Meet the Maker: EPM talks to Advanz Pharma's Paul Burden

EPM speaks to Paul Burden, chief commercial officer – Strategic Growth, at ADVANZ PHARMA about niche medicines, the challenges of working with multiple partners and why competition is everywhere in pharma. 

First of all could you please introduce yourself and your role at ADVANZ PHARMA? 

My name is Paul Burden, chief commercial officer – Strategic Growth, at ADVANZ PHARMA.  This means I am responsible for the performance of our Strategic Growth Business unit.  This includes a large, well established off-patent business in the UK & Ireland through which we provide approximately 40 million packs into the NHS, but also a growing Specialty Brands Business in Europe which has expertise in cardiovascular and anti-infectives, providing us with a strong platform through which to access hospital markets across Europe.

Additionally I have responsibility for our Corporate Communications, including IR and PR. 

How did you enter the industry? 

I graduated in business and marketing, and initially entered the medical devices industry as a Product Manager. I quickly made a move into fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and worked on several beverage brands which sat under the Novartis Nutrition division. I then moved over to the pharmaceutical industry where I worked for 10 years in various marketing and commercial roles, before taking some time out to join global communications consultancy, Fleishman-Hillard, where it was great to work with clients from the other side of the table.  In 2011 I moved back into the pharmaceutical industry with Watson Pharmaceuticals, before moving to Teva to head up their UK Generics business in 2013. I joined ADVANZ in mid-2016, and am truly excited by the passion, pace and potential ahead of us. It’s an absolute pleasure to work with so many great people.

Historically, niche patient populations have proven elusive to pharma due to a lack of profit or reimbursement. Is this something you’re worried about?

No not at all.  If I was in an innovative pharmaceutical company, or global generics giant, with significant scale and complexity, and a large employee base and high fixed overheads, I would probably be more worried. But that is not ADVANZ PHARMA. We are lean and we outsource high cost areas such as R&D and manufacturing, which enables us to be agile and efficient. We have the flexibility to operate across many therapy areas and can occupy niches that bring benefits to patient populations that others might overlook.

Following that, do you see promising signs that the pharma industry is moving towards an outcome-based model of reimbursement?

There are certainly signs that reimbursement models are evolving, and that the definition of “value” is evolving with it, but we still have some way to go.  It’s hugely important that models exist which promote consistent access to medicines that work, for the benefit of patients. Beyond this, healthcare providers need models that ensure cost-effectiveness fused with supply resilience. What is meant by cost-effectiveness is that it must go beyond drug acquisition cost and consider the macro-economics associated with treating patients, with a focus on minimising time in hospital.  Industry needs clarity and predictability to promote investment, whether that is clinical innovation, product development, patients support services or manufacturing capabilities.  

What is the competition like for niche medicines?

Competition exists everywhere regardless of the type of medicine you are talking about. In generics it’s perhaps easier to quantify, as it’s often the case that there are multiple Marketing Authorisation holders producing the same generic (INN) medicine, competing directly against each other for market share.

The way we see niche medicines at ADVANZ PHARMA is very different. Whilst there may be fewer “direct” competitors, we must also consider indirect competition from other treatment options.  Niche medicines often require active promotion in order to drive adoption by prescribers and decision makers, and that means investing in areas such as sales and marketing teams, new evidence generation and the creation of health-economic models. We see this in our niche anti-infective portfolio where we compete strongly against well-established, low-acquisition cost, first-line antibiotics.

What are the challenges in working with technology manufacturers and making those medicines easier to administer to the patient? 

Partnership is key and this is at the heart of ADVANZ PHARMA. We work to a shared goal; working seamlessly and openly to allow business partners, licensing and development partners and manufacturing partners to bring different strengths and capabilities to the table. 

Fundamentally, you have to start with a clear perspective of what the end goal looks like, and in our case, it is always the core needs of the patient.  Our purpose is built around ensuring patients can lead healthier and better lives, and we never lose sight of this – this drives our innovation.

Certain medicines ADVANZ provides have been around for many years. What are the challenges in adapting them to modern regulatory standards and potentially improving them for better patient choice? 

As with many off-patent medicines, our portfolio contains over 200 established medicines, some of which have been around for many decades. These medicines play a critical role in the treatment of millions of patients around the world, providing proven, trusted and effective treatment options to healthcare providers. We work actively and collaboratively with regulatory agencies in the territories in which we operate, to ensure historic products meet the current compliance requirements.

ADVANZ has a broad range of therapy areas. Is this where the company’s strength lies, or do you see ADVANZ becoming a specialist in a certain disease area?

Our therapeutic and geographic breadth is undoubtedly a strength of our business. We operate across all the major therapy areas, across 100 countries and with a portfolio of 200+ molecules. We certainly expect to maintain this breadth and will continue to invest to see if we can generate the data required to support submissions of medicines in new territories, further extending the value of our portfolio to more patients around the world.

Additionally, as we continue to invest in a pipeline of more complex medicines, and execute on our acquisition targets, I would expect to see a therapeutic or channel focus start to build within our strategic growth segment. Clearly the acquisition of Correvio has given us a very attractive anti-infectives franchise, something that we will surely look to build on.

With so many medicines what are the logistical challenges in supplying them around the world? 

Effective forecasting, demand planning, and inventory management processes are critical in our supply of medicines around the world. We tend to ensure that we have a higher than average stock holding on our most critical medicines.

2020 has undoubtedly made a complex situation a whole lot more complicated. Covid-19 has created challenges associated with the movement of goods and a reduction in scheduled freight movements.  Additionally, and in many ways more critical, has been the reduction in manufacturing yield as factories have been forced to shut down, or where local governments have banned exports to satisfy domestic demand. 

Despite these unprecedented challenges, I am extremely proud of ADVANZ PHARMA’s ability to navigate a course through the storm. Our approach to supply, coupled with our strong partnerships has enabled us to maintain supply, including the critical ICU products which saw huge and sudden increases in demand during the early phases of Covid-19.

You currently work with over 75 manufacturing partners. What are the challenges in working with so many partners?

ADVANZ PHARMA has a broad supply base and works with approximately 100 contract development and manufacturing partners (CDMOs). These partners supply a portfolio that span most dosage forms from simple to complex and across our key markets in the EU and North America. Our partners range from niche family owned speciality pharmaceutical producers to global, multisite and multi-technology organisations.

ADVANZ PHARMA has a tailored supply management approach and we are well-organised and used to working with our manufacturing partners across the world. These partnerships are well established and are built on a clear understanding of each other’s businesses and long-standing relationships.

However, we work in a global industry, change is inevitable and necessary. This can result in partners needing to shift their strategic aims, which can result in them moving product focus, technologies or locations. We pride ourselves on our relationships with our partners and, as such, we find that through open, timely communication we can confidently deal with such matters.  Having a dual-source on key products also helps ensure we can continue to supply our medicines and minimise any impact to patients.