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Latest Executive Roundtables

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Sales and Marketing

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How one Big Pharma ad campaign is incorporating diversity as a driving force in improving the ways drugs are marketed directly to the patients that need them. 

Inclusive Marketing: Engaging with Purpose 

Astellas Pharma’s chief people officer and chief ethics & compliance officer discusses the unique ways he’s brought DE&I to the workplace.

Sharing Failure to Find Success: Q&A with Katsuyoshi Sugita

Alkermes’ chief information officer discusses how he helped develop and build a welcoming workplace.

Managing Diversity: Q&A with Tom Harvey

Over the past 15 years, on average, racial and ethnic diversity in multiple US regions has increased by 1% to 5%.

Study Highlights Need to Improve Diversity Across Healthcare Professions

JAMA study argues that addressing social determinants of health is crucial to narrowing life expectancy gaps between high- and low-income countries. 

Highlighting the Need for More Data to Achieve Global Health Equity 

Dr. Dina Radenkovic, CEO of Gameto, explains which strategies are most effective in closing the gap in innovation for women's health and how we can better incentivize research and development in the area.

Most Effective Strategies to Close the Innovation Gap in Women’s Health

 video interview, Dr. Dina Radenkovic, CEO of Gameto, discusses the company's pioneering use of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology in fertility treatments, particularly addressing ovarian aging. Its lead product, Fertilo, is an iPSC-derived ovarian support cell line in phase III clinical trials in the US with FDA clearance, and commercial availability in markets like Australia and Latin America. The company faces challenges including the scarcity of human eggs and regulatory hurdles. Radenkovic also highlights the need for better models to study female-specific conditions and the importance of political advocacy and funding to drive innovation in women's health.

Pharmaceutical Executive: What specific strategies or initiatives do you believe are most effective in closing the innovation gap in women's health? How can we better incentivize research and development in this area?


Some of the research grants we’ve received have been helpful. It’s also beneficial to talk about this problem, saying that it is important, and acknowledging the issue. People cannot solve problems that they don’t know exist.

At a panel at SXSW, Olivia Walton (CEO of Ingeborg Investments) discussed how certain payment strategies were changed to improve maternal health outcomes in her home state of Arkansas. They’re already seeing benefits from that. We can also raise these issues with our representatives and political leaders and let them know that we do care about maternal health, maternal mortality, and women’s health in general. Women’s health is the cornerstone of healthy and productive societies and families.

Starting the process attracts more and more talent. I believe we will see some wins in women’s health. We’re having start-ups make at-home cervical cancer screening and diagnose pre-eclampsia earlier on.

I had post-partum hemorrhaging over a year ago and my life was saved by an invention that came from another women’s health start-up that was acquired by Organon. We’re going to see wins and problem solving that will drive more funding and innovation. Ultimately, we need large pharma companies to devote more time and capital to women’s health.

Videos

Dr. Dina Radenkovic, CEO of Gameto, identifies strategies to close the gap in women's health and how we can better incentivize research and development in this area. 

Dr. Dina Radenkovic, CEO of Gameto, identifies the main contributors to the gap in in women's health innovation.

The Root Causes of the Innovation Gap in Women’s Health

Pharmaceutical Executive: In your experience, what are the root causes of the gap in innovation in women's health?


 That’s a difficult question, especially for a brief interview. I participated in a panel at SXSW on International Women’s Day where I was joined by Olivia Walton (CEO of Ingeborg Investments), Chelsea Hirschorn (founder and CEO of Frida), and Maneesh Jain (CEO and co-founder of Mirvie), and we discussed this topic for about an hour.

I think it’s multifactorial, as are all big problems. There are numerous causes that contribute to it, and the first one stems from the fact that modern medicine was not necessarily designed with women in mind. We’ve started playing catch-up work by studying female specific conditions and including women in clinical trials. There was no mandate to include women in clinical trials until 1993 and NIH studies weren’t mandated to include female mice until around 2016, so these are recent developments.

It doesn’t all come from bad factors, some of it just comes from under appreciation. There is the fear of including women of child-bearing age and potentially causing danger when it comes to pregnancy development. We just studied women less, therefore we understand conditions that either predominantly effect women or affect them differently less.

When it comes to ovaries, we didn’t have good models to test things. Which means you don’t get good treatments. The way we would induce ovarian aging in animals in studies was by destroying their ovaries with a chemotherapy drug. That is not how most women experience infertility in menopause. It’s a slow loss of ovarian function over time.

