Bristol-Myers Squibb has appointed a new Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer after Dr Elliott Sigal announced his retirement from both positions at the end of June.

The experienced Dr Francis Cuss has been selected to fill both roles after serving in a number of senior appointments since he joined the company in 2003.

Lamberto Andreotti, BMS CEO, said Dr Cuss is a “strong and collaborative leader with broad experience” and now is a “natural time” for him to lead the company’s R&D team.

The new R&D leader said he was “honoured” to lead the “talented R&D team to fulfil our mission and find new ways to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines for patients with unmet medical needs.”

He first joined the company a decade ago as Senior Vice President for Drug Discovery. He later went on to take responsibility for Discovery Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology and was appointed a member of the company’s senior management team three years ago.

The retiring Dr Sigal first joined BMS in 1997 as Vice President of the newly created department of Applied Genomics. He has been a member of the senior management team since 2001 and became Executive Vice President five years later. He was also elected to the board of directors in 2011.

“Elliott has been a key leader in the development and execution of our company’s strategy to become a BioPharma leader,” said Lamberto Andreotti. “He and his team have become one of the most productive and innovative R&D organisations in the industry. I am grateful for the many things that Elliott and I have been able to accomplish together.”

AstraZencca (AZ) is to cut 1,600 jobs in a global restructuring of its R&D operation, including 700 UK jobs and 650 in the US.

In the UK, AZ will shut down its R&D operations at Alderley Edge and relocate over 1,000 jobs to a new global HQ in Cambridge.

In the US, it will shift its Global Medicines Development Group from Delaware to Maryland.

The restructuring, which will take three years to complete, will concentrate the company’s R&D operations in three key global centres.

It follows a quarter in which global sales fell by 16% due to patent expiry – and while AZ continues to see R&D as a vital function it is keen to reduce costs.

AZ’s long-term growth has resulted in a structure that Mene Pangalos, Executive VP for Innovative Medicines, described as “too spread out and too diffuse”.

Research work at the Alderley Park site, which Zeneca took over in 1993 as a divestment from ICI, will cease. Some 700 non-R&D roles will remain at the site, while 1,600 R&D roles will be relocated and 550 will be cut.

This decision contrasts with the prospect in October 2012, when AZ secured a £5m grant from the Regional Growth Fund to develop a bioscience park at Alderley Park and Martin Mackay, AZ’s President of R&D, claimed: “Alderley Park is a site of critical importance to our global R&D organisation.”

The current decision to focus R&D in Cambridge reflects the growing importance of biotech clusters for global pharma.

Pascal Soriot (pictured), CEO of AZ, commented: “Cambridge, which boasts strong links with London-based research institutions, is a world-renowned bioscience hotspot that rivals the likes of San Francisco and Boston.

“I believe the investment greatly increases the chances that the next generation of innovative medicines will be invented and manufactured in Britain.”

Biotechnology giant MedImmune has appointed Bahija Jallal, its current Executive Vice President for R&D, as its new President.

The former President of the Maryland-based company, Peter Greenleaf, will take over leadership of parent company AstraZeneca’s (AZ) Latin American business.

The transition accompanies the formal designation of MedImmune as the global biologics division of AZ, which acquired it for $15.6bn in 2007.

Bahija Jallal is a former researcher at the Max-Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Germany. While VP of Drug Assessment and Development at Chiron, she was headhunted by MedImmune in 2006, becoming its Head of Translational Science.

Commenting on that appointment, Jallal said: “I was struck by MedImmune’s history of innovation. And I looked at who they had on their board of directors and their executives. There were more women than you would see at other companies.”

The fortune paid by AZ to acquire MedImmune surprised many in the industry. The acquisition was followed by investment in its R&D capability, including the development of a new site in Cambridge, England, and the merger of the UK group with Cambridge Antibody Technology.

According to MedImmune spokesman Mike O’Brien, the biotech company’s commercial operation now formally belongs to AZ’s North American business, while its manufacturing operation is part of AZ’s global operations.

“The driver for these changes is not cost but even faster decision-making in key areas of the business and a need to reduce complexity,” he said.

Through MedImmune, AZ plans to deliver an average of one new biologic drug per year from 2013.

MedImmune’s past successes include two innovative vaccines: the first monoclonal antibody approved by the FDA for use against an infectious disease (Synagis, used to prevent the childhood lung disease RSV); and the first intranasal vaccine against influenza (FluMist).

