Life science organizations must evolve and adapt for future success. Today, Sameer Sardana, Leader of Product Development at Axtria, discusses transforming operational methodologies within life sciences. He delves into the agencies responsible for promotional planning, measurement, and activation, stressing the significance of accurate analysis measurement.

Sameer also discusses how MLOps (Machine Learning Operations) workstreams and technologies empower stakeholders and marketers to make real-time promotion decisions, driving pivotal decision-making processes. Sameer adds that this represents a substantial shift for individuals accustomed to traditional settings, potentially disrupting established practices and necessitating new approaches. Our audience can benefit from today's insights to gain a competitive edge in the future.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [2:53] Sameer Sardana discusses pharma companies' current state of affairs and how they spend much of their revenues on promotion.

• [4:42] Sameer outlines four trends in this space of promotional effectiveness that are drivers of change.

• [7:09] Discussion of the three deterrents to the evolution of change and the inefficiencies created by many agencies because they are often involved in promotional measurement.

• [11:01] Sameer discusses a CoE (Center of Excellence) created at Axtria where all promotional measurements were done for a customer, allowing the organization to leverage the best in class techniques.

• [13:11] Sameer explains the use of software and the three areas of value it brings to the promotional measurement space.

• [15:54] Sameer discusses how marketing and IT have impacted the stakeholders

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The pharmaceutical sector invests millions in advertising and assessing the efficacy of campaigns. The quality of the analysis hinges on the expertise of the individuals interpreting the data.

• One of the most significant barriers to change is that promotional planning, measurement, and activation must be tied together, impacting promotional efforts and the ability to change course quickly.

• Agencies have expanded, taking over not only promotional planning and execution but also measurement, creating spending 200 million dollars in one company.
  

BIOGRAPHY:

Sameer Sardana heads products at Axtria and is the force behind some of the leading software products in the life sciences commercial space. He has spent over a decade developing products in customer engagement, promotional measurement, and MLOps workstreams. In his role, Sameer is also responsible for defining the strategy, going to market plans, and executing Axtria's product vision.

He routinely partners with global commercial leaders to provide last-mile decision support, leveraging AI and technology to transform their businesses. Before Axtria, Sameer held increasing responsibilities in data analytics and technology consulting with expertise in sales and marketing operations, commercial model design, marketing mix, and patient analytics.

Over the years, he has partnered with customers on dozens of transformation initiatives requiring large-scale change management across various stakeholders. Sameer holds a bachelor's and a master's of technology degree from IIT Delhi.

YOUR HOST: JASMEET SAWHNEY

Jasmeet Sawhney is a life sciences industry executive, marketing leader, and serial entrepreneur with deep roots in technology and data analytics. He is currently the global head of marketing at Axtria. Jasmeet has over 20 years of experience in the life sciences domain and has helped build and scale three successful companies. He has received several company and individual awards, including Inc 500, Deloitte Fast 500, Crain’s NY Fast 50, NJBiz Fast 50, Business of the Year, SmartCEO Future 50, Top CMO, Forty Under 40, and many more.

Jasmeet Sawhney - LinkedIn

Axtria on LinkedIn

Sameer Sardana - LinkedIn

Matt Bachman is in charge of the Commercial Operations for Milestone Pharmaceutical company, a biotech company launching a novel treatment for patients with PSVT. Jasmeet and Matt discuss the intricacies of building a commercial function for an emerging pharma company, with Matt highlighting distinctions between working in a large pharmaceutical company versus a smaller one. They also delve into crucial factors influencing decision-making for the future, with a particular emphasis on the formidable challenge of navigating data considerations. Matt introduces a compelling and reflective concept, emphasizing that decisions must be "Fit for Purpose.” That is sound learning, no matter the size of your organization. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

[2:32] Matt discusses the key differences between working for large pharmaceutical companies and his current position

[3:41] Matt explains his vision for setting up the commercial function

[5:50] Matt discusses how he decides what priorities are needed for Milestone to benefit the company 

[8:05] Matt shares what components he wants to implement to build a foundation for data-driven commercialization, and he is developing a data governance system

[13:16] Matt speaks to the technologies and capabilities that they are planning for the future and how he is putting his team together 

[17:27]  Matt shares what he has learned in the process of setting up the commercial function

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• In a smaller company, when you don’t have the resources of a large entity, you have to determine the must-haves and what things would be nice to have. You need to be able to make adjustments quickly for growing or scaling back. 