Innovation comes mostly from biotechs, which are fueled by large biopharma companies. Even today, most large pharma companies do not have specific women’s health divisions. There are only a few players operating in the space. And some of the large companies that have women’s health portfolios have de-prioritized women’s health R&D. There are not too many publicly traded biopharma companies in women’s health. It's a chicken-or-the-egg situation. It’s hard to secure funding and develop novel treatments.

Finally, there is the payer mechanism. IVF is an anomaly because it’s a large market. It’s very expensive, and while we hope to drop the cost of these treatments over time, there’s still a lot of money in it. In a lot of areas of women’s health, however, there isn’t. There is data to show that HCPs get paid more to perform a penile biopsy compared to a vaginal biopsy. This disincentivizes innovation in the space. HCPs and researchers are not going to get the same amount of payment for the clinical work.

Unfortunately, that is true for a lot of clinical areas in women’s health. Along with changing the payment structures, we need to see more wins and successful companies in this space. I’m sure we will because these are massive addressable markets. There’s a huge unmet need.

At Gameto, we’re seeing advocacy from women all over the world who are excited to see this come to life. They want to have a treatment that’s modern, has the patient at the heart of it, and isn’t as difficult on the body as current treatments that involve two weeks of injections.

There’s some good science coming out that will drive the change further down and start building out the control, infrastructure, and business models. It’s early, but I’m optimistic.

Dr. Dina Radenkovic, CEO of Gameto, identifies the main contributors to the gap in women's health innovation.

Amanda Powers-Han, Chief Marketing Officer, Greater Than One, discusses what other tactics healthcare marketers can utilize to connect with diverse audiences

Going Beyond Visuals to Connect with Diverse Audiences

While representation in marketing materials is important for DE&I, what other tactics can healthcare marketers utilize to ensure their outreach goes beyond visuals and truly connects with diverse audiences on a deeper level?

I think that, you know, is still within the context of marketing materials in great content and engaging audiences effectively, you know, even beyond what we can do as a marketing organization and developing those experiences that go direct to those customers, is how we can also find creative ways to make an impact with some of the broader organizations that are also trying to advocate for that incredible change. So, you know, back to the rare disease context, again, there are advocacy groups that are working tirelessly to try to help people with rare diseases, both in terms of you know, their journey to diagnosis, their journey to treatment, and ultimately, you know, supporting them bringing them together in creating these tight communities so that they feel that they have a group of folks that they can really count on. So, working with the advocacy organizations, investing in them as much as we can, and supporting some of their broader causes is something that is very near and dear to our heart. And in fact, one of the ways that we not only, you know, talk about the need for change, but deliver an act upon it, is through our 501c3, which is greater good. And greater good has an arm called honeycomb health. And honeycomb health is our purpose-built solution to help people with rare diseases by offering free storefronts to any advocacy group that wants one. So, we build the storefront, we have all the merchandise up in the store, and then they're able to generate revenue to support their cause by selling all of this great material online. So that's something we're pretty proud of. I'd love to show you a video in a minute. Through the Manny awards, we've just earned a nomination for the heart award. So, we pulled together a video clip to be able to share at the award ceremony and it just does a really nice job and kind of telling the story and one of the ways that that we're delivering on, you know, how we can truly help versus just talk about it. We really believe in the act of change.

A couple of other thoughts just on the broader question around what we can do beyond marketing materials, is the way that we build our own teams, and the marketing groups that are working on the marketing materials and the work that we're building to try to engage these groups effectively. And that is making sure that our marketing teams are diverse. And also, if possible, even creating an advisory board in some cases where people have a deeper understanding of the people that we're trying to engage in much more so from kind of the grassroots ground level versus us having to try to come up with those great insights on our own. We've done that a couple of times, and it's been pretty effective. And it's also you know, without having to invest hundreds of 1000s of dollars in research, sometimes more of a qualitative way that you can have the right level of thinking and that sensitivity on the marketing team itself.