At a time of year when employees may look for a fresh start, Naysan Firoozmand explains how to keep talented personnel on side.

Pharmaceutical reps can usually spot a medical analogy from a mile away. On a recent online pharma discussion board one contributor reposted an article from the Gallup Business Journal, ‘Turning Around Employee Turnover’ – originally written by Jennifer Robinson in 2008. This article explored the available research into employee retention and how it can be used to identify key warning signs that organisations should look out for. The attention grabbing metaphor?

Sadly, too many managers have tied all the tourniquets around the wrong limbs, yet they’re wondering why their teams keep bleeding.

Or, to move slightly away from the world of triage and A&E, even the most potent remedy will not successfully deal with the patient’s symptoms if the underlying diagnosis is faulty. Nor will the HR equivalent of a ‘cure-all’ be any more effective than a placebo: if the presenting symptom is high turnover or repeated loss of key talents, the task is not to attempt a blanket cure, but to identify which of many potential complaints is triggering the organisational malaise.

Vision and strategy
The qualities that are readily admired in rising talents can often be out-of-step with those that the emerging leader’s followers are looking for. Indeed in its 2010 White Paper, The Leadership Challenge in the Pharmaceutical Sector, the Center for Creative Leadership identified ”having too narrow a functional orientation” as the greatest potential derailment factor for budding pharma executives.

While their own expertise and knowledge provide a shortcut to establishing trust within their organisations, technical knowledge is not all that is required of them. A successful leader needs to provide more: the ability to provide vision and strategy, the emotional intelligence to relate to others interpersonally and show a willingness to engage with them, and a desire to inspire achievement and attainment.

In the context of the pharmaceutical sector, they must also typically be able to communicate effectively and credibly with an audience that comprises highly intelligent and critical individuals working in various scientific, research and academic or supporting roles. Moreover, to do so requires them to effectively deploy emotional intelligence in an arena where intelligence and factual reasoning will often hold greater appeal than self- or social awareness, never mind self- or relationship management.
It’s not you, it’s me

Like any relationship scenario, whether they involve two people or many more, a high turnover rate or the loss of ‘someone special’ probably suggests there’s a problem. Perhaps a key member of staff really has found ‘someone new, someone truly special’ and your previously perfectly adequate contribution to their life and wellbeing simply can’t compare. Naturally, that stings a little at the time, but these things do happen: if you are seeking lifelong dedication and fidelity, swans would be a better proposition – although their sales skills would no doubt be highly questionable!

But, like any frequently dumped or jilted partner, an organisation that keeps finding itself on the receiving end of ‘the big elbow’ should start asking itself why this is a recurring pattern. There comes a point when it’s not them: it probably is you – although former employees might say otherwise during their exit interview. And at that point, the employer becomes both the question and the answer.

If you’ll excuse a further pun, engagement – and the factors that encourage it – provides some potent clues. In another Gallup report from 2002, A Hard Look at Soft Numbers, the article compared responses to Q12 Surveys across 308,987 employees from 10,885 organisations. Apart from, probably unsurprisingly, revealing that business units with high employee engagement have a 44% higher success rate – less turnover – than those with low engagement, its meta-analysis also showed 9 of its 12 factors as having ‘strongest positive correlations’ with retention. One further factor (recognition) has a ‘positive, generalised relationship’ – which it is probably arguable is stronger in the pharma sector, given the role that peer review plays in the development of individuals’ personal ‘portfolios’ and the importance of validation within the industry. Only two factors (having a best friend at work and having opportunities to learn and grow) were not clearly statistically proven.

Looking specifically at companies with sustained profitability and revenue growth, a commitment to quality and a working culture in which respondents strongly agreed that “at work, my opinions seem to count” both showed 20% improvement by comparison to the overall Gallup database.

Different challenges
Statistics, of course, speak in terms of generalisations. Each organisation will face different challenges, driven partly by their internal structure and culture and partly by sector-specific issues and general trading and operational environments. Leaders and managers who can provide clarity and cohesion around vision, mission and strategy have an important role to play: it is hard for anyone to engage with something that is nebulous, unclear or contradictory. Until organisations can answer the theoretical question ‘What do you want?’ it is impossible for companies to provide it no matter how willing, or otherwise, they might be.

