|13th March 2018
Blue Latitude Health speaks to Salma Jutt Vice President of US Marketing and Head of Commercial Innovation at a biotech specialising in treating weight loss and obesity.
SJ: The definition of a biotech company is becoming broader as the overall life sciences industry evolves and organisations expand and contract. For many individual biotech companies, the construct can change over time – they may start out as a biotech but morph into something resembling a pharma company. This happens because of a need to expand research and development via in-licensing or through mergers and acquisitions. It can also depend on company size and stage from development to commercialisation.
SJ: There is a lot of ambiguity and risk when developing and commercialising biotech products. That presence of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) requires a certain type of individual who can thrive in a fluid environment, is able to rapidly make decisions, and is comfortable acting without all the information. Individuals need to be able to cope with this environment themselves and have the ability to establish strong leadership for others around them.
"Patient-centricity is no longer just about patients educating themselves”
SJ: The company culture should foster and reward innovative behaviour. It cannot be punitive; people have to be allowed to take business risks and make mistakes. You can’t hire a team of people who want to make things happen, think innovatively and take perceived risks, and then fail to foster a rewarding and innovative environment. Many times, teams have to make decisions and take action without perfect information and data. Using your own experience and gathering input from colleagues is also important.
SJ: Patient-centricity is no longer just about patients educating themselves. It’s about patients living longer and demanding a healthier life and a higher quality of life, for a longer period of time. When a patient wants to access information, they grab their smart phone and look for instant gratification. Now the jump from awareness and consideration to conversion is much tighter, contracting the purchase time frame. We are all patients and consumers and we can grab our phones, make a purchase in minutes and have it delivered to our doorstep.
|18th November 2020
We’re posting all new articles on our parent website fishawack.com
|17th November 2020
Our parent company Fishawack Health has launched a new magazine with a first issue unpacking rare disease.
|27th August 2020
Precision and personalised medicines are more than products, they are services in their own right. So, how should pharma approach this uncharted territory to ensure targeted therapies work for patients?
The landscape of healthcare has changed. So have we.