In this Pharmaceutical Executive video interview, Amanda Powers-Han, Chief Marketing Officer, Greater Than One, discusses what other tactics healthcare marketers can utilize to connect with diverse audiences on a deeper level

Amanda Powers-Han, Chief Marketing Officer, Greater Than One, discusses healthcare marketing strategies for reaching diverse audiences

Crafting Culturally Sensitive Messages to Reach Diverse Audiences and Improve Patient Outcomes

With an ever-increasing focus on DE&I, how can improved DE&I in healthcare marketing strategies not only reach diverse audiences more effectively but also contribute to improved patient care outcomes?

The first really important point that I will share is just how critical this is to us advancing healthcare as an industry, and ultimately helping all of the people that deserve to live their fullest lives. You may know this already, but Greater Than One is a women owned business and also LGBTQ certified. So, it is at the heart of our DNA and something that we live and breathe every day. And kind of simply put, the better job we do breaking down some of these barriers, the more people are going to be reached effectively, the more people are going to seek care and the quality care that they need. And then ultimately, the better the care experience, the better the outcomes. So, I just wanted to say that right off the bat. And then in terms of how we can engage and address this really important issue.

First and foremost, we need to understand the individual audiences, the cultural sensitivities, and ultimately the needs of each of these groups and the broader group collectively, so that we can develop content and engage them effectively. And that's something that you know, is not a one size fits all approach at all. It takes hard work, it takes investment. And it takes some real effort in understanding the individuals and what's going to motivate them, support them, and ultimately help them be healthier on an ongoing basis. And there's a couple of examples that we have seen. The first that I'll share with you, is in the sickle cell disease space specifically. So, as you may know, sickle cell disease impacts people of color much more than it do others. And their experience in the healthcare system has an incredible bias against them. And so, as we think about building programs for sickle cell disease, we have to put ourselves in the shoes of those customers and recognize the experience that they have in the healthcare system is not always a very positive one in the context of what they suffer from, and their incredible pain going into the emergency department and truly needing help from those doctors and healthcare staff. Sometimes they don't get it because there's this incredible bias against them from the top. So that's just an example of something that is not fully solved for yet, but really important for us to understand that experience as we develop marketing campaigns and engage them. And then one other example, if I may, is in the context of rare diseases.

Rare diseases, as you may know, they are under research, they are underfunded. And we do a tremendous amount of work in the rare disease space about 50 or 60% of our business is in rare diseases specifically. And so, as we think about building marketing programs and solutions for rare disease, patient populations, and the healthcare professionals that support them, we think about the importance of precision targeting and getting to those individual patients, finding the patients first and foremost, so that they are exposed to that great content, and they can educate themselves and then ultimately advocate for themselves as they're going through their diagnosis in their treatment journey.

What challenges do healthcare marketers face in crafting culturally sensitive messages that resonate with diverse audiences and address their specific healthcare needs?

We have to understand the specific audiences and the individuals first in in a very rich in a deep way. So, putting ourselves in their position, leveraging different forms of research and ultimately having a deep understanding of what they need, what makes them tick, what drives them what they're afraid of behaviorally, of course, in how, through that incredible understanding, we then have an opportunity in a much better chance to create something that's going to resonate with them. And great insight is not sometimes easy to find. So, it's not a data point, it's something that is much deeper, that we can latch on to deliver something truly special that's going to connect with them both in terms of their heart, their heart and in their head. Because that's when we do the best work. That's when people are motivated to advocate for themselves. And ultimately, that's when you know, we are able to drive the better outcomes that we're all after. Another challenge is budget. So, creating content, and segmenting audiences can sometimes be more expensive. There are, of course, really interesting technology solutions now that are coming forward, that are helping us build content much more efficiently and effectively. And then in the context of that idea, also, as we think about the need to sometimes translate materials into other languages, so from English to Spanish, as an example, it's usually not just a direct translation, there are cultural sensitivities, and the need to take what has been developed in English as an example, and to work with professionals and experts that then can help develop and translate that content not only through machinery, but ultimately the right human touch so that we get it culturally right.

In this Pharmaceutical Executive video interview, Amanda Powers-Han, Chief Marketing Officer, Greater Than One, discusses how improved DE&I in healthcare marketing strategies can not only reach diverse audiences more effectively but address their specific healthcare needs

Sanofi Executive discusses new employee program

Raj Verma Cancer & Work

Pharm Exec: Regarding Cancer & Work: Acting Together, can you explain how this first came together?

