows skin sensing of biomarkers such as glucose and lactate via a wrist-worn device. A prime example of players in this space is Rockley Photonics, who recently announced partnerships with consumer and healthcare companies for their ‘clinic on the wrist’ 2
RISK As ever with healthcare, the issue of risk is top of mind, and perhaps explains why the adoption of connected technologies appears slow. If a device is going to be trusted, a huge amount of time and effort must go into the design of the sensors, software, and human use validation to ensure that the information provided is accurate and readily interpretable by the end user. That said, we’re beginning to see approved medical devices in what would have traditionally been thought of as a consumer market. For example, at least three major consumer technology manufacturers have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved heart health alerts in their consumer wearables, and these data can be made available to their doctors via connected platforms. Where expert users are available and ready for their skills to be augmented, adoption can afford to be much faster. Robotic surgery, for example, has been available for nearly 40 years and we’ve used fluorescence-guided real-time biomarker sensing in keyhole surgery for about a decade. If there is a sense within the industry that adoption is slower than it could be, I don’t think this is universally true. Even within the same organisation, the adoption of connected technologies can vary wildly because applicability is very disease specific. However, acceleration of adoption is well under way; a number of companies are pushing the envelope of what’s possible and will be releasing advanced AI and biomarker-based features in the next two to five years. Both the healthcare professional and consumer spaces will be subjected to significant disruption.
“ To condition,managesuccessfullyadiseaseorwehavetobeabletomeasureit” 10 | INSIGHTPF-MEDIA.CO.UK
Joe Corrigan is Head of Intelligent Healthcare at Cambridge Consultants, part of Capgemini Invent. Go to www.cambridgeconsultants.com
We’re seeing similar progress with inhalers. Many pharma companies have added sensing, initially to measure how devices are being used. But now companies such as Teva have demonstrated (in the lab at least) that they can use the sensing data to predict exacerbations – asthma attacks – before they happen. This potentially allows intervention that prevents hospital visits.
BRAND PLANNING Don’t withoutstartus ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS FOR THE EVOLUTION OF PHARMA Let’s meet solutions@e4h.co.uk #WeAreE4Hpart of the uniphar group
It is clear there are a number of different challenges and barriers that can prevent people from minority ethnic groups receiving equitable care and outcomes. One example is dietary advice – diet is such a crucial component of managing diabetes, yet nutritional advice often does not cover food relevant to different cultures. Health advice needs to be culturally relevant to resonate with those receiving it. To explore how we can better support minority ethnic groups, Lilly partnered with Dr Joan St John, a GP with a special interest in diabetes. We convened a steering group of healthcare professionals (HCPs), people living with diabetes and community group representatives to share their experiences and learn more about the reasons for existing inequalities in diabetes.
Dr Kunal Gulati is Executive Director, Medical – Diabetes, Lilly UK & Northern Europe. Go to www.lilly.co.uk/charterforchange TOGETHER, WE ARE CALLING FOR:
The publication of the Charter for Change is only the beginning, and concerted action is needed to translate awareness into action. Lilly is committed to doing its part to make sure the voices and needs of all people with diabetes are heard, and we urge the wider healthcare community to do the same.
Collectively, we developed the Charter for Change , a report which sets out five recommendations to improve diabetes management for people from Black African, Black Caribbean, South Asian populations and other minority ethnic groups. By raising awareness and encouraging implementation of these recommendations, Lilly and the steering group are working to bring about meaningful change to address inequalities and improve diabetes care.
I nequalities in diabetes care have been recognised for a number of years. People from Black African, Black Caribbean, and South Asian backgrounds are overrepresented in the population living with diabetes, tend to develop Type 2 diabetes at a younger age and are at greater risk of associated complications than those from white ethnic groups , . The NHS long-term plan in 2019 made a commitment to tackling health inequalities. But far from things getting better, the Covid-19 pandemic has made inequalities even starker. 2.7 million diabetes screening tests for high-risk groups were missed during six months in 2020. Urgent action is now needed to address these inequalities and to build back diabetes services in a way that better meets the needs of all communities.
WORDS
• More disaggregated ethnicity data to ensure the NHS has a fuller picture of existing inequalities in diabetes care.
• A review of the diabetes care pathway specifically for people from minority ethnic groups, to identify any variation in care, experience and access to service and technology.
• Greater funding and resources to be allocated through integrated care systems (ICSs) to address the needs of historically under-served groups. Tackling inequalities for minority ethnic groups living with diabetes BY Dr Kunal Gulati
The NHS to set targets to increase diversity amongst NHS decision-makers, to increase trust and better reflect the populations they serve.
A 12FORCHARTERCHANGE | PF-MEDIA.CO.UK
• Training on cultural competence to become integral in the development of HCPs.
