EUCOPE Member Spotlight: Q&A with Organon

Every month, EUCOPE spotlights a member company and the great work they’re doing to advance the life sciences industry and drive innovation to serve patients better. In March, we spoke with Krzysztof (Kris) Wojciechowski, Executive Director, EUCAN Public Policy Lead, Organon.

Kris joined Organon in late 2020, 6 months before the spin from MSD, helping to build public policy function for the region. He spent last 20 years working for life science industry across number of therapeutical areas. Kris is passionate about patient access and health outcomes, healthcare system performance indicators, innovative financing mechanisms and scientific breakthroughs. Lawyer by education, he lives in Brussels

 

Tell us about your organisation and its mission and how you drive innovation internally?

Organon is a global healthcare company focused on improving the health of women throughout their lives.  We believe in a better and healthier every day for every woman and our mission is to deliver impactful medicines and solutions for a healthier every day.  Organon’s portfolio consists of three pillars—women’s health, biosimilars, and established brands and comprises more than 60 products.  With approximately 9,500 employees, we have a commercial presence in 58 markets and supply over 140 markets around the world.

Our goal is to deliver solutions for the healthcare issues that matter most to her, today and every day, and our employees are united in our drive to better support the health of women across the globe.  We understand that when women rise, we all rise — and that when women are healthy and empowered, so too are their families and communities.

How do your organisation’s activities help patients now and into the future?

We see a significant need for change but we also see that there is a significant opportunity to work in partnership with Governments, with healthcare practitioners and with all key stakeholders to collaborate to improve this crucial area for the benefit of women across the world.

We are committed to:

• Listening and understanding – we know that women are not being heard and they’re not being supported – it’s time to listen, to hear, to understand and act.
• Identifying unmet needs – we know there are issues that appear small but have a huge impact on women’s healthcare, so we need to identify these needs and develop solutions to meet these needs.
• Partnership – we won’t solve this issue if we tackle it alone. We need to bring together experts but also policymakers and healthcare providers. And yes, the private sector also has a major role to play – we are a community of problem solvers and we are at a unique point of time that demands urgency and action in moving forward to tackle some of the challenges facing women across the world with new solutions.

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the life sciences industry today?

I think the key challenge facing all of us in the Life Sciences Industry is how we can work in partnership with Governments to ensure investment in areas of unmet medical need is prioritised.  Health systems the world over have responded with incredible pace to the COVID-19 pandemic both in terms of funding and realignment of services.  Unfortunately, we have also seen other elements of healthcare support deprioritised or paused and this is going to be a challenge for everyone in the sector in the coming years.  However we saw the power of partnership throughout the pandemic in terms of Governments, stakeholders and industry working together to find solutions and there is an opportunity to continue this approach as healthcare systems are rebuilt and reconfigured.

What are the major health policy issues and themes that you are most focused on in 2022?

In one word – equality.  We believe that health equity is fundamental to achieving gender equity and that healthy women are the backbone of a thriving, stable and resilient society.  When she is healthy, she prospers and so does her community and her society, for generations to come.  We know that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women, to the extent that their very health hangs in the balance. Women have worked hard to advance, but the pandemic is unraveling these hard-fought gains.  This also has a significant impact on national economies. One of key projects we are focusing on in 2022 is what is the health gap in women health across Europe, and what policies could be introduced to close this gap.   We have seen an increased focus on this area and the announcement of strategies to tackle this area but it’s important that this translates into action if we are to see improvements in women’s health and well-being across Europe.

What attracted you to join EUCOPE and how can we help you achieve your business goals?

I have worked with a broad range of trade associations over the past 20 + years. What is unique about EUCOPE is that it provides the perfect mix of EU affairs and country perspectives. Organon is a medium-size organisation and we are very lean and agile. We appreciate EUCOPE’s willingness to explore new areas of engagement if it is important to its member companies as well as the swift and agile way it operates. In terms of our own engagement, we will be focusing our collaboration on closing the gap in women’s health across Europe, on supply sustainability and pharmaceutical regulation, especially the aspects related to pricing, but also health and the environment.

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For more information about EUCOPE membership

Contact our Business Development Manager Dante Di Iulio diiulio@eucope.org