The the original initiative actually was created by some of our French Sanofi teams. They've actually actually proposed a program to support those employees that were impacted directly or indirectly by cancer. I think that was a really important piece, they tried to really bring the whole community together. What that program did was focus on colleagues helping colleagues. Right from the start of having the initial diagnosis, all the way through the treatment journey, I really think they design it to support both the patients and the caregivers, helping them return back to work. Since the launch of the program in 2017, we've had more than 300 employees that have really benefitted from it. 45% of those were caregivers, 45% were patients and the other 10% were actually managers. What I'm really keen to see is how this now starts to translate the global program a year from now, given the success of what we did get in France. One of the other things that really sort of changed was in Davos in January 2023. We signed a global pledge called working with cancer, which was essentially calling on all companies to really publicly commit to fight cancer and its stigma in the workplace. That notion of stigma is a really important piece because this is all about changing the cultural approach to cancer and other illnesses in the workplace. Within one year of signing that pledge, what we've done is managed to create Cancer & Work: Acting Together. This is very much a 360 approach and it's there to care for colleagues with cancer or other critical illness. 

The launch in France was some years before publicist pledge, which we signed. But, what that gave us was a bit of an advantage in terms of some of the learning that we had got since 2017. Once we signed that pledge, we made a commitment to accelerate. What we really want to do is take a whole person approach. What we've we've built with, I'm super proud of what the team have managed to do in a relatively short period of time. when you think about the amount of countries that Sanofi is in and the amount of colleagues that we have around the world. I see it as quite a pioneering approach because what we want to do is the way cancer and other critical illness is viewed in the workplace. This was something created by us for us, and it's it's a big part of our cultural shift in terms of not only how we work, but also how we act as one Sanofi. 

Pharm Exec: Some of the features of this program include financial support, flexible work arrangements, and emotional support. Are there any other aspects of this program that you wish to speak about?

Our goal was always to create an environment where everyone feels supported. What we want them to do is be able to bring the best of their whole selves to work. So, the approach that we've taken has been to really address the needs of colleagues impacted by cancer or the critical illnesses by caring about the whole of the employee from the financial emotional, and social well being perspective. This wasn't just about providing benefits, it was about looking at an individual as a whole. What we really wanted to do was support every Sanofi employee's emotional well being. This is for for employees that are impacted by cancer either directly or indirectly to give them access to a community connecting with other colleagues dealing with their own cancer diagnosis to share their own experiences. This is some of the learnings that we picked up from the experiences in France, because it's not just about what happens in the workplace, it's what happens around you. The other thing other thing that we're really keen to make sure we do well is to help our managers be better equipped to support their teams who may be impacted by cancer, either as patients or as caregivers. These aren't just for what's happening in your own country, it could be anyone in any country within that frame. We believe that the investment we're making in our people does create a very supportive and inclusive environment. The whole whole essence of this is to provide a better work environment, a better business. Ultimately, we want better outcomes as a result of this. Everything that we're doing ladders up to our commitment towards diversity, equity and inclusion and CSR across Sanofi.

Pharm Exec: As time goes on, does Sanofi plan on making any expansions to this program? If so, are there any that you expect to happen soon?

What we're trying to do is really address the challenges of a cancer diagnosis in the workplace, because it is one of the most common and immediately understood. It's a sad statistic. I'd say that 50% of us are likely to be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives, and we want to make make it safer to share that experience. Other critical illnesses that we'll be looking at will depend on how a particular illness is defined by the local country. Cancer is probably one of the only globally pervasive illnesses that we can define well, but there are many others that we are working with the teams on locally. What we're trying to do is also have them cover under a simulated illness or incapacity that may be due to a potentially life threatening condition or may involve inpatient care. As every country is defining their own list of illnesses based on local regulation or definitions and medical insurances, we expect them all to at the very least include cancer and any illness with a high risk of imminent death or vital organ dysfunction that does require care to avoid death. 

Pharm Exec: What more can you tell us about your DE&I strategy and partnership with the 2024 Olympics?

We really want every employee to be able to unleash the very best of their whole selves to help transform the practice of medicine. We're a purpose led organization and now more than ever, I think from the learnings of COVID and lockdown is that health and well being has to be a priority for every organization. One of the things that we believe is Sanofi's strength is our approach to diversity, equity and inclusion. The culture starts to build where every employee can bring their full self to work, and the strategy that we've created is really focused on attracting and retain the very best talent. Also, making sure the health and productivity across Sanofi is the best it can be. Employers like us. we have to adapt our benefits our programs and policies, because our aim is to address the needs of different generations in the workplace. That's the only way we're going to stay competitive. Having a multi-generational workforce, our benefits policies and programs have to be able to support people and overall well being at every stage of life. For me, supporting our employees across their work and personal lives is vital to our success.