Organisations can, to revisit the earlier relationship metaphor, help themselves by thinking of this stage as what might be called the ‘wooing’ period. The more clearly an organisation can explain what it is offering potential recruits and talented individuals – in terms of culture, opportunities and the recognition and reward practices that aren’t measurable in cash terms – the better the chances that it will not endure a series of unfruitful blind dates or tempestuous but short-lived flings. An industry that is built on research and product development processes with long timeframes is more dependent than most on not just the recruitment, but the retention of its key talents: the more honestly and transparently it can set out its stall, the better the prospects of a happier and more enduring outcome. While history may have shown us that successful scientific endeavour can often be a result of serendipity, life science companies should not, indeed cannot, rely on achieving success through mere chance – although they can create opportunities for serendipity amongst and between the individual talents that they procure.

Staying onside
This process – creating a compelling employee value proposition – doesn’t end when the contract is signed, however. Nor is it all about talking: it’s probably more about listening, the traditionally more neglected element of ‘communication’. Compelling is what compelling does, to rework a careworn phrase. And this listening extends to many other elements of broader talent management practice.

The pharmaceutical industry can be partly characterised by two motivational characteristics of those within it. The first, in many cases, is an altruistic wish to serve humanity by helping to eradicate diseases, treat symptoms and reduce distress and suffering. While altruistic tendencies may be out of place in many sectors, or at least poorly aligned with organisational missions, in the case of pharmaceuticals there should, surely, be a close degree of alignment with the organisation’s strategies and vision. As long, of course, as that element of the vision is clearly visible to those helping to work towards it.

The second characteristic – a desire to achieve professional recognition, often from peers in scientific practice who may be external to the organisation – may present a more difficult challenge in relation to talent retention. But an organisation that recognises the possible threat of departures to competitors and the importance of providing opportunities to shine may face fewer problems. And there’s an element to be learned from Cinderella, at least in terms of the role of job design and career progression pathways. Sometimes, no matter how much pressure might be applied to shoehorn one thing into another, it’s the shape of the shoe that needs to be adjusted rather than the foot.

Naysan Firoozmand is a Managing Consultant at ASK Europe plc.

Does your boss show angelic or demonic qualities whilst at work? Naysan Firoozmand discusses what attributes distinguish a good and bad boss in the pharmaceutical industry and the formula needed for success.

It comes as no real surprise that the pharmaceutical industry expects a high level of industry-specific skills from its key leaders. The employees of pharmaceutical businesses, like those of any organisation whose operational foundations are firmly rooted in the acquisition, management and development of technical knowledge, will tend to look for evidence of expertise as an attribute of current and future managers. Where intellectual property is king, it’s not surprising that the rest of ‘the royal court’ might display a preference for intellect over sentiment.

But this goes beyond simply operating in a culture where knowledge is mission critical. Embedded in the fundamental processes of the industry – research, development, testing and monitoring – there is also a culture in which it is expected that decisions are informed by evidence, as well as instinct, and with a real preference for the former. Pharmaceutical line and key account managers will be expected not just to have an impressive track record, but for their career trajectory to be documented and provable: their personal case for leadership is more likely to be clearly argued rather than debatable. 

Individuals often operate under an expectation that they will develop substantial professional standing through publication and presentations, with their output being reviewed and scrutinised by the peers. This is arguably a third instance of ‘evidence’ taking precedence: the individual’s standing is ‘proven’ by its being documented. The phrase “well, they’re so good at what they do, leadership seemed like the logical next step” is often heard. However, the implications of following this route to success are not always recognised. Only leaders that have the interests of the people they manage in mind have the ability to truly succeed and excel in the future.

Vision and strategy
The qualities that are readily admired in rising talents can often be out-of-step with those that the emerging leader’s followers are looking for. Indeed in its 2010 White Paper, The Leadership Challenge in the Pharmaceutical Sector, the Center for Creative Leadership identified ”having too narrow a functional orientation” as the greatest potential derailment factor for budding pharma executives.

While their own expertise and knowledge provide a shortcut to establishing trust within their organisations, technical knowledge is not all that is required of them. A successful leader needs to provide more: the ability to provide vision and strategy, the emotional intelligence to relate to others interpersonally and show a willingness to engage with them, and a desire to inspire achievement and attainment.