• Connecting with stakeholders, department heads, and other management figures in a smaller organization is more straightforward. The absence of a sprawling corporate structure, as seen in larger companies, facilitates smoother and faster communication.

• A company can make a big mistake by spending resources on collecting data, and then they find out it needs to be more accurate data. The perfect time to make data governance decisions is when you are starting out before you start collecting massive amounts of data you won’t ever use. 

BIOGRAPHY: 

Matt Bachman brings over 20 years of experience in the insights and analytics arena at both large pharma and small biotech companies. During that time, he has worked closely with brand teams to commercialize numerous drugs in multiple therapeutic areas. These include drugs for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular drugs that were first in class and novel therapies, as well as the ones that had little clinical differentiation, which presents its own set of challenges. From a customer standpoint, he has worked on commercializing drugs that targeted specialists and also the ones that targeted broad-based PCPs. He currently leads the commercial operations for Milestone Pharmaceuticals, a small biotech company launching a novel treatment for patients with PSVT. Before Milestone, Matt worked for large companies like GSK and BMS.

YOUR HOST: JASMEET SAWHNEY 

Jasmeet Sawhney is a life sciences industry executive, marketing leader, and serial entrepreneur with deep roots in technology and data analytics. He is currently the global head of marketing at Axtria. Jasmeet has over 20 years of experience in the life sciences domain and has helped build and scale three successful companies. He has received several company and individual awards, including Inc 500, Deloitte Fast 500, Crain’s NY Fast 50, NJBiz Fast 50, Business of the Year, SmartCEO Future 50, Top CMO, Forty Under 40, and many more.

Jasmeet Sawhney - LinkedIn

Axtria on LinkedIn

Matthew Bachman - LinkedIn

Sunil Agarwal is the Principal and Head of Clinical Excellence Practice at Axtria. He leads digital transformation and improvement programs for top pharma companies. Jasmeet and Sunil discuss how patients can be served better by including real-world data in clinical trials and research. Real-world data is not a replacement for traditional trials, but it is helping drive the future evolution and innovation in our industry. The goal is to save lives and provide better patient outcomes. Don’t miss this thought-provoking episode. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

[2:50] Sunil explains the challenges with randomized control trials and why we need to leverage real-world data 

[4:48] Sunil expands on how collecting environmental location or contextual data could lead to insights such as the correlation between activity and health changes 

[6:00] Sunil gives examples of cases using real-world data

[9:16] Sunil outlines challenges faced, for example, the quality of the data collected

[12:06] ​​Sunil expands on the regulatory considerations for using real-world data in clinical trials 

[14:43] Sunil shares a couple of the innovations and unique approaches that he is bringing to customers 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• There is a lot of potential to effectively use all types of real-world data for clinical trials, even though it has its own set of challenges, such as data quality, privacy, and bias, and there is an emerging need for data-driven and digital solutions to utilize real-world data and minimize its limitations.

• There is a wider availability and increasing acceptability of real-world data among global regulatory bodies when companies follow key regulatory considerations. 

• To ensure successful and cost-effective use of real-world data for clinical trials, companies need a set of capabilities and some enablers, which include data science and engineering, domain expertise, ethical considerations, and support from regulatory agencies.

BIOGRAPHY: 

Sunil Agarwal is the Principal and Head – of Clinical Excellence Practice at Axtria. He leads digital transformation and improvement programs for top pharma companies across solutions, including next-gen clinical platforms, patient analytics, and automated regulated submissions. He has also spearheaded business function consolidation and technology modernization programs. As a thought leader, Sunil has shared his expertise at several international life sciences forums on emerging topics such as mHealth, clinical data sciences, and AI/ML. He is an active contributor to analyst and advisory briefings. Sunil holds M.Tech and B.Tech  degrees in Computer Science from Dortmund University, Germany.

YOUR HOST: JASMEET SAWHNEY 

Jasmeet Sawhney is a life sciences industry executive, marketing leader, and serial entrepreneur with deep roots in technology and data analytics. He is currently the global head of marketing at Axtria. Jasmeet has over 20 years of experience in the life sciences domain and has helped build and scale three successful companies. He has received several company and individual awards, including Inc 500, Deloitte Fast 500, Crain’s NY Fast 50, NJBiz Fast 50, Business of the Year, SmartCEO Future 50, Top CMO, Forty Under 40, and many more.

Jasmeet Sawhney - LinkedIn

Axtria on LinkedIn

Sunil Agarwal - LinkedIn