Takeda Strengthens U.S. Business Operations
Ramona Sequeira, President of Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., is transforming the centuries’ old Japanese pharmaceutical company to lead in the United States in the 21st century.
PV: Where are you taking Takeda as a company?
Sequeira: It is an exciting time for Takeda and to see some of the successes we’ve had with some of our recent launches, particularly Entyvio for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, and Brintellix for the treatment of major depressive disorder in the United States. It’s clear these products are touching an unmet need in the market. Our goal to focus on adding the most value for patients in the IBD space and MDD space and continue the good work we have done with our broader portfolio across GI, diabetes, and gout. Our business is healthy and our products are touching a need with customers. We’re excited about being able to put more focus on our core portfolio and continue to deliver value to patients.
With both Entyvio and Brintellix, the feedback we’re getting from providers and from patients is that these products are truly meeting an unmet need in their practices. We want to be able to build on this momentum.
Since I came on board with Takeda, we have been making very deliberate choices on where we’re going to invest and where we’re not going to invest. This focus and those deliberate choices are what is going to help the company continue to be successful, both globally and in the United States.
PV: What is behind the effort to create two new business units?
Sequeira: On the heels of our successful Entyvio launch we have formed a specialty business unit. We have brought in Stephanie Brown to head up that unit. This is an effort to consolidate all of our commercialization activities in the specialty area to be able to meet the needs of customers and patients. We also formed the general business unit. We brought in Tom Gibbs to head up this unit.
Previously at Takeda, sales and marketing were not integrated across the value chain and that’s not what our customers need from us. In the United States, our customers are very integrated and they need us to be thinking about how to best serve them across all of our commercialization efforts — from marketing to sales to evidence generation to access and reimbursement. We have to make sure all of our strategies are integrated. Forming these business units helps us to have a much more integrated approach to our marketing.
PV: In what ways is Takeda now more integrated, and what can customers expect?
Sequeira: When we looked at providers and health systems, we saw that there was a great deal of integration across primary care, specialty care, hospitals, and care pathways. When we examined the way that the health system is evolving in the United States, we saw that providers and payers are taking an integrated and a patient-centric approach. Taking a patient-centric approach and working with our customers to help support their patients and deliver better outcomes will help us grow in the United States.
PV: How do these new units help Takeda to better meet patients’ needs?
Sequeira: The business units are helping us to get a much clearer, more direct line of sight to the patient and be much more patient-centric in our commercialization activities. Putting the patient first is a big focus within Takeda. In fact, at Takeda, everything we do follows a specific algorithm: a patient-trust-reputation business model.
We look at what the right things are for the patient, what the right things are to do to build trust with customers, and what the right things are for our reputation.
Ultimately, these elements help and enhance our business. For me this a reflection of a strong philosophy at Takeda and of our culture.
Creating these business units and integrating our commercialization plans allows us to more effectively put the patient at the center and focus on patients’ needs across all of our activities. (PV)