In the context of the pharmaceutical sector, they must also typically be able to communicate effectively and credibly with an audience that comprises highly intelligent and critical individuals working in various scientific, research and academic or supporting roles. Moreover, to do so requires them to effectively deploy emotional intelligence in an arena where intelligence and factual reasoning will often hold greater appeal than self- or social-awareness, never mind self- or relationship-management.

Overtaking manoeuvre
In an environment where recognition for individual performance is so frequently influenced by the evidencing of expertise, and in an industry that attracts many of its key talents as they are seeking opportunities for personal development within a specialism, ‘progress’ is too easy to relate to building an impressive personal portfolio. Pharma bosses that are truly ‘great’ are those who recognise that to achieve greatness they must enable others to surpass them, and do so by creating trust and putting their self-orientation and their own ego much further down their priority list. As Dame Anita Roddick once pointed out, “leaders should encourage the next generation not just to follow, but to overtake.”

Part of the key to success for excellent pharma managers is in two possible responses to this situation. Firstly, to ensure that the organisation’s senior leadership provides individuals with opportunities to develop their personal portfolios – as these can be key personal motivators. The second response is in identifying and voicing a common motivator and visions – a factor that binds individuals to the organisation and its vision rather than to the pursuit of individual goals. Within pharma, that common motivation is often the wish to do something of value to humanity – to combat disease, help people to survive and live positively with otherwise threatening or disabling medical conditions. It’s pharmaceuticals existence not as a pure but an applied science that provides this opportunity to establish common ground and shared vision.

For the organisation, the ability of its managers to build effective collaborative teams is a win-win situation: not only does this approach help to counter the potential for functional narrowness, but a multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving strengthens the R&D function that is so critical to an industry so profoundly rooted in problem-solving, applied research and intellectual property.

Above all however, the pharmaceutical expert-to-leader must recognise and embrace a new way of serving: where their role as expert affords them respect and authority as a source of knowledge. But in their role as leader they must earn respect and authority as a source of judgement and direction and a skilled guider of the application of the knowledge of others.

Naysan Firoozmand is a Managing Consultant at ASK Europe plc.

Incivo, Victrelis and Mepact win recognition at the 2012 UK Prix Galien Awards.

Two new medicines for the treatment of Hepatitis C have won the 2012 UK Prix Galien Innovative Product
Award. Incivo (Janssen) and Victrelis (MSD) fought of stiff competition to win the prestigious prize at London’s House of Commons. The chairman of the judging panel, Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, said the treatments provided a perfect example of how the pharmaceutical industry can “demonstrate and justify its place in healthcare by innovating for change and showing real gains to the world.”

The ceremony also saw Takeda become only the third winners of a Prix Galien Award for orphan drug development. Mepact – for the treatment of osteosarcoma, a rare malignant bone tumour – won the Orphan Drug Award.

UK Prix Galien 2012
The UK Prix Galien, organised and managed by the specialist market access consultancy WG Consulting – which owns the UK franchise – is held every two years. The 2012 awards were hosted by former shadow Minister for Health Kevin Barron MP, who was the event’s Parliamentary Sponsor. Barron, who is currently co-Chair of the Associate Parliamentary Health Group, said: “It’s a privilege to be able to witness, at first hand, just a glimpse of the deep volumes of medical innovations being developed here in the UK. As an MP, I’ve had a long-standing professional acquaintance with UK pharma. I know and recognise the many
benefits UK medicines have brought – and continue to bring – to patients all over the world. The sector’s continued commitment to the development of medicines to tackle disease, improve health outcomes and extend life is both remarkable and humbling.”

Barron said there was political consensus that driving improvements in health outcomes across all major diseases is a key priority for the NHS – and this focus had been reflected in the 2012 finalists. “It’s interesting to note that the shortlisted entrants for the 2012 UK Prix Galien show that pharmaceutical innovation is aligned with many of the priority needs identified in the NHS Outcomes Framework. Finalists include innovations for the treatment of diseases in cardiovascular, hepatology, mental health, neurology, gastroenterology and oncology. In addition, Prix Galien’s recognition of the industry’s attempts to treat rare, orphan diseases, once again underlines the very human value of R&D.”