1. Diabetes UK. Diabetes Statistics. Available at: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/professionals/position-statements-reports/statistics Accessed April 2022. 2. Lanting LC et al. Ethnic Differences in Mortality, End-Stage Complications, and Quality of Care Among Diabetic Patients. Diabetes Care 2005 Sept; 28(9): 2280-2288. 3. Holman N et al. Risk factors for COVID-19-related mortality in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes in England: a population-based cohort study. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2020 Oct; 8(10):823–833. 4. Holland D et al. Assessment of the effect of the COVID19 pandemic on UK HbA1c testing: implications for diabetes management and diagnosis. Journal of Clinical Pathology. Published online October 2021. “ 2.7 million diabetes screening tests for high-risk groups were missed during six months in 20204 ” Job code: PP-LD-GB-1564. Date of preparation: April 2022. MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 13 INSIGHT
CONTENT STRATEGY HCPs are not traditional consumers, their decision making is complex. There are funding and formulary considerations, you need to give them the information they need to move through the lifecycle to prescribing. This is where a content strategy and communications plan will help. Pull together your objectives, your customers’ needs, your vision for the next 12 to 24 months and your available channels. Consider whether you have
These activities are great for attracting HCPs, for building interest and engagement, but what you do next is critical. How do you keep clinicians coming back for more? What’s your value proposition that separates you from your competitor? ADDING VALUE If you build it, they won’t necessarily come. Your digital presence from website to assets needs a strategy within digital transformation. This targeted and scheduled approach needs to entice, educate and support HCPs to encourage them to keep coming back. What value are you adding to encourage that ‘brand loyalty’? This is where you need to look to the future. Build on those activities with a strategised series of engagement, enhanced digital and in-person assets that can be shared across multiple channels to meet your customers where they are. Plus, a range of communications to land your messages in front of them.
It’s quite common to look at immediate brand and business need then build the activities around that – webinars, consensus documents, on demands. But is that all you do, and what is driving it?
HCP engagement solutions engagement solutionsHCP 14 | PF-MEDIA.CO.UK
Are you preparing for the future? When it comes to engaging HCPs online, being present isn’t enough. You need strategic engagement solutions to meet their needs across multiple channels.
H ave you invested in the (HCPs)?professionalsofengagementdigitalhealthcare
Why being present isn’t enough
Over the last two years the pharmaceutical industry has significantly increased its digital presence – websites, education portals, virtual events, podcasts, there’s no shortage of content available to share with customers and support their education and patients. But what may have been a scattergun approach, activity by activity and need by need, must now become more coherent and consistent. It’s time for strategic engagement solutions.
Communications are critical to the effectiveness of your content and understanding your customers. Start with a communications plan. Decide who you want to, and can, contact, what you want to say to them, and when you want to say it – whilst thinking about what they want to know, too. Draw on your sales team here as they know their customers well, have a good understanding of what they need, how and when they like to be contacted. Next, consider whether emails can be automated. An effective way to keep in touch with customers is to send out regular communications offering them something new. You can even create automated pathways. Your communications will also add to your all-important HCP data and help you to keep engaging them. You can then use the insights to shape your strategy, analyse your tactics and evolve alongside your customers and the market. LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
WORDS BY Emma Morriss any gaps in your content. Does it meet their persona, prescribing stage or information needs? If not, make a plan to fill those gaps and align it with what you want to share, and what your
PLANNINGCOMMUNICATIONS
And you must underpin this activity with data. If you don’t have permission to communicate, make sure you add GDPR compliant consents to your activities. Use data capture cookies to understand HCP behaviour. And don’t forget source codes.
It’s no longer enough to build a website and expect HCPs to use it. You can have a wealth of fantastic assets but if you don’t have a clear strategy with long-term engagement solutions you will stand still while your customers move on.
MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 15 INSIGHT
information theywon’tcustomersitandstreamsite.customersteamsandoffermultimediausefulneedeffectiveconsidercustomers need to know. Onceyouhavethisinformation,whichformatsaremostformaximisingreach.Youtobeproducingavarietyofeducationalandpromotionalresources.Differentformatsyourcustomerseaseofaccessconsumption.ProvideyoursaleswithnewresourcestosharewithordirectthemtoonyourGivingthem a reason to return. Youalsoneedtohaveasteadyofcontentcoming,aclearcoherenttimelineandtopublishregularly.Ifyoudon’tgiveyourregularcontent,theyseeyouasaleaderintheneed.
Emma Morriss is Head of Marketing Operations at E4H. E4H is an engagement solutions agency built for the evolution of pharma. Go to www.e4h.co.uk
2022 | RECOGNISING INDIVIDUALS & TEAMS | INDEPENDENT JUDGING PANEL IMPARTIAL ASSESSMENT PROCESS | NO COST TO ENTER Contact the Pf Awards team on team@pfawards.co.uk or 01462 226126 www.pfawards.co.uk #PfAwards2022 GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS SPONSOR GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS BROUGHT TO YOU BY Relive the Pf Awards 2022 at #PfAwardswww.PfAwards.co.uk Pf Awards 2023 Coming soon
Congratulations on your Pf Award win, how did you feel when your name was announced? Surprised! After the assessment day it’s difficult to know how well you’ve done, so it was great to be highlighted as one of the top finalists in the Future Leader category on the night. To then be announced as the winner was simply fantastic. I was honoured to have been recognised amongst so many talented individuals across our industry who are striving to make a real difference in healthcare.
