PharmaSource Podcast

Thorsten joined Grünenthal at an exciting time when it centralised Procurement was a  "new, mostly unshaped  function". It meant he could make a real impact on the function and see the improving results.

One of the first areas they identified was that there was not  a standardised process for the category managers to do sourcing activities 

“Tenders sometimes only invited three or even one vendor because it was clear from the very beginning who would be the 'Chosen One', often driven by stakeholders”

Thorsten introduced a Sourcing Board council where the category managers had to present how they are planning to run that tender. 

To support that process, they introduced the governance that for any tenders over €100,000 Euros would  need to have at least three valid offers. A methodology was agreed in advance agreed for how the offers would be evaluated. For example, procurement would want 50% of the weighted criteria to be price or costs associated with the tender.

"The category manager could the run the tender, and when they had decided which vendor to take, they had to come back to the sourcing board and get the final approval."

"This framework helped to structure the process and created a lot of transparency about what was being worked on. "

To embed this required a lot of personal energy to guide and support team members through the process and communication.

With a geographically dispersed team they put a lot of efforts on our on fostering our internal community through their intranet. “This starting off with a page and a bit of content,  over time, we developed a real plan, with a fortnightly newsletters and regular Townhalls with the teams. “

How technology was used to enable change

The process started by being managed in Excel and PowerPoint documents, with sourcing mangers completing templates to present their case to the Sourcing Board.

The next step was a tool Grünenthal developed themselves specifically to manage the sourcing process, where all information previously in PowerPoint could be put in the tool. 

Finally, they implemented an E-Procurement platform. After  evaluating a number of vendors they before decided to use Jaeger,  a platform they have been using for the last two years. 

Since moving into a new role focusing on R&D, Thorsten has continued to play a role in the development of the Sourcing Board so that it partners better with his new stakeholders.

His main objective has been to accelerate the process. 

“To understand the friction with R&D and Procurement you have to understand one thing…  Speed is more important than savings”

"The faster you develop a drug, the more time you have left on the market. That's why  Grünenthal as a company deliberately took the approach to to conduct some of the R&D studies in parallel and prioritise speed."

The Sourcing Board approach was perceived as delaying the process too much, so now a faster process involves the stakeholders earlier to make decisions. 

"We now call it the 'Category Council' which is now a more stakeholder-oriented way of taking vendor decisions. So it's not only the sourcing board and procurement internal council that approves a decision on the vendor, but stakeholders are closely involved throughout"

"Prioritising speed is an interesting challenge for someone in procurement to have! Not to focus on savings but on speed makes a nice change.” says Thorsten.

Cost savings are less important than creating business value.

In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast, we sat down with Jill Robbin, Fractional CPO and advisor to Biotechs at Matchbook, with a wealth of experience in leading pharma procurement teams at Eli Lilly and Elanco.

Jill offers valuable advice to anyone seeking to progress their procurement career within the pharmaceutical industry, including a warning against becoming too focussed on the bottom line.

“Savings often get lost in the shuffle. Finance can agree or not agree, or then they get added back in or taken away from budget. There’s got to be a better metric, and it has to be business value.

Instead, understand what’s important to your particular company and tie the procurement metrics to that.

A solution may cost more, but if you are delivering things faster, or you don’t have disruption in your supply, that is worth the weight in gold."

If you'd like to join a free Expert Workshop hosted by Jill Robbins, head to PharmaSource.global/events and register.

In the latest episode of the PharmaSource podcast Johannes Galatsanos, Novartis talks about how the River Rhine went from being the polluted, post-war “sewer of europe” to the swimmer-friendly river it is today, and how data quality can be improved in the same way.

Based on his experience in rolling out a global #ERP system at Novartis, this is essential listening for anyone interested in how data science - founded upon better data quality - can improve pharma business operations.

Pharmaceutical Packaging is critical for safe and stable drug delivery, and continues to be fast-growing market driven by manufacturers creating increasingly innovative products.

Founded in 1825, Bormioli is nearly 200 years old yet continues to release innovative products for the pharmaceutical industry. While they have strong roots in Italy, today Bormioli Pharma manufactures from nine plants around the globe (including United States, France, Germany and China) and have more than 890 products.

We speak to Andrea Sentimenti, Marketing and Innovation Director at Bormioli Pharma to discuss their Open Innovation programme, exploring their process for collaborating with customers, patients and healthcare professionals to prototype new packaging concepts.

The Pharma Source podcast dives into the latest trends, challenges, and commercial opportunities in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry

In each episode we'll be speaking with top executives, researchers, policy makers and other experts, who share their perspectives on the the trends that are shaping the business of pharma.

From the latest breakthroughs in drug development and manufacturing, to the impact of healthcare policy on drug pricing, we cover it all.

In this episode we interview Dr John LaMattina

John was president of Pfizer Global R&D- where he managed more than 13,000 scientists and professionals in the United States, Europe, and Asia.  Today, John is senior partner at PureTech Health, Author and Forbes contributor - Where he offer a unique perspective into the challenges and costs that come with bringing life-changing medicines to market.

His latest book Pharma and Profits - balancing innovation, medicine and drug prices, lays our the facts in a very accessible way, should be required reading for anyone in journalism before they write a story about drug prices.

In this interview we discuss:

- Unpacking the criticism and misconceptions about the Pharma industry 

- The lack of price transparency in the the US healthcare system

- The potential innovation-killing effects of the Inflation Reduction Act

- Why Gene Therapy is a particular issue for pricing

Subscribe to Pharma Source Podcast for your regular dose of pharma and biotech insight.