Value-based message
The architect of the NHS Outcomes Framework, former Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, also addressed the audience. Attending his fourth consecutive UK Prix Galien, Lansley said: “Every time I come to this event I hear about fascinating innovations that I know are going to be at the heart of the health service for years to come. I’ve met – and continue to meet – patients that have benefited directly from innovations that I’ve previously heard about at Prix Galien. The HPV vaccination programme we have been able to roll out is just one example of that. So it’s a privilege to be here.”

Lansley said that recognising and rewarding innovation is a key Government priority – and that the publication of Innovation Health and Wealth last December was part of a consistent value-based message
it wanted to send to the NHS. “That message is that as you, the pharmaceutical industry, bring forward new treatments that will clearly add value and improve the quality of healthcare for patients then the NHS should be at the forefront, internationally, of demonstrating that value. Our health service can be an exemplar and inspiration to people around the world because of its capacity to demonstrate the effectiveness of new treatments when they are used within the NHS.”

Lansley praised the UK pharma industry, highlighting the value its innovations bring both to the economy and to patients worldwide. “What you are doing is part of how this country will pay its way in the future,” he said. “And it has the added value of knowing that, in the process, we can give patients in this country access to the very best healthcare anywhere in the world.”

The recognition of innovation that can lead to improved health outcomes is a core aim of Prix Galien, as outlined by Professor Sir Michael Rawlins, who announced the winners. “Prix Galien is about honouring excellence in pharmaceutical research and development,” said Professor Sir Michael. “It is about recognising the contribution that new medicines can make to the lives of people with life-threatening conditions. It is about celebrating the achievements of all those individuals – working as teams – upon whom we rely for the discovery and development of new medicines. Most will be unknown to us – but we all owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”

Innovative Product Award
The prestigious Prix Galien medal for innovation was jointly awarded to Janssen and MSD for their respective hepatitis C treatments Incivo and Victrelis. In the UK, it is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 400,000 people chronically infected with hepatitis C virus. This may lead to liver cancer as well as other serious liver diseases. Infection with the hepatitis C virus poses a substantial global health burden, and is responsible for 40% of all cases of end-stage cirrhosis, 60% of hepatocellular carcinoma and 30% of liver transplants.

Professor Sir Michael Rawlins said: “Hepatitis C virus has become an enormous area of need globally, with many patients unaware that they are infected. The consequences of this virus are considerable and burdensome to both patients and the healthcare system; current treatments remain ineffective in a significant number of cases whilst being unpleasant and poorly tolerated by patients themselves.

“Hepatitis C infection is a perfect example of where the pharmaceutical industry can demonstrate and justify its place in healthcare by innovating for change and showing real gains to the world. It is for this reason that the panel felt that both Janssen and MSD should be celebrated and congratulated for their part in addressing the ongoing challenge in managing HCV and its associated complications.”

Brilique (AZ) and Resolor (Shire) both received commendations. Gilenya (Novartis), Xarelto (Bayer), Xeplion (Janssen), Xgeva (Amgen), Yervoy (Bristol-Myers Squibb), Zelboraf (Roche) and Zytiga (Janssen) were all shortlisted.

Orphan Drug Award
The Orphan Drug Award was introduced as a dedicated category at 2008 UK Prix Galien. There had previously been a special award for orphan products in 2006. The term ‘orphan condition’ is used to describe conditions that affect a very small number of patients in a given population – many of which are either untreatable or treated very inadequately. It is estimated that there are 6,000 orphan diseases – which, in total, affect about 30 million EU citizens.

“For orphan diseases that are potentially treatable with medicines, pharmaceutical manufacturers face a number of hurdles – including concerns about the size of the market and difficulties because of the small numbers of patients – in their development,” said Professor Sir Michael.

The 2012 Orphan Drug Award was won by Mepact from Takeda. Mepact (mifamurtide) is for the treatment of osteosarcoma, a rare malignant bone tumour – mainly of children and adolescents – that affects fewer than 1 per 10,000 individuals in the EU. This is equivalent to 150 children and young adults each year in the UK. Tumours most frequently occur in the long bones and are highly aggressive with a propensity to metastasise, particularly to the lung. If left untreated, the primary tumour will undergo local and systemic progression, leading to death within months.

“To investigate the role of this immune modulator in osteosarcoma required extensive and complex trial design with careful implementation of the study programme,” said Professor Sir Michael. “Apart from its novel mechanism of action – and clear evidence of its clinical effectiveness – the jury were also extremely impressed that such an advance in the management of osteosarcoma represents the first significant change in outcomes in 10–20 years of managing this disease. That Takeda managed to undertake the clinical development of this product – in such a niche indication – is hugely to their credit.”

