Novartis mixes social responsibility and good business sense
Working in a country of some 89 million inhabitants is nothing new to Novartis Healthcare Philippines country president Peter Goldschmidt. There are at least two things that set apart his native Germany from his new country posting of roughly the same population. First is the fact that in the Philippines, medicines are an out-of-pocket expense. The other is "limited access not only to medicine but to health care in general, to doctors and hospitals." He adds that the volume of drugs prescribed and used in Germany-whether patented, generic, or over-the-counter-is several times that of the Philippines, a fact he relates to mandatory health-insurance coverage. But he goes beyond the perceived differences. Goldschmidt spent a lot of his first few months keeping his ears to the ground to seek answers and formulate solutions for questions along this vein. He spends 30 to 40 percent of his time in the field, accompanying the company's medical representatives and attending meetings left and right with doctors, as well as with fellow expatriate executives who have been in the country longer. He goes on a road show among the country's top 100 key opinion leaders in medicine, to present the company's willingness to launch more new products and invest in new jobs in the country and to listen to other people's ideas. The role of the company's communication champion comes naturally to Goldschmidt, who has been a part of the industry-and Novartis and its forerunner companies-for 17 years.
The ideas he's been getting on the ground are germinating into new ways to engage what he sees as a very interesting market environment. While he believes in the importance of securing more people greater access to innovative pharmaceutical products, he says he is "no big fan of rebate programs," a widely adopted price-reduction scheme among pharmaceutical companies. "We need new access models. Instead of giving small rebates for a new hepatitis product for example, it might be better to offer to pay for testings after the sixth and the twelfth months to predict outcome of the therapy and validate treatment success," Goldschmidt says. The company's new product line is particularly ripe for novel ways to engage the market. Goldschmidt cites a new osteoporosis drug (Aclasta) that significantly reduces compliance problems through its once-a-year only injection requirement leading to outstanding efficacy. He explains: "What is the hurdle in the Philippines? You have to pay the price you normally pay on a weekly base for other medicines now once for a period of one year. Here we have to think of what kind of financing model we can have for the patient and we will have special osteoporosis centers to do the infusions everywhere in the country." The Novartis management team, he says, is also eyeing new market models for Novartis's upcoming offerings in ophthalmology (a drug for macular disease) and hypertension (combination valsartan-amlodipine). Also, Goldschmidt says that their other new antihypertensive offering, a renin inhibitor, is the first new treatment to be launched after a decade and is meant to cement the company's core competency in this therapeutic area in a country where cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality. The initiative with Novartis's new leukemia drug, Glivec (imatinib), emphasizes how serious the company is not only in bringing new products to patients but in burnishing the not-so-shining image of the industry it is in. Goldschmidt says that the company has spent more than PhP900 million to make the drug available for free to patients who have shown themselves unable to finance this kind of therapy, the only one available for this kind of cancer. It has developed a network with a number of hospitals and doctors to make this possible. He explains: "When I came here, the management team thought it was very important to communicate that Novartis is a caring and curing company because the multinationals mostly have this image of being expensive and of catering only to very few people. We also want to show that social responsibility makes good business sense."
The company's considerable business in generics medicine is also good to have in that respect. "We are not only focused like the other players on high priced innovative products. After patent runs out, we are able to offer high-quality generic products. This is why Novartis with its generic company Sandoz fits very well in a country like the Philippines," he adds. Its generics business, said to be the biggest in the world, also broadens what the company has to offer for the drug listings of hospitals, an area where Goldschmidt wanted to further strengthen the company's ties. "I think we have very good hospitals not only in Metro Manila but in Cebu and elsewhere in the country. And then we have the wholesalers. There are a lot of things we can do together." In the end, Goldschmidt believes that the company's corporate culture is not unlike the spirit that animates his compatriots in one of their favorite national pastimes. "If you're playing football and you succeed, that's fun. What's very important for us as a company is that we are only successful if we treat more patients in the Philippines better and that will make us truly happy, too!" he says. M Grace Roxas
Officers of the newly organized Health and Dietary Supplement Association of the Philippines (HADSAP) recently took their oath before Health undersecretary Ethelyn Nieto. Formed in January of this year, HADSAP is a nonstock, not-for-profit professional association of companies involved in the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of health supplements and related natural products. "As the representative of the companies involved in the health and dietary-supplement industry in the Philippines, HADSAP aims to work closely with the government to further promote the development of the industry. It also aims educate the public on the benefits of health supplements as these have become part of many Filipinos' health regimen," said Ador Bonquin, country manager of Amway Philippines and founding president of HADSAP. Nieto commended the members of HADSAP for taking an active role in the development and promotion of the health-care industry, particularly the health-supplements sector. "Having a central organization such as HADSAP will help ensure that the companies involved in the production and distribution of health and dietary supplements will help unify and synchronize the efforts of the government and private stakeholders in providing consumers with safe and effective health supplements," Nieto said. As part of its activities to promote the Philippine health-supplements industry, HADSAP recently participated in the ASEAN traditional medicine and health-supplements harmonization meetings in Brunei Darussalam. The organization is coordinating with the Bureau of Food and Drugs for the eighth working-group meeting of the ASEAN traditional medicine and health supplements scientific and technical committee to be held in the country in November in. The founding members of HADSAP include Amway Philippines, Capsugel, Gano Excel Philippines, GNLD International, GNC, Health Express, Herbs and Nature Corporation, Nikken Philippines, Nu Skin Enterprises Philippines, Splash Corporation, Symmetry Philippines, and Unicity Network Philippines. M
The quest for eternal youth has been going on for centuries. Now many people understand that a long, healthy life is not merely about curing diseases, but preventing them. That is the principle behind nutritional immunology. United States-based scientist Jau-fei Chen visited the country recently to give a talk on prolonging one's life the natural way. A doctor's degree holder in immunology, she has been involved in cancer research for the past 10 years. "Today, if you survive up to 60 or 70, you consider it to be very lucky; over 80 years old, you call it longevity; 90 years old, you call it a miracle," she said. But are people really supposed to have such a long life span? Longer, actually-there have been scientific research saying that humans should live to at least 150 years old, said Chen. Chen gave three "easy" tips for longevity and vitality. The first is to have a proper diet. Eating the right food can fortify the immune system, which in turn can defend the body from illness. She was all praises for the immune system: "Your immune system is stronger than any drug that we scientists can invent." To strengthen it, she said that she staunchly advocates eating a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and "wholesome" foods-those which have not undergone chemical processing. She recommended avoiding animal products, which she said are a cause of cancer and degenerative illnesses, aside from giving too much calories. She explained that when we eat too many animal products, our body produces prostaglandin 2, which suppresses the immune system. The second tip is more difficult to follow, said Chen: Be happy. According to her, every time we are sad, nervous, or angry, the body secretes corticosteroids that may suppress up to eighty percent of our immune function. Laughter may prove to be the best, not to mention the least expensive, cure after all. Chen's last tip involved getting proper rest and exercise. The body regenerates while it is asleep, she said, and this includes the immune system. Exercise, on the other hand enhances the circulation of lymph. If physical activity is limited, taking deep breaths can also increase the flow of the lymphatic system. M Carisa Paraz, MD |