What do you think people need from a leader? The pandemic has redefined leadership, and I believe in the post-COVID era, leaders will need new skills and competencies to succeed in fast changing business environments. People will want to see leaders who have the agility to accelerate innovation to address difficult challenges at pace, whilst also creating an organisational culture within which people can thrive to drive performance and deliver impact.
The Pf Awards process is robust and challenging but a fantastic opportunity to showcase your innovative work ” Pf Awards 2022 Future Leader winner, Irfan Mohammed, reflects on scooping an Award and what has shaped his career path. BY Emma Cooper
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What do you think made you stand out from the other candidates? That’s a tough question! Pf Awards provides a great opportunity to showcase innovation and excellence from across the industry. I shared an innovative programme that I established and led, focussed on collaborating with the NHS and the wider healthcare system to help address the enduring challenge of health inequality. Whilst I hope that the judges saw the uniqueness of this programme, I would like to think that my values based leadership which underpinned the programme shone through. And, in particular, how I embraced Novartis’ values to lead the vision of the programme and the impact it has made on the NHS and patients as well as providing a blueprint for the industry. What do you love most about your job? I truly believe that having an alignment between your personal values and your organisation’s purpose is key to loving what you do. At Novartis UK, our purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. I am fortunate that my job enables me to play a key role in helping deliver on this purpose alongside a brilliant team. In particular, by leveraging strategic partnerships with the healthcare system to co-create bold and innovative programmes and solutions to truly reimagine medicine and transform healthcare. What are the biggest challenges you have faced? Like many people the high uncertainty and unpredictability posed by the pandemic has been one my biggest challenges, both personally and professionally. It’s taken me out of my comfort zone in many ways, pushing me to do things very differently which I hope will serve me well in the future.
INTERVIEW
What’s the best piece of career advice you have received? Early in my career during a difficult work situation, a great friend and mentor once advised me ‘when things get tough, “
What advice would you give to others entering the Pf Awards? The Pf Awards process is robust and challenging but a fantastic opportunity to showcase your innovative work and the impact you deliver for your organisation, the healthcare system and patients alike. Go for it, be your authentic self and enjoy the many benefits the opportunity offers. Read the full list of Pf Awards 2022 winners
I have recently embarked on a development programme to further enhance my leadership journey at Novartis, as well as collaborating on a number of stretch projects. I am looking forward to putting the learnings and insights from these opportunities into practice in my current role. In the near future, I hope to transition into a global role to gain exposure in other healthcare systems and markets around the world and to work with multi-agency stakeholders to reimagine access to medicine through new commercial partnerships.
What are your ambitions now?career
MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 19 PF AWARDS
don’t simply walk away, work through them with humility and embrace the opportunity to learn’. This has always stayed with me and has provided so many valuable learnings over the years, especially during the pandemic.
Clinical Pharmacists play a key role in treating patients with multiple conditions and medications in primary care. They can reduce the need for GP appointments by 30%.1 With the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) funding 70% of their salaries, the number of Clinical Pharmacists is exploding, with 7500 expected to work in Primary Care Networks by 2024. 2 This workforce expansion is creating an increasingly important stakeholder group for pharma to engage. So, what are the challenges for Clinical Pharmacists and how can pharma engage with them effectively?
THE CLINICAL PHARMACIST ROLE Clinical Pharmacists enable more patients to be seen and treated effectively and safely. Their responsibilities include but are not limited to:
WORDS BY Cat Metcalfe
Easier, simpler, better Commercial & medical outsourcing and recruitment solutions for the UK life-sciences industry. ad v4.indd 1 01/06/2022 15:24
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• Support for transfer of care e.g. reconciliation of medications post discharge from hospital.
• Design and implementation of patient pathways. Act as prescribing leads advising on medicines to be used in conjunction with guidelines.
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• Medication reviews, particularly in high-risk groups of people.
CLINICAL PHARMACISTS: the new front line
With recent news that the government is over halfway to delivering on its manifesto commitment of having 26,000 more primary care staff by March 2024, including clinical pharmacists, Cat Metcalfe , Head of Insights at CHASE, examines how industry can engage with them effectively.
• Review of repeat prescriptions, leading on evidencebased changes in prescribing.
hours
A promotional role to engage NHS Clinical Pharmacists. • Experience and empathy as pharmacists quickly build relationships and access. • Engagements are
Pharm J 2019; doi: 10.1211/PJ.2019.20207066 chasepeople.com/pharmacists Engagepharmacistsclinical effectively. Outsource with CHASE. Column ad v4.indd 1 01/06/2022 13:57MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 21 ADVERTORIAL
A challenge in diabetes is the number of new therapies available. “There are so many products and it's such an exciting but fast-paced moving market”, comments one Lead Clinical Pharmacist interviewed for this article. “I need to make sure my team and I are up to date so we can have a meaningful conversation with patients at their medicines reviews or if something needs to be changed. I think newer pharmacists would struggle with starting new therapies and understanding what a model annual diabetes review for a patient looks like.”
In response, CHASE has introduced Pharmacy Partnership Managers, qualified pharmacists with a promotional remit to engage Clinical Pharmacists.
