Agenda 2024

By nearly unanimous consent artificial intelligence reached an inflection point for pharma marketers in 2023. The question of how best to take advantage of this new tool to support brands and help patients, though, remains to be seen.

drug development, trials

Merger and acquisition activity is on the rise after the biopharma industry moved on from the COVID-19 pandemic, while the role of AI in drug development is reaching new levels.

laptop, report

Blockbuster deals are on the rise as drug manufacturers navigate through patent cliffs, pricing pressures, and evolving regulations while M&A activity remains an integral part of the strategic landscape.

Jay Carter, AbelsonTaylor

Jay Carter, Executive VP, Director of Business Development at AbelsonTaylor and Med Ad News’ 2022 Industry Person of the Year, shares some thoughts about his mentors and career path.

When you have a brand with as much promise as Farxiga, you need someone at the helm with the drive and vision to help it reach its full potential. And that person is senior director of marketing for Farxiga, Allison Garrity. When Garrity joined the Farxiga team, the established AstraZeneca brand already had a strong legacy in type 2 diabetes (T2D), but momentum had stalled, teams needed to be rebuilt, and – the biggest challenge of all – Farxiga had to revolutionize care again, this time with indications in heart failure (HF) and chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Sander Flaum

Looking past COVID, the medical world is in turmoil. It’s hard enough for us in manufacturing and marketing to keep up with innovative technologies. Patients and caregivers have it especially tough since they are on the brunt end of disruptive innovations. Every day, patients face a ceaseless onslaught of sort of truths, half-truths, and flat-out lies about their healthcare, and HCPs no sooner graduate from med school than they discover much of their training is obsolete. Flaum Navigators Principal Sander A. Flaum explores how we can engage patients and physicians in the “Next Big Thing.”

Liz Kane, Ogilvy Health

Ogilvy Health hired industry strategist Liz Kane to lead the agency’s Insights, Brand and Medical Strategy offerings. In a Q&A with Med Ad News magazine, Kane shared insights from what she brings to the agency from her 20-year career, including as head of brand strategy at Havas Life, where she led efforts for Pfizer and Amgen, and global consumer advertising stints at Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett.

Humira

Humira could generate more than $20 billion in sales for AbbVie during 2021 while Merck’s Keytruda is on track to become only the second prescription medicine ever to exceed $16 billion in annual sales.

With more than half of the U.S. population fully vaccinated and mask mandates being lifted throughout the country, America looks to resume “normal life” before the pandemic took over. 

Last year challenged biotech and pharma companies to explore what is possible. When several companies can develop COVID-19 vaccines at a record pace, it proves that the industry is capable of massive feats.