Solving unexpected challenges for a Japanese biotech firm

A great example of how an interim placement can prove invaluable.

Background

A Japanese biotech start-up headquartered in the USA had made a significant investment in a clinical development programme with a view to securing FDA approval, but all was not going according to plan and it was not clear why progress had stalled.

Our brief was to find a senior interim with life sciences and pharma experience and strategic medical and clinical insight, who could refresh and revise the direction of the development programme. They would also have responsibility for leading the US team that would deliver it.

Initially, this looked like a fairly straightforward brief. However, as the assignment unfolded it became clear that there was more going on behind the scenes than met the eye. The team on the ground was not operating efficiently and required some reorganisation to effectively deliver what was required.

It’s in these types of situations that interims really come into their own.

Talentmark’s Solution

Our interim quickly alerted the parent company’s senior management team in Japan that there was an issue and briefed them accordingly. They then gave her responsibility to resolve the problem and get the business back on track.

This is also a good example of how interims sometimes have to roll up their sleeves and get to grips with an issue that was not in the original brief. It’s in these types of situations that interims really come into their own as they have the strategic insight and experience to be able to identify, analyse and resolve unexpected challenges.