Go to www.chasepeople.com/pharmacists NEW ROLE TO ENGAGE CLINICAL PHARMACISTS CHASE’s Pharmacy Partnership Managers have a promotional remit to help Clinical Pharmacists understand specific products and how to use them appropriately.•Qualifiedpharmacists outsourced
Peer-to-peer conversation can be particularly helpful for Clinical Pharmacists as they grow in their role.
1 www.england.nhs.uk/gp/case-studies/wallingbrook-health-group 2 Andalo D. Number of clinical pharmacists expected to work in PCNs rises to 7,500
Customer feedback on the new roles is extremely positive. “Pharmacists will almost always see me again,” reports one CHASE Pharmacy Partnership Manager. “I’m a healthcare professional first, so it’s always patients first, I think the pharmacists I engage with can see that. I’m not pushy and they’re open to seeing me again.”
HOW TO ENGAGE EFFECTIVELY WITH CLINICAL PHARMACISTS
The role can have an important influence on patient care too.
CHALLENGES FOR CLINICAL PHARMACISTS IN DIABETES
“Highlighting patient need is a major benefit of our role. We are able to create urgency to review patients who, because of Covid-19 pressures, haven’t been reviewed during the last two years. Often pharmacists will refer to specialist nurses because they don’t feel confident in a therapy area. Speaking with me, as a fellow pharmacist, gives them a great level of understanding and confidence so more patients can have their needs addressed without intervention from another healthcare professional.” Cat Metcalfe is Head of Insights at CHASE. by CHASE. up to 1–2 long. high. by 2023/2024.
• Repeat engagement is
A rtificial intelligence, or AI, is still a bit of a buzzword. Those unfamiliar with AI applications may defer taking advantage of them in business, whether out of intimidation or a lack of confidence that the technology can address some of their most pressing pain points. But for the life science industry, AI already impacts how day-to-day conversations take place. Functional teams across the pharma spectrum already share insights with each other, but those conversations are often inefficient, time-consuming and incorrectly targeted. These discussions can be smarter and more productive. And this is where AI comes in – turning conversations and observations into actionable insights. Through AI-powered technology like natural language processing (NLP), teams can use AI to monitor several conversations and more quickly understand the points that will inform strategic decisions.
AI allows pharma teams to facilitate a more in-depth, analytical overview of dozens of information streams. By doing so, it massively reduces the chances of missing any essential information. By creating deeper, more actionable insights, AI enables teams to strategically focus on education to help healthcare providers understand their products better.
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IN IT FOR THE PATIENT? In its simplest form, AI allows pharma teams to pull together different scientific understandings that they can apply to various strategies based on the insights they collect. The technology allows pharma teams to concisely collate insights from their researchers to help bring drugs safely to market. As mentioned above, technologies like NLP allow teams to access information more quickly, leading them to effective strategic decisions. NLP eliminates some of the manual processing tasks associated with collating and interpreting information, reducing the risk of missing essential information, such as an important side effect in a research summary.
Gaining
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THE WEARABLESROLE PLAY While AI may seem complex, it’s much easier to break down when considered in association with some now-ubiquitous items – sports watches, for example. Not only can these devices report on basic things like the number of steps taken each day, but they can also read and measure oxygen levels and heart rates, providing the wearer with actionable insights. In a health context, this immediacy allows patients instant access to data, and may inform the need to go and see a medical professional by allowing individuals to pick up on emerging issues. In this way, AI technology may indirectly reduce the administrative load required in medical settings, speeding up the time it takes for a patient to access treatment. Wearable technologies have opened a door to understanding what is happening to patients in real time and keeping them on the right path.
How AI is changing how pharma companies listen BY Jason Smith insights from intelligence
“ AI and other technologies are helping to highlight the patient voice ”
MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 23 INSIGHT
Jason Smith is CTO, AI & Analytic, at Within3. Go to www.within3.com
NLP means teams can monitor conversations happening between organisations and healthcare providers or patient advocacy groups. This allows pharma teams to truly understand the conversation around various stages of product development, ultimately adding value in the process of getting a new therapy to consumers.
THE ROLE SOCIAL MEDIA IS PLAYING AI and other technologies are helping to highlight the patient voice, and one place where this intersection is becoming more prominent is on social media. Social media listening or monitoring allows pharma teams to understand what their patients are saying and what their needs are in terms of disease state, treatment, quality of life, and other key points.
If you look back at the past ten years, pharma teams have seen science change first-hand as products come and go. But among all the remarkable innovations, one of the most significant has been the evolution of the patient voice. Patients are becoming more aware of the products in the market, are more curious about how exactly how these can help treat them, and are passionate advocates for their own health. Some uses of AI collate all the information you need in the moment, at speed. It then works to show why that information or impact is important - getting the strongest piece of data from a sea of information. It works to ensure important insights won’t fall through the cracks, saving professionals time and giving added security to the decisions they make.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR AI?
