‘New head, new drugs…Bayer’s transition has just begun'

JinA Lee, CEO of Bayer Korea

“Verquvo, Kerendia released with reimbursement…will be able to meet the unmet needs

"First Korean representative to head the office…will seek to serve as the point of communication between Bayer headquarters and the government.”

JinA Lee, CEO of Bayer Korea

Everyone gets stuck at some point.

 

The difference is in how quickly you resolve the situation and carry on.

 

The multinational pharmaceutical giant Bayer Korea was certainly ‘stuck’ at one point.

 

Although the company had released and successfully sold liver cancer treatments ‘Nexavar’ and ‘Stivarga,’ the anticoagulant ‘Xarelto,’ and the wet age-related macular degeneration treatment ‘Eylea,’ no news of the next 'big thing' had risen for a while.

 

Also, some of the company’s new drugs were approved but had difficulty receiving reimbursement.

 

But Bayer pushed through and has carried on.

 

In the past 6 months, the company has launched the heart failure drug Verquovo and chronic kidney disease drug Kerendia with reimbursement, exerting the company’s strong foothold in the market as a cardiovascular powerhouse.

 

There was also another notable major change in the company.

 

For the first time in the company's 70 years of existence, a Korean head was appointed to lead the company.

 

The new CEO, Jin-A Lee (53) took over in November last year.

 

This holds great significance and symbolism as the company had previously been led only by foreigners, including Friedrich-Wilhelm Gause, Niels Hessmann, and Ingrid Drechsel.

 

Amid the whirlwind of change, Dailypharm met up with Jin-A Lee, CEO of Bayer Korea to learn more about Bayer's transition, the new products and the new leader..

 

-You are the first Korean CEO of Bayer Korea.

 

Has the company's policy changed? This year marks the 69th anniversary of Bayer's launch in Korea, and we will be celebrating our 70th year next year.

 

As with all global companies, the connection between the global headquarters, regional subsidiaries, and local markets is essential in promoting growth in the early stages of new market entry.

 

That's why competent leaders from global headquarters had been appointed.

 

However, these days, about 80% of global pharmaceutical companies are appointing local leadership to head their subsidiaries.

 

I believe I can explain Bayer's unprecedented decision to appoint a Korean representative at this point in time in two ways.

 

First, due to the rising importance of the Korean market, the company has demonstrated its leadership and capabilities, exposed to various opportunities and experiences.

 

Korea is already a very competitive market and we have high expectations on its sustainable growth, especially as an insurance market.

 

Another reason is Korea’s excellent R&D environment.

 

Many global companies including Bayer have been conducting clinical trials in Korea, and Korea’s value in early clinical trials to Phase III, Phase IV, and even RWD (Real-World Data) research has become more prominent.

 

- Bayer had been slow in releasing new drugs.

 

And the recent launch of Verquovo and Kerendia seems to mark the start of a generational change in the company’s pipeline.

 

What expectations do you have for the new drugs that were recently launched? Bayer is known for its broad portfolio of therapies in cardiovascular, ophthalmology, cancer, and women's health.

 

As you may well know, it is also one of the world's top 5 pharmaceutical companies in the cardiovascular market, driven by sales of Aspirin and Xarelto.

 

We believe Verquvo and Kerendia will continue on the legacy.

 

The drugs were developed specifically to address the growing complexity of complex chronic diseases and this will be innovative growth drivers in the heart and kidney sector amid the aging population.

 

In that aspect, we are also particularly excited about Kerendia.

 

Among patients with diabetes, which is a major chronic disease, up to 40% of the patients with type 2 diabetes are known to have chronic kidney disease, and type 2 diabetes accounts for half of the causes of end-stage renal failure in Korea.

 

Unfortunately, no new reimbursed treatment option was introduced to this field for 20 years.

 

And Kerendia became the first drug to target the unmet need in chronic kidney disease.

 

- Let's talk about anti-cancer drugs.

 

Many multinational companies are now focusing on strengthening their anticancer capabilities.

 

It's become a trend.

 

Bayer was considered a leader in liver cancer for a long time but hasn’t shown much progress since then.

 

In Korea, the prostate cancer drug Nubeqa has been approved but is yet to be used actively in the field.

 

In the case of Nubeqa, we are making multifaceted efforts to improve its access for prostate cancer patients in Korea in accordance with the domestic situation.

 

However, it is still too early to give concrete updates on our progress.

 

Most global pharmaceutical companies are indeed focusing on anticancer drugs these days, but Bayer seeks to provide new treatment options for a variety of diseases based on a balanced portfolio.

 

Of course, this means that we will continue to work and discover innovative products in the field of cancer as well.

 

- As you are Korean, you must have a good understanding of the Korean insurance reimbursement system.

 

How do you plan to communicate with the government and the company hereon?

 

As Korea has a single-payer market, limitations do exist due to limited finances.

 

No matter how good or innovative a drug is, if it doesn't meet Korea’s insurance standards or doesn't meet the pharmacoeconomic evaluation criteria, it cannot be introduced into the country.

 

This is very unfortunate.

 

However the government is open to granting reimbursement for necessary drugs, so I think the role of the company is very important in communicating the value of our drugs, so we will focus on closing the gap between the two.

 

For example, NTRK gene fusion cancer is a very rare cancer with a very small patient population, so we expected its reimbursement to be difficult.

 

But Vitrakvi was successfully granted reimbursement based on its clinical efficacy and safety profile.

 

We also worked tirelessly to convey the need for Kerendia and Verquvo in the Korean market to the global headquarters, and as a result, we were able to quickly release the drugs to the Korean market.

 

-Bayer's organizational structure is changing at the headquarters level.

 

The company has announced a new way of operations called ‘Dynamic shared ownership (DSO),’ which is a significant shift at the company level, organizing divisions by disease rather than by pipeline.

 

A Korean subsidiary of another pharmaceutical company had face difficulties localizing such changes.

 

Based on that, it seems a more flexible approach would be needed to apply the transition to your business operations. That is a very possible problem.

 

Although DSOs can be termed differently in different companies, the model is becoming a trend in the global market.

 

The idea is to create an agile organization that is better able to respond to situations to deliver value for patients and healthcare providers, but I would like to emphasize how Bayer is implementing the system differently in different countries, unlike others.

 

Last year, the global CEO of Bayer held a conference with all of Bayer's subsidiaries.

 

He said that changing the management system is similar to building a house and that you can't build an identical house in each country because the soil is different, and the environment is different.

 

In other words, the big picture is the same, such as cutting through bureaucracy and simplifying approval processes, but the details and contextual decisions need to be tailored to each country.