The restrictions on use of existing drugs in pharmaceutical R&D could be lifted under new laws proposed by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).

The IPO’s proposed amendments to the Patents Act would rule that the use of a branded drug in a clinical or field trial does not infringe copyright.

This would make it easier for companies to compare a new drug to a branded product that is not their own, or to test a combination of the two drugs.

Current UK law allows limited use of patented drugs in tests required for the regulatory approval of generic drugs, but not of new brands.

The aim of the proposals, now out for consultation, is to create a better environment for pharmaceutical R&D in the UK.

IPO Chief Executive Sean Dennehey said: “Previous discussions with the pharmaceutical industry revealed a widespread appetite for change in the way UK patent law treats clinical or field trials.

“This consultation now offers a formal opportunity to shape the patent infringement provisions so that they can better support growth in this key industry sector.”

The consultation will run for eight weeks, until 19 December.

The ABPI has raised concerns around the public’s general knowledge on the cost and value of medicines in the UK after a survey highlighted a series of misunderstandings.

The survey showed that the majority of respondents thought new medicines cost less than £10m to research and develop and more than a third believed drugs take up a large proportion of the NHS budget.

Stephen Whitehead, ABPI Chief Executive, said it was vital the public understands the facts of medicines and how they compare to the economic and health benefits they provide.

More than 1000 people were interviewed as part of the survey commissioned by the trade body. It revealed that 59% seriously underestimated the cost of R&D efforts with new products generally costing £1bn and taking 12 years to create.

Also, 35% of respondents indicated a belief that the NHS spends a fifth of its budget on medicines. Whereas in reality, the ABPI said, that only 9.7% was spent on drugs last year – a fall from 12.5% in 1999.

More than three-quarters of respondents (77%) indicated that more should be spent on medicines.

Stephen Whitehead said the survey highlighted some concerning outcomes. “To create new treatments in the UK, the pharmaceutical industry undertakes huge risk and investment and is still able to provide the NHS with amongst the lowest priced medicines in Europe,” he said. “These medicines are the bedrock of the NHS, and have saved and changed the lives of millions of people.”

The Chief Executive added that serious health problems such as HIV, diabetes and heart disease are now “manageable conditions” due to the effect of medicines and that treatments become cheaper in time due to generics entering the market.

“As well providing real value, we also contribute billions annually to the UK economy and provide 67,000 jobs.”

The ABPI said it will now increase its efforts to educate people about the facts of medicines in the UK.

The ABPI has completed its senior team of directors after appointing Dr Bina Rawal as its new Medical, Innovation and Research Director.

Dr Rawal will be responsible for advancing the productivity of the innovation process in the UK and will be the senior medical spokesperson for the ABPI to the Government, the media and other professional bodies.

Stephen Whitehead, ABPI Chief Executive, said the new recruit joins at a “critical time for industry” and said Bina’s experience will “complement that of our members to champion science, discovery, research and development”.

The new innovation lead joins the ABPI from the Wellcome Trust, where she served as Head of Clinical Development within the Technology Transfer Division. Prior to that, Dr Rawal held senior roles at Roche and GlaxoWellcome.

“I am very pleased to be joining the ABPI team and members to lead the campaigns on innovation,” she said. “The pharmaceutical industry plays a vital role as a health care provider in the UK and research and development are an integral part of the patient journey through the NHS.”

Pf’s Iain Bate examines how contract sales organisations are taking their place among the industry heavyweights.

There can be little doubt that pharmaceutical employees – in particular sales and marketing executives – have taken some metaphorical hefty blows in recent times. All of pharma’s biggest heavyweights have announced ‘austerity’ measures as part of widespread job cuts across the majority of divisions in recent times.

Whilst pharmaceutical CEOs have enjoyed champion pay rises, the humble employee at ground level has been unable to duck and weave away from the dreaded knockout blow. As a result, the job market has been on the ropes. However, candidates searching for a career in the medical sales industry do not have to throw the towel in just yet.

The employment market has suffered many bumps and bruises in recent years – but Contract Sales Organisations (CSOs) are leading the fightback. Now regarded as a leading contender for those looking for a prolonged career in the medical sales industry, CSOs continue to punch above their
weight in a challenging environment.