It’s important for life science teams to harness the power of this information from social media. When teams use social listening (formulating the unstructured data provided on internet conversations into actionable insights) to analyse these discussions, it can help to really understand the patient voice and then amplify this voice back into the drug or device development process. Patients may not be aware of this part of the process, but their conversations can ultimately have a positive effect on the treatments, support, and other resources pharma organisations can offer. Social media also captures more of patients’ raw emotions and feelings. When they discuss these matters with a doctor, the insights end up becoming very structured with the doctor acting as a third-party mediator between the patient and pharma company. Instead, social media allows for a freer flowing conversation, which can create some of the strongest insights when posts and social media conversations are monitored processes like social listening.through
modern healthcare system? WORDS
W ith up to 6.5% 1 of UK hospital admissions a result of adverse drug reactions –and prescription medicines failing to work altogether on up to half of patients – the call for personalised prescribing is growing. A recent report 2 by the British Pharmacological Society and the Royal College of Physicians even called for pharmacogenomic testing to be integrated fully, fairly and swiftly into the NHS, where prescriptions are tailored to our unique genetic make-up. By taking a pharmacogenomic approach, healthcare providers can not only confidently administer, or avoid, drugs but gain a deeper understanding of patient responses – allowing for the right treatments to be prescribed at the right time, in the right doses. But what are the key costs, challenges and implications of delivering this personalised healthcare model and what would it look like in reality?
DIFFICULT, BUT NOT IMPOSSIBLE BARRIERS TO OVERCOME While the authors of the Personalised Prescribing – Using pharmacogenomics to improve patient outcomes report call for pharmacogenomics to become a reality for all NHS Trusts, it’s not as simple as testing patients when they arrive at a doctor’s surgery or hospital.
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GETTING PERSONAL PHARMACOGENOMICSWITH
Current iterations of genome tracing projects – including established tests before the administering of HIV medication, as well as multiple NHS projects 6 aimed at sampling patient genomes – have a new, BY Rich Quelch
It’s increasingly accepted that a one-size-fits-all approach to prescribing is not only inefficient but can be harmful. For example, common drugs such as antibiotics and antiinflammatory medicines, and even advanced treatments like chemotherapy drugs, are all known to produce negative side effects in patients carrying, or without, certain genes. And others may simply lack the gene that makes certain medicines, such as codeine, effective. This not only results in a waste of funding and materials but leaves patients without the crucial painkilling quality. Another piece of genetic research has also revealed a rare variation in one gene can cause an excessive immune reaction 3 when exposed to a variety of common medications. And the bodily response for those carrying this variation while medicating can result in liver damage. Without pharmacogenomics, the risk to patients is real – with hundreds of deaths each year4 in the UK alone attributed directly to adverse drug reactions.So,isittimeforaparadigm shift towards a new, purpose-built model? Not only could personal prescribing maximise medical efficacy and improve patient outcomes, it could also reduce spending and overprescribing in the NHS.However,thechallenge is overhauling the way the health service operates. And this comes at a time of growing ill health and NHS waiting lists at all-time highs5 – with the service at the limits of affordability.
Since its inception in 1948, the way the NHS manages prescribing services has remained largely unchanged. However, away from the waiting room, things have moved on. While technologies and science has evolved, we continue to prescribe medicines and treatments based on a universal understanding of their benefits. But slowly, the importance of genetic make-up and how that affects the intended treatment is evolving.
equipment.and supplymanufacturingexample,speedbumps,maylogisticsoutsourcinggeneticandconfidentialitypublicincludemodel,£2 billionareconsideringsavingscouldestimatedshort-termcommunicating findings.usingeverybarrierscomesscalableneededfundingrevealed the key challenges.Theprimarychallengebeing–particularlyintheresearchtodevelopanefficientandgenetictestingsolution.Thenadditionalfinancialandlogisticinthetrainingneededatlevelofthehealthservice,fromequipmenttointerpretingandThelong-termrewardsfaroutweighcosts,though.Andit’sthat,whilegenetictestingcostupto£150perpatient,thewillbemuchgreater–especiallyadversedrugreactionsbelievedtocosttheNHSuptoeveryyear1Afterestablishingaworkablefurtherchallengesengagingtheandovercomingconcernsstigmaaroundtesting.Plus,keyservicesalsoencounterforintheof Pharmacogenomics Can personalised prescribing deliver
or prohibit the use of equipment that doesn’t personal NHSreducespeedto‘all-under-one-roof’chainscommunication,challengesThenadditionalpharmaceuticalSimilarly,meet industry standards.the$200billionfraudmarket7posescomplicationsanddisruption.therearecommonsupplychainincludingtransparencyandandunforeseendelays.However,workingwithagilesupply–suchasthoseoperatinganmodel–couldhelpavoidbottlenecksanddelays,increaseandefficiencyand,importantly,costs,deliveringatrulyservice. CONSIDERATIONSETHICAL Finally, the concept and delivery of genetic testing also raises ethical questions.Theseinclude the implications surrounding secondary or incidental findings (those that don’t relate to the primary reason for testing), as well as the risk of unclear or incomplete findings. Is it morally sound to administer or withhold treatment based on genetic data that is incomplete or may be subject to further exploration? While these are valid considerations, the further exploration of genetic testing will yield ethically sound frameworks when it comes to the collection, delivery and use of patient data. Rich Quelch is Global Head of Marketing at Origin. Go to www.originltd.compharmacogenomics,Without“therisktopatientsisreal” MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 25 INSIGHT
1 prescriptionsexperts-push-for-genetic-testing-to-personalise-drug-www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/29/ 2 personalised-prescribingwww.bps.ac.uk/about/our-campaigns/ 3 science/article/pii/S0016508516355305www.sciencedirect.com/ 4 year-say-researchers200-million-medication-errors-occur-in-nhs-per-www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/more-than5 than%20two%20years.data%20shows%206.2%20million,waiting%20more%20lists-in-england-at-record-high#:~:text=NHS%20society/2022/apr/14/number-of-people-on-nhs-waiting-www.theguardian.com/ 6 genetic%20disorder.be%20the%20first%20national,with%20a%20likely%20genomics/nhs-genomic-med-service/#:~:text=To%20www.england.nhs.uk/ 7 science/article/pii/S2666535222000167#bib7 www.sciencedirect.com/ These may include the development of accurate and compliant medical devices, with healthcare regulations threatening to delay
What does the future hold for the biotech industry? And is the almost decade-long bubble about to burst? BY Scott Miles & David Rosevear
WHAT LESSONS HAVE BEEN LEARNED?
