Exploring strategic partnerships: A conversation with Cencora leadership

Transcript of 'Exploring strategic partnerships: A conversation with Cencora leadership'

 

Tania:

Willis, John, welcome. And thank you for joining me today.

 

Willis:

Thanks for having us.

 

John:

Yeah, thank you.

 

Tania:

So Willis, I'd like to ask you, how would you describe and why do we consider strategic partnerships and the collaboration with our customers one of the essential parts of our strategy at Cencora?

 

Willis:

Yeah, it's a great question. So I think it starts with the fact that we have very similar missions and journeys. We both want to improve access for patients, improve care around the world.  And so really that starts then with being able to best understand their goals, be really good at asking questions, be really good at listening. And within this very dynamic and fast-moving industry, being able to do that together and bring the best of both organizations is something that we feel like is the central reason for why partnerships are so important to us.

 

Tania:

In the last two years, Cencora has gone through a major transformation and the investments that we've made play a big part on who we are today and where we're moving towards in the future. Can you share some examples of investments that make us a better partner to our customers?

 

Willis:

We have an emerging biotech partner of ours. They wanted us to supply end-to-end commercialization services. The goal was to deliver a launch in the United States of their first product and then eventually follow on in Europe. What happened within the industry, there was different dynamics and it required that we flip that sequence. But because we had spent so much time getting to know their product, getting to know them, we knew what was needed to do in Europe.

We had another emerging biotech customer that launched in the US and had desires to go to Europe, but really didn't know the market that well, and didn't necessarily have the infrastructure to go to Europe. So in that regard, from a market access standpoint, it was really understanding which markets would be amenable to their products. And then what are the regulatory issues or the pharmacovigilance, how are we going to deal with supply chain, whether that's 3PL or distribution. And we brought their product to 18 different markets in Europe.

We have other examples where we were working with some large pharma customers with their products that were more mature. We really became kind of the, the in-licenser of sorts and really worked with them to, to significantly grow and exceed the targets that they had. But by using the commercialization infrastructure that we had. And then another group really looked at us and they said their market was, their product was really successful in most of their markets,  in the US in particular, but for underserved communities, it wasn't getting the access that they needed.

We had our Good Neighbor Pharmacy network that was strong in those communities, and we co-developed a new solution to really be able to bring their product to market. 

 

Tania:

So that's great. So, we have to be flexible and stay proactive.

 

Willis:

You got it. Always.

 

Tania:

So John, let's go over to you. You just led a great panel discussion where we talked about the biopharma pipeline and how we can partner together to bring those therapies globally from early development all the way to the maturity of the products like the examples that you gave, Willis. What were some of the insights and maybe some of the most motivating parts of the discussion that you could share with us?

 

John:

Well, I think it's, first of all, the promise. I mean, innovation in medicine right now I think is at an all time high. Um, now with that, the complexities are also at an all time high. There's legislative changes and policy changes in the United States. It's also happening in Europe concurrently. And as Willis said, getting involved early with these customers is, is incredibly important. Because if we understand strategically, where is your organization trying to go over the next three to five years, how they're prioritizing their portfolio and then engaging across the value chain. And then for hopefully and fortunately launch the product. And then that starts the entire patient journey. And how do we follow that patient down to the end sites of care like pharmacies, hospital systems, provider, network, so on and so forth is being able to leverage our capabilities across that value chain so we can really bring true value to a customer. 

Having a strategic partnership where we strategically deploy resources that are uniquely aligned to exactly what's happening with that manufacturer, that function or group within their organization, helping them connect the dots and ensure that there aren't any silos or barriers internally. And then deploying our resources in a seamless fashion can really unleash the potential of a great partnership. And then also, you know, ultimately the most impact that it's going to have on patients' lives.

 

Tania:

Thank you both for your time today, and I look forward to our next discussion.

 

John:

Thank you.

 

Willis:

We appreciate it.