In this issue...
Print articleBiotechnology
Pharmaceutical companies
desire to break the mould
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UK is the leader for the biopharmaceutical sector |
Development experts from the drug industry, the new Board members helped to support the management team as it transitioned the business. Upon the retirement of Prof Garland, the succession was assured when Dr Paul Nicholson was appointed to the Chairman?s role from amongst the more recent appointments to the Board. By these means Executive Search was able to help CAT assure the continuation of its leadership team and underpinned an important transition that accelerated value creation.
Ark Therapeutics began as the commercial vehicle that exploited a discovery in the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor area from the laboratories of Professor John Martin at University College London and Professor Seppo Yla Hertualla at the University of Kuopio, Finland. The academic Founders raised seed capital from Merlin Ventures, who retained Korn/Ferry to help in the appointment of the CEO, Dr Nigel Parker.
Parker worked closely with the Founders to rapidly expand and diversify the product portfolio and build a management team that was tightly run and cost effective. Executive search played a role here too and presented candidates for several different management roles. These people combined the excellent training inherent in the UK?s major pharmaceutical companies with the desire to break the mould and build a different kind of biotech company that emphasised thoughtful yet urgent commercial exploitation of the discovery assets.
| Two emerging biopharma businesses have been taken as examples to study in terms of the human elements that have led to commercial success |
Parker could see the potential that could arise from the novelty in the emerging candidate molecules and the possibility that the company could commercialise several new drugs each of which was unique in its mode of action. By the combination of expanding the product portfolio and management team and executing significant venture financing rounds, Parker ensured there were adequate cash resources and impetus to drive the development projects quickly and boldly whilst Executive search brought in the necessary functional people expertise in a phased plan that tracked the business need. Following a successful fl otation in 2004, the company now has the cash resources to pursue several late-stage development molecules through to the market and each of these is a promising therapeutic that addresses an un-met medical need.
Most recently Search is being used to identify and introduce an additional non-executive Director to further strengthen the Board led by the Chairman, Mr Dennis Turner. In keeping with the entrepreneurial drive of the company, candidates for the Directorship include established figures in the North American biotech industry who have personally been through the challenges of creating a successful business. These individuals can readily appreciate the strategic and tactical challenges faced by the Ark and its Board. They would also be well placed to guide the management team as it engages with such challenges as entering into the North American marketplace.
These real business situations confirm the critical importance of finding a CEO for an emerging business whose skills match the main elements of the business plan. He or she sets the agenda for the enterprise and brings priorities and values to the way it implements the plan. It is essential that the leader is highly knowledgeable and effective in those aspects of the business that build commercial value for the investors. By maintaining a sense of urgency and a clear view of the objectives, the team is led to success.
There is an argument that suggests that certain senior people have special skills that are critical for particular phases of growth and that realizing this is important for that individual, the Board and the company as a whole. The Board, and particularly the Chairman, should give time and attention to the human factors even in a company with just a handful of employees. Experienced Executive Search Consultants can help in these considerations since they have accumulated a wealth of knowledge that reduces the risks associated with introducing external talent.
Innovative assessment techniques are being developed that exploit online techniques to probe behaviours. These assessment tools help predict behaviours by independent means and also bring insight into how a potential manager might perform in the role. The assessment is independent of interview and represents a new and complementary method of evaluation that underpins the selection process and helps in the confirmation of the successful candidate.
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