A fter 2020 thrust the industry into the spotlight in the fight against the global pandemic, it was highlighted just how the small pharma and biotech industry could compete with the larger, more established pharmaceutical companies. So, you would be forgiven for thinking that this would pave the way for the biotech funding boom to continue, if not to be even bigger than the last ten years. The early data supported this theory, with the first three quarters of 2021 showing some of the highest levels of funding for biotech companies. Skip forward to the start of 2022 and Pitchbook data shows that in the USA alone they saw the lowest level of first round financing activity since prior to 2011. Is this just a blip in the road or has the downturn in the public markets finally trickled downstream to the early-stage start-up companies? And, with many initial public offerings being delayed, or pulled altogether, is there also any sign that the venture capital funds have started to dry up?Well,itwouldappearnot!Manyventure capitalists have looked to establish new funds in Q1 2022, so although the end game may have been delayed, or been reconsidered, it doesn’t appear that there is a lack of funding available. Our team has assisted with the inception of two new start up biotech companies in April 2022 alone. So maybe January was just an anomaly – only time will tell.
Bringing a new drug to market is complex, costly and time consuming, often taking between 12–15 years and costing in excess of $1 billion, which can be daunting figures and timelines. I’m afraid precious little could be done about the timelines, with times often being dictated by regulations put into place to ensure therapeutics are safe and effective. That leaves us with the cost. We have seen on many an occasion the success of the asset centric virtual company, where an idea on a specific target or mechanism of action is essentially outsourced to selected contract research organisations (CROs) saving on capex and creating an agile and flexible research and development cost base. We have helped many companies take this one step further, taking in-house their entire finance function which has helped reduce costs even further and allowed management to focus on what they do best; discovering and developing novel therapeutics. Given the high level of reorganisations and restructures that have gone on in the industry in recent times, it looks like many of the longer established companies are coming to the conclusion, too, that there are cost savings that can be taken in the outsourcing model. So, is the funding future outlook bright? It most definitely looks that way, we may just need to wait for the new funds to find the right funding opportunities. Scott Miles is co-chair of the Kreston Global Life Sciences and Healthcare Group and David Rosevear is Account Manager at Kreston Reeves. Go to www.krestonreeves.com
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The climatefunding for
ISTOBRINGING“ANEWDRUGMARKETCOMPLEX,COSTLYANDTIMECONSUMING” MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 27 PHARMACY
Gemma Seyfang shares her story of living with Pompe disease, a rare and progressive neuromuscular disease, and why raising awareness is so important to her.
GETTING A DIAGNOSIS
The Pompe & Circumstance song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios
WORDS BY Gemma Seyfang P ompe disease is a rare genetic disorder that causes complex sugars to build up in the body, damaging the heart, diaphragm, and skeletal muscles, leading to progressive muscle weakness, and breathing difficulties.
I was finally diagnosed six years ago at the age of 31, almost 20 years after I first experienced symptoms. My sister was also diagnosed with Pompe disease at the same time, and it was because of her reaching out to doctors to find out what was wrong with her, that prompted me to do the same.
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I first noticed symptoms developing when I was 13; I found simple everyday tasks like walking up the stairs difficult and I struggled to ski on family holidays. I didn’t have the strength to do anything, and I fell over often. Looking back, my parents didn’t really know or understand the problems that I faced because I didn’t tell them. I used to struggle with a lot on my own. I was very good at disguising my symptoms. And as a person, you only live in your own life, so you don’t know that those things are not normal. So, you don’t understand, especially as a child, to speak up and say, “I think there’s something wrong with me. We need to investigate.” I fell pregnant with my son, Tyler, at the age of 21. I believe my pregnancy sped up the severity of my symptoms as I became too weak to lift him up when he was born, I just didn’t have the strength. My breathing got worse as did simple things around the house like washing and lifting things in and out of the oven.
