Patients and policy are trending in the pharma industry

Tasks performed by MA have been divided...number of managers appointed for the separate tasks surged in 5 years

KRPIA focuses on strengthening its policy committee capability... will secure a channel to facilitate communication with patients

The opening of new positions that didn’t exist before indicates the considerable need for the positions.

 

Recently, Korean subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical companies that mainly supply new drugs have opened up two new positions - GA (Government Affairs) and PA (Patient Advocacy).

 

The changes seem to be in line with the trend in the new drug industry.

 

In the era of ‘high-priced new drugs,’ the government and pharmaceutical industries are having difficulty seeing eye-to-eye when setting the drug price, and the reimbursement listing of new drugs has become the factor that determines the success or failure of a new drug.

 

Issues that cannot be resolved through direct communication with ‘relevant ministries’ have been accumulating,, and pharmaceutical companies have been searching for new methods of communication like the National Assembly.

 

As a result, the need to connect with the National Assembly, patients, the government (other than directly related ministries), and the media has risen.

 

◆External affairs personnel increased by 1.6 times during the past 5 years...18 people were newly hired So how many have actually increased?

 

According to Dailypharm's coverage, the GA and PA personnel at 15 major multinational companies increased by 158% over the past five years.

 

The number, which had been 31 people in 2018 became 49 as of 2023.

 

9 companies have increased recruitment during the period, and one company had newly established a department.

 

Companies including Novartis, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Sanofi, Astellas Pharma, Amgen, and Janssen have all more than doubled their relevant workforce.

 

MSD has the most related personnel of 7 , followed by Janssen (6), Novartis (5), AstraZeneca (5), and Pfizer (5).

 

More specifically, the 15 companies had 20 GA and 16 PA managers in total.

 

Also, more than half of the multinational pharmaceutical companies had personnel in charge of the GA and PA tasks combined, a choice that the companies may have made due to the size of the company.

 

Whatever the reason, the choice also reflects the fact that the two positions are closely related to each other.

 

Among the 6 companies that showed no changes in the number of personnel in the area, 3 are planning to recruit more personnel this year.

 

An executive from multinational pharmaceutical company A said, “Most of the companies had no GA or PA representatives 5 years ago.

 

Usually, the MA representatives took care of the entire external affairs tasks.

 

Considering the size of the Korean subsidiaries of multinational pharmaceutical companies, the number of people in the area has been increasing rapidly.” The official added, "Our company also has a small number of employees dealing with external affairs, but we have decided to hire two new people this year.

 

Just as the MAs had in the past, we expect the roles of GA and PA will become increasingly important."

◆KRPIA organizes a separate committee...to increase patient focus The Korean Research-based Pharmaceutical Industry Association (KRPIA) is also focusing on its ‘Policy’ committee that focuses on government affairs.

 

The Healthcare Policy Committee had been originally concurrently run by MA managers, and there was not much activity.

 

But the times have changed.

 

The committee is now receiving support from its board of directors which consists of multinational pharmaceutical company CEOs.

 

A member of the board of directors at KRPIA said, "In addition to patients, the public's interest in new drugs has been increasing.

 

Due to the rising interest, the association’s need to communicate with the National Assembly, civic groups, and patient groups has also increased.

 

In order to reflect these needs, the KRPIA’s Healthcare Policy Committee needs to also increase its activity.

 

This is a big agenda that the KRPIA is concentrating on these days.” A separate committee has not yet been established for patients.

 

However, a separate task force in charge of ‘patients’ has been established and is active under KRPIA’s Public Affairs & Communications Committee.

 

A KRPIA official said, “With the new drug reimbursement environment becoming increasingly difficult and patients' voices for rapid reimbursement of new drugs rising, pharmaceutical companies are seeking to find a win-win solution through communication and cooperation with the government and patients.” The official added, “The involvement of patient associations or patient groups is a basic consideration in most stages from the development of new drugs by pharmaceutical companies to the policy decision-making process of the government in the United States and Europe.

 

The process of how well we work with the government and patients will become ever more important in drawing a social consensus."