Pf spoke to four leading CSO companies to provide a blow-by-blow account of how contract organisations have boxed clever in recent years. Why have they gained in popularity despite the employment market suffering a bloody nose? And what does the future hold for the contract sales movement?

The gloves are off

In the modern working environment, when uncertainty accompanies everyday challenges, the flexibility CSOs offer clients is a major attraction. “The fundamental driver is the requirement for an increase in flexibility from our biopharma customers,” says Helen Molloy, HR Director at Quintiles Commercial. “This is nothing new – but what has changed is the nature of that flexibility. It’s not just about numbers of people, it’s about expert teams with specific skill sets and evidence tailored address local priorities.

“Customers are increasingly looking to partner with us to help navigate challenges around proving cost effectiveness and long term value of a drug to a wider range of stakeholders. We are moving away from what has historically been seen to be the fundamental core of our services, and into much more specialised areas.”

Flexibility is certainly an attractive proposition for clients who have slimmed down sales teams yet still require the prowess to impress customers. However, flexibility isn’t the only factor driving CSO growth. Specialist skills are now required by clients to outwit the opposition. “Contract sales organisations are moving away from large-scale build, high noise proposition and are becoming much more specialist,”
says Emma Busby, Project Director at CHASE. “Organisations are demanding to have specialist skills and capabilities either to be equitable to their teams, or, in most cases, to offer more opportunity and more value within their teams. Their key objective is to heighten the level of capability that they have got on their headcount team.”

Pharma’s increased reliance on contract methodology is now reflected in the number of candidates turning to CSOs to develop a career in UK medical sales. “CSOs are becoming the only way into the industry,” says Emma. “We work with many blue-chip companies to provide an influx of trainees every year. Again those people go through organisations and develop. The trend went away from that for a few years, but it’s definitely coming back now. Companies recognise they need high-quality sales engagement. We can regurgitate skills but fresh attitudes and capabilities coming in will actually challenge the status quo.”

At a time when, as far as job security is concerned, pharmaceutical representatives fear the next barrage of punches, CSOs are doing more than ever to provide a shot at the big time in the industry. David Alexander, Contract Business Unit Team Leader at Star, says there are a number of reasons why CSOs have gained
in popularity recently. “Security, variety and skill development are key,” he said. “Working for a CSO
means people can move from one assignment to another and gather experience with different companies,
in different therapeutic areas and with different customers over time. Transferable skills and flexibility
are important qualities in today’s environment and working with a CSO will help people profile both.”

Swapping gloves

That value is also being recognised by clients seeking to boost sales at various stages of a brand’s life cycle. With the industry well on the way to manoeuvring itself away from the traditional sales model to a sophisticated fighting-fit key account approach, contract sales organisations are perfectly placed to augment teams or, in some cases, replace them. “A CSO can help do both,” says David. “It can either enhance a team or, if necessary, it can replace it. You can either have a bolt-on campaign, where contract reps target specific areas in fixed time periods, or, you can replace an entire team with a CSO key account team, enabling flexibility and resource in particular areas of the UK. This allows clients to be much more outcomes-focused.”

The next round

But what next for contract sales organisations? Will pharmaceutical companies decide to completely
shed their entire headcount and outsource functions to specialist organisations? Andy Holgate, Business
Unit Director from Ashfield In2Focus, believes this may be the case. “Contract sales organisations are expanding into new areas,” he says. “The model for CSOs in the next 20 years could be where pharmaceutical companies simply concentrate on research and development and strategic marketing and finance. Contract sales organisations will, potentially, then do all of the rest. I think that is the trend that CSOs are driving towards.

“We may be in a bit of a perfect storm at the moment where pharmaceutical companies, many of whom are being squeezed from above and are tinkering around the edges, are considering outsourcing services in areas where they would never previously have allocated external resource. Contract sales organisations are extremely good at being able to help pharma companies, and other clients, differentially resource people when and where they want them and when and where they don’t, be that in sales or other value-adding roles.”

In an austere environment when pharmaceutical companies are fighting against a whole host of external
pressures, it’s difficult to see how contract sales organisation will fail to grow in the coming years. The powerful combination of being an inviting proposition for individuals seeking a career in medical sales industry, and strategic allies for companies in need of flexible and specialist commercial expertise, CSOs are rapidly establishing themselves among the industry heavyweights.