Strategies for Efficient Financial Planning and Control in Research and Development

pills-943764_1920

Finance is a broad term describing the management of money and other valuables, which can be easily converted into cash to achieve economic objectives of the given organization. The usual structure of the financial department in large, mature pharmaceutical company includes Tax Group (scope: tax declarations & optimization, transfer pricing), Accounting (scope: external reporting, financial data management), Corporate Finance (scope: treasury & capital markets, M&A, investor relations), Controlling (scope: internal reporting, budgeting & planning, business valuation), plus potentially additional groups. Continue reading

Know the Pharma Basics: USA Healthcare

 

medical-563427_1920 copy

The United States (US) has a population of over 324 million people and one of the most complex healthcare systems in the world. US health care system is in a constant state of change. The United States spends the most on health care per person — $9,237 – according to two new papers published in the journal The Lancet ($3.2 trillion total in 2015). For comparison, the global spending on health in 2014 was US$9·21 trillion. Continue reading

Pharmaceutical Project Management

businessman-1492561_1920

Per definition of PMI (Project Management Institute), project managers across different industries are assigned by the performing organization to achieve the project objectives. This is a challenging, high-profile role with significant responsibility and shifting priorities. It requires flexibility, good judgment, strong leadership and negotiating skills, and a solid knowledge of project management practices. A project manager must be able to understand project detail but manage from the overall project perspective. As the person responsible for the success of the project, a project manager is in charge of all aspects of the project including, but not limited to:

Continue reading

Know the Pharma Basics: INN and USAN

encapsulate-2171373_1920 copy

An International Nonproprietary Name (INN) is an official generic and nonproprietary name given to a pharmaceutical drug or active ingredient. INN identifies pharmaceutical substances or active pharmaceutical ingredients. Each INN is a unique name that is globally recognized and is public property. A nonproprietary name is also known as a generic name. The INN system is managed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The INN system has been coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 1953. Continue reading

Creation of Drug Development Plan

fractal-1673150_1280-copy

Drug development can be described as the process of obtaining the relevant information necessary to be included on your drug prescribing information. Development Plan (DP) is the strategic document that guides the lifecycle of a new product from the pre-clinical lead compound stage through Lifecycle Management (LCM). LCM starts with the first approval of BLA/NDA (first Marketing Authorization) and encompasses development of new indications. In mature pharma organization, DP is approved by the governance bodies. Once approved, it can be regarded as the agreement between executive leadership/board of directors and the program team involved in the discovery, development & commercialization of the product. The DP is a living document and should be amended when the development strategy changes. Continue reading

Qualitative & Behavioral Characteristics of Great Leaders

workplace-1245776_1920.jpg

The quality of leadership within the organization is critical from a business perspective. Yet, according to Gallup’s research, the majority of leaders are not equipped to take on the leadership roles. This status quo hurts not only employees but also decrease the performance of the organizations. Much could be achieved by providing relevant training and development opportunities to the managers and leaders. Many companies though do not invest in leaders’ training and poor management comes at the expense of U.S. economy, costing $398 billion annually Continue reading

Patent & Regulatory Exclusivity in Pharma R&D

hammer-620008_1920 copy

When one thinks about the role of the patent attorneys, it may not be obvious how paramount are they for the life science industry. Do we perceive them as the pharma’s secret agents on an ongoing, critical mission? If not, we should. They work behind the research and development scene, making sure the company can maximize the value of the drug candidates and related inventions. This article, in the form of Q&A, covers the patent and regulatory exclusivity topics in biopharmaceutical R&D. Continue reading

Investing and Partnering in Drug Development

money-1885540_1920

During my career, I have been on the both sides of the financial partnership table. I have led ‘due diligence’ process together with my drug & business development teams at pharma. Currently, I represent the third party capital providers assessing development risks for various pharmaceutical assets.  Since this is an area of interest for many of my blog readers, this article will explain the basics of the investments and partnerships models for pharma and biotech companies. Considering that there are fundamental differences between the pharma and biotech organizations and how they manage their portfolio strategies, the article is split into two parts:

  • Part 1 will cover the basics of the large pharma partnering models with third-party capital providers
  • Part 2 will focus on partnering models for different types of biotech companies

Continue reading

Costs Management in Pharmaceutical R&D Projects

cost-1174933_1920.jpg

Finance is a broad term describing the management of money and other valuables, which can be easily converted into cash to achieve economic objectives of the given organization. The usual structure of the financial department in large, mature pharmaceutical company includes Tax Group (scope: tax declarations & optimization, transfer pricing), Accounting (scope: external reporting, financial data management), Corporate Finance (scope: treasury & capital markets, M&A, investor relations), Controlling (scope: internal reporting, budgeting & planning, business valuation), plus potentially additional groups. Continue reading