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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Lisa Golden ARROTEX GROUP GENERAL MANAGER, SPECIALTY BRANDS AND BIOLOGICS With a 17-year career in pharmacy, Lisa Golden tells Retail Pharmacy how the newly-expanded company will play a central role in the development of biologics and biosimilars in community pharmacy this year. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW 11 Lisa, please tell us a little about yourself and your experience in the pharmaceutical sector. I’ve always had a very close affiliation with pharmacy. My very first job while I was studying was as a pharmacy assistant. Straight from university, after completing my Bachelor of Commerce majoring in marketing, I took on a role as a pharmacy sales representative. That was the start of what has so far been a 17-year career, primarily in the generics industry, across various sales and marketing roles – including portfolio management, product launch, strategy and business development. In my most recent role, my focus has shifted to the opportunity of specialty brands and biologics. As we’ve been talking about for years now, biologics and biosimilars represent the next wave of product and profit opportunity, and we determined that a considered focus in this area was justified. I’ve always loved the pharmacy channel. I think it’s the way clinical and professional collide with commercial and economic benefits. So, for me, with my knowledge and experience, specialty brands and biologics is a natural fit. Arrotex is now market leader following the merger of Arrow and Apotex. As a key player in bringing the two teams together, how has the process gone? As you could imagine, there’ve been some complexities and intricacies in bringing the two companies together, but the value of the merged organisation is that it offers much more than the sum of the parts. The beauty is that both Arrow and Apotex had a business culture of direct and personalised customer service, which remains the cornerstone of the merged businesses. The newly expanded Arrotex company gives Australian pharmacies an even greater level of service and support from the businesses they’ve chosen to partner with for the past 20 years. With a commitment to providing sustainable, high quality and cost effective access to the pharmaceuticals that pharmacies and the Australian public rely on every day, moving forward we’re looking to further streamline processes across the business and simplifying our ways of working, to maximise the benefits we offer our pharmacy customers. How has the business coped with Covid-19 and what changes did you have to make? At times Covid-19 put a tremendous strain on supply, but we leveraged our relationships with our suppliers and partners to minimise disruption. It’s not so much about making vast changes, but rather we had to be flexible in the way we operated. While Covid-19 has been very isolating, and interactions with our customers has been different, it’s been amazing to see our people come together to keep our customers as a priority and ensuring the uninterrupted supply of our products. 2021 is a key year for biosimilars. What role will Arrotex play? 2021 is a pivotal year in Australian pharmaceutical history, with the largest retail biologic by value on the PBS losing exclusivity. Arrotex, through the Arrotex Biologics business, will play a key role in the supply of a world leading portfolio of biosimilar and biologic brands into the Australian market. Currently, Arrotex Biologics represents the largest, most comprehensive portfolio of biosimilar brands. Over the next three years, this business will represent more than $1 billion worth of biologic and biosimilar brands through world leading manufacturers and supply partners. It’s critical that pharmacy is positioned to play an active role in patient engagement and biosimilar uptake. Arrotex Biologics will play a central role in the promotion, education, advocacy and support of biologics and biosimilars for community pharmacy. We’re passionate about ensuring that pharmacy remains the focus of the biosimilar conversation, patient engagement and support. In many ways biosimilars are where generics were some 20 years ago, and we’ll take the learning and experience to develop and implement programs, services and education to drive patient awareness, confidence and engagement. What are your key priorities for Arrotex in 2021 and what is your message to community pharmacy? With Arrow and Apotex coming together as Arrotex, we’re now Australia’s largest pharmaceutical company. That’s a big responsibility, but more than ever we’re committed to providing affordable access to quality products and services that improve health outcomes. We’re evolving with our customers and partners to continuously create and sustain value for community pharmacy. Throughout 2021 we’ll continue to add to our extensive range of differentiated and diversified products, including biologics and biosimilars. On top of that, we’ll strengthen our offering of professional services and innovative educational professional programs to support pharmacists as the most trusted healthcare professionals. The year will also see further consolidation of the merger, with a focus on providing community pharmacy the benefits of our two heritage brands, particularly when it comes to continuity of supply. As our people are key, we’ll ensure our diverse and engaged employee base continues to grow and strengthen, while encouraging personal and professional development and making Arrotex a great place to work. RETAIL PHARMACY • JAN/FEB 2021