Receiving a diagnosis was a bit of a relief, to be honest. Knowing that for all these years I had felt weak and lazy and actually there was a reason for it – that was really important to me. My partner Kieron is absolutely amazing. He has to help a lot around the house because there are certain things that I can’t do because of my muscle fatigue or my aches and my pains. I think if my sister hadn’t had the same symptoms as me, I’d probably still not know that I had Pompe disease. I had been to the doctors over the years for headaches and other problems, for example raised alanine transaminase (ALTs) and aspartate transaminase (AST) liver enzymes, but they always
WHAT LIVING WITH A RARE
GIVING POMPE PATIENTS A VOICE
DISEASE IS REALLY LIKE
I was finally diagnosed six years ago at the age of 31, almost 20 years after I first experienced symptoms ” Gemma pictured with David and Carrie Grant
MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 29 PATIENT PERSPECTIVE
put it down to something else because they don’t have the knowledge of all the rare diseases. I know other people with Pompe disease can wait anywhere between 7–9 years to get a diagnosis because it is so rare, which is why I do as much as possible to raise awareness.
“
I was sent an email from one of the specialist nurses at Addenbrookes regarding the Pompe and Circumstance project as she wondered if I might like to get involved. The Sanofi Rare Disease team wanted to create something that would inspire involvement and connection and came up with the idea of using music and re-creating Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance. When I was younger, I used to do singing lessons and music is a huge part of my life, but have noticed that because of Pompe disease, my lungs are compromised and so I find singing now a bit more of a challenge. However, it didn’t stop me from wanting to be part of this. The project was led and hosted by Carrie and David Grant which made it so special. We even got the chance to contribute to the lyrics of the song to reflect our own experiences of living with Pompe disease. We had two rehearsals online via Zoom, which Carrie and David Grant were on – I felt quite starstruck! We were doing lots of breathing exercises and then we were practicing the song ready for the Abbey Road performance. Carrie and David talked us through breathing techniques and how to get the best out of our voices whenThesinging.finalperformance was recorded at Abbey Road studios which was amazing. It’s such an iconic place and that’s where the first Pomp and Circumstance was originally recorded by Edward Elgar. It was such an exciting opportunity that couldn’t be missed. I hope that together as a community we can raise awareness of Pompe disease and support people recognising symptoms and getting a diagnosis sooner. The Pompe & Circumstance project was supported by an educational grant from Sanofi. Go to pompe-communitynewsroom/2022/passing-the-mic-to-the-www.sanofi.co.uk/en/
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Commenting on his appointment, James May said: “A role which combines Publicis Groupe’s media excellence with the depth and breadth of Langland’s health expertise was too good an opportunity to miss out on. To support our clients in thinking further about their media strategy, providing solutions that work both at a global and country level, across a range of platforms and channels, is an exciting and rewarding endeavour.”
PHARMA PHIL DAVEY Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has appointed Phil Davey as Country Manager of the UK and CommentingIreland. on his appointment, Phil said: "I am delighted to have joined Alnylam as Country Manager for the UK and Ireland. Alnylam is delivering on its mission to translate RNA interference (RNAi) technology into a new class of innovative therapeutics offering muchneeded treatment options to patients living with rare diseases and the potential to transform their outcomes. I'm excited to work with this strong team to continue to deliver on this commitment to patients, driving the growth of our current UK portfolio as well as a first-in-class pipeline of new medicines for patients living with both rare and more common diseases across the UK and Ireland."
WORDS BY Emma Cooper PHARMA HENRIK ASMUSSEN & SALVADOR LOPEZ Amarin has expanded its European presence with the dual appointments of Henrik Asmussen as General Manager of Mid-Europe and the Nordics, and Salvador Lopez as General Manager for Spain and Portugal. They will be responsible for driving forward the company’s expansion plans in the Nordics, Spain, and Portugal.
&MoversShakers
PHARMA JAMES MAY Langland , a Publicis Health company, has appointed James May to the newly created position of Media Strategy Director, Health. The new hire is a shared role across Langland and Publicis Media to drive the continued development of the ex-US Healthcare Media and Omnichannel strategic function.
Who’s on the move in the industry?
PHARMA SUE STAUNTON & SCOTT MILES Kreston Global has appointed Sue Staunton and Scott Miles co-chairs of its new Life Sciences and Healthcare sector group. The group has formed in recognition of the substantial life sciences and healthcare work carried out by Kreston firms internationally, providing a wealth of expertise to privately owned business and investors looking to invest and raise capital in this rapidly growing sector.
Karolinskadiseases,plasticprofessorclinicians and systems.patients,AspecialistandassociateinreconstructivesurgeryandcraniofacialKallejoinsKryfromUniversityHospital.
PHARMA PAUL BEASTALL Evonetix , the synthetic biology company bringing semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis, has appointed Paul Beastall as Chair of the Board of Directors. Paul was previously a Non-Executive Director at Evonetix, having joined the Board in 2020. His new appointment to Chair will see him take a more involved role in guiding product development strategy. This announcement follows the Company’s recent patent grant for technology enabling thermally-controlled DNAPaulsynthesis.hasover 20 years’ experience in product development, global industrial and consumer markets, and strategic consultancy, previously holding senior positions at start-ups, large corporations, government, and consultancy businesses.