One of the things we always say at Sanofi is that we're always we're always keen to make sure we're joining up the dots. That's really important so people can see the full story. One of the things that we've we've done is create Team Sanofi. So, each team Sanofi athlete and coach is paired with a member of one of our executive team. That allows a human connection. Every executive team member supports one of our team Sanofi members with career advice, networking opportunities, and professional coaching sessions. The athletes are actually engaging in some of our own internal meetings and events with the executive team members. What they're trying to do is inspire team members around two main themes. The first is to really create this play to win attitude. Our transformation is all about playing to win. Secondly, it's about culture and the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion in that every day experience that people have in the workplace. 

Another thing that we've built and I'm super impressed with the amount of engagement that we've had is around our volunteers. We've managed to select an international group of Sanofi team members to be volunteers during the Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games. When we launched this, we received over 11,000 applications. We haven't been able to accommodate all of those demands, but we have negotiated a large cohort with Paris 24' to secure a spot for many of our employees as we possibly could. This group was carefully selected because we wanted to make sure we embody the diversity of our company. Men and women are equally represented as our age groups, ethnicities, and disabilities. Each volunteer has embarked on their own training. That's going to help them with an ever deeper immersion into the Sanofi culture. We also provide five days off for volunteers so they can spend that time whilst they're in Paris to do what they need to do. 

The other thing I would say that's quite novel for Sanofi is the Sanofi Cup. We launched our own internal Olympia, and that's been the biggest employee engagement event in our history. For me, it's a super exciting opportunity for every single Sanofi to feel the spirit of Paris 24' during the Olympic Games. It's the first kind of event for us. What we're hoping it's doing is really encouraging our employees to foster and drive our company's winning values and culture. There's individual challenges that we've created via a digital app, and there's local events that have been held in each country. The whole purpose of this is mixing support. 

What we've tried to take advantage of is is our approach to hospitality and ticketing. Again, we've mainly focused on employee recognition across Sanofi, and one of the most exciting things is a torch relay. Some of our employees will actually be able to bear the Olympic torch. Our commitment to this really does personify our societal impact strategy. For me, it affirms our commitment to the values of inclusion of diversity and openness to the world but also to our environmental goals and ambitions. The Olympic and Paralympic Games aren't just about sport, right? They're about courage, resilience, teamwork and making an impact. We want to make our science available and meaningful for all and really build a legacy in line with our purpose. 

In an interview with Pharm Exec Associate Editor Don Tracy, Raj Verma, Chief Diversity, Culture, and Experience Officer, Sanofi, discusses features of the company's support program for patients diagnosed with cancer and other critical illnesses.

Cancer & Work: Acting Together: An Interview With Raj Verma, Chief Diversity, Culture, and Experience Officer at Sanofi

Across most industries, finding and keeping the right talent is a constant challenge for companies. This challenge is perhaps even more prevalent in the pharmaceutical industry, which requires a significant amount of specialization.

Rebekah Martin, senior VP of reward, inclusion, and talent acquisition for AstraZeneca, discusses recruiting talent in pharma with Meg Rivers, managing editor. Specifically, Martin talks about ways companies can remain accountable for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) efforts in pharma.

Rebekah Martin is the senior vice president of reward, inclusion, and talent acquisition for AstraZeneca. Martin has a master’s degree in molecular and cellular biochemistry from the University of Oxford and went on to qualify as a lawyer in the UK, joining AstraZeneca in 2011. Since joining, she has held a number of progressively senior roles in the legal team based in the UK and Singapore. She moved to her current role in the HR team in April 2018, where she leads the team responsible for reward strategy, design, and governance at AstraZeneca, talent acquisition, and leads the implementation of AstraZeneca’s global inclusion and diversity strategy. Martin is passionate about breaking down the stigma that can be associated with neurodiversity and believes there is a strong connection between diversity of thought, innovation, and performance.

Rebekah Martin, senior VP of reward, inclusion, and talent acquisition at AstraZeneca, discusses ways companies can remain accountable for DE&I efforts in pharma in this Pharmaceutical Executive Podcast video.

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