Sue Staunton is joint managing partner of James Cowper Kreston, and Scott Miles is a corporate partner in Kreston Reeves, both UK accounting firms and members of the Kreston Global network. They will be leading an international group of sector experts from Switzerland, India, Singapore, the US, UK and Germany.
AGENCY KALLE LUNDGRENCONNERYDDigital healthcare company, Kry, has appointed Dr Kalle Conneryd-Lundgren as Chief Clinical Operations Officer to lead the company’s Global Clinical Operations Team as it expands its offer and moves deeper into specialist care. With 91% of global healthcare professionals stating that they will continue to use digital to boost access and transition out of the pandemic, Kalle will expand Kry’s clinical strategy and work closely with healthcare professionals and technical product teams to strengthen Kry’s tools and software services to better connect
CONSULTANCY MONTAGNINIBENEDETTA Metrion Biosciences Limited , the specialist ion channel contract research and drug discovery company, has appointed Dr Benedetta Montagnini as Head of European Business Development. Driven by the uptake of its ion channel discovery services, the appointment follows the recent creation of a Client Services team as Metrion expands its operations and enhanced drug discovery capabilities, internationally. With over 20 years’ experience working within the drug discovery services environment, Dr Montagnini was previously Business Development Manager at Eurofins Discovery and DiscoveRx and prior to that Account Manager for the Industrial BioProcessing Division at Invitrogen. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and a PhD Magna cum Laude in Biochemistry from Sapienza Università di Roma.
MAGAZINE | SUMMER 2022 | 31 MOVERS & SHAKERS
PHARMA MARIA WALSH Janssen UK has promoted Maria Walsh to Business Unit Director, Oncology & Haematology, Cell & Gene Therapy and Pulmonary Hypertension. Maria previously worked in marketing, sales, medical and market access roles at all stages of the product appointment,Commentinglifecycle.onherMariaWalsh said: "I am thrilled to start my new role as Business Unit Director. Over the last two years, I have proudly witnessed first-hand the hard work and dedication shown by the Janssen team as they successfully collaborate to deliver excellent outcomes."
CAREER CLOSE-UPS Access
What advice would you give to someone interested in your role? To be resilient, to not be afraid to take on new challenges. Keep focused on the end goal, take on any setbacks or constructive feedback, and see them as opportunities to improve. Reflect on it, process it and then work out how to move forward.
How has Covid affected your role? I joined Accord in the middle of the pandemic and, like any other industry, we were dealing with social distancing measures. This meant we couldn’t have as many people on the line, and naturally we had absences due to illness. Accord stepped up to pull everyone together. It was a proud time to know that we were able to keep supplying critical medicines. What motivates you? One of my proudest moments, that confirmed my passion for process improvement, was when I joined the Lean Six Sigma Team. It was a project that not only delivered on the critical KPIs to ensure the customer demand was met, but it also transformed people’s dayto-day work and made their job better. When people can work smarter, those efficiencies are passed to the wholesalers and the NHS and means that we get more medicines to the patients that need them.
Joanne Hay-Dick has recently been promoted to Associate Director Head of Operations at Accord. BY Emma Cooper the full interview at www.pf-media.co.uk
areprofessionally and personally.bothI’vefoundcompanieslikeAccordincrediblysupportivewhilestillmaintainingflexibilitysowecanfindourownrhythm,butthereisstillaninternalstrugglethatmanywomendealwith.
What professional challenges have you faced? Balance. I have always been driven to make a difference and I’m grateful for the opportunities that allow me to do just this. In my current role, which requires significant responsibility, it’s important to take care of myself by making healthy choices
What encouraged you to pursue a career in science? Science wasn’t something I had thought about at school, but the P&G apprenticeship gave me an opportunity to do a BTech in Science through day release. My successive jobs allowed me to continue training and I gained HNC in chemistry. It was then that I decided to get a BSc Degree in Science. It took eight years as I had to fit it around my day job, but it was worth the long hours! What has been your experience as a woman working in pharma? My first real challenge was when I got my job in packaging as Packaging Manager. I was a young woman from Newcastle having to manage people for the first time in a very male dominated environment. The lessons I have learnt there, I have taken through my career. My eldest daughter calls me a ‘girl boss’ and is very proud of me and the role I have. There are more women coming through, but work still needs to be done in areas like engineering and manufacturing.
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Tell us about your job. I am responsible for all the manufacturing and packing activities at Fawdon. That includes multiple packing lanes, manufacturing suites, compression machines, and a range of packing from high-speed automated lanes to very manual processes. My career started 26 years ago, with a two-year apprenticeship at Procter and Gamble (P&G). It was a first step that would lead to my love for science and manufacturing. After successfully completing my apprenticeship, I took a job as technical officer at the BASF PLC laboratory before moving to MSD as a Lab Analyst. I joined Accord last year as a Packaging Manager.
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