Tweet
Session 302
Breaking Alliance Barriers: Upgrading to New Lenses
Discovery and development collaborations between biopharma companies can be complex given the known cultural differences that tend to exist between large pharmaceutical companies and small biotechs working together to develop compounds. Moving into a world where (companion) diagnostic development can also be required in parallel, the complexity likely increases even further.
Aside from cultural differences between large pharmaceutical and small biotech companies, diagnostic companies add another dimension to cultural diversity which needs focused attention in the form of alliance management. Diversity lends itself to program enrichment through leveraging different perspectives. This recognition for creative planning and problem solving, while ensuring clarity around the roles, responsibilities and interdependencies of the broader development program, is critical upfront to simplify the complexity.
This session will be facilitated through use of a fictitious case study paired with a set of guiding questions. Tables will explore various vantage points of the multiple parties and delve into issues that may be encountered over the course of the alliance. The discussion will focus on thinking through how these issues can be proactively identified and resolved to allow the science of development to proceed unimpeded.
Key takeaways include:
- Deepening understanding of the various viewpoints and motivators of the multiple parties involved in complex alliance infrastructures
- How alliance management can proactively identify issues and develop mitigation strategies in such cases, which could otherwise lead to impediments to the alliance functioning, if not actively managed
- Lessons learned from the groups' collective experience
Speakers:
Angela Bylancik, CA-AM
Executive Director, BD&L, Global Alliance Management
Novartis
Angela Bylancik CLP, CA-AM joined the pharmaceutical industry in 1984 as a sales representative for Hoffmann-LaRoche. She worked for Roche for 17 years holding positions in Market Research, in-line Marketing, and New Product Planning. In 2001 Ms. Bylancik joined Novartis as the Product Director for the Respiratory drug Foradil® and took on the role of Alliance Manager when the product was licensed to Schering-Plough in 2002. From 2002 to 2009, Ms. Bylancik held various roles in New Product Commercialization and US BD&L including Alliance Manager and Negotiator. In 2009 Ms. Bylancik joined the Novartis Global BD&L group as an Executive Director of Alliance Management. Since 2015, Ms. Bylancik has focused on the Neuroscience Collaboration between Novartis and Amgen. Ms. Bylancik holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.
Lawana Dumas, CA-AM
Director, Strategic Alliances
Merck & Co
Lawana is a director of alliance management at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) where she and her team manage oncology clinical research collaborations. Prior to joining Merck, Lawana held positions of increasing responsibility at GSK and Johnson and Johnson in the areas of in-line marketing, new product planning, and global business strategy and operations.
Lawana earned her MBA from the University of Pennsylvania the Wharton School, and BS in marketing & managerial law and public policy from Syracuse University.
Lawana is CA-AM certified from the Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals (ASAP).
Ellen Locker, CA-AM
Executive Director, MRL Strategic Alliances
Merck & Co
Ellen currently heads Strategic Alliances at Merck Research Laboratories (MRL) where she and her team manage global research and development alliances.
A long term Merck employee, Ellen has had the opportunity to advance cross divisionally throughout the organization from Finance to European Operations to Human Resources to Marketing.Earlier in her career, she embraced an expatriate assignment in Europe, learning the importance of flexing her leadership style to bridge cultural and functional differences.Before joining Alliance Management, Ellen led an alliance market research team to provide strategic decision support for the Merck/Schering Plough Cholesterol Partnership in Europe.
Ellen has led the MRL Alliance Management team since 2012, with the privilege of growing her team to ensure the alliance portfolio is managed in a skilled and professional manner.
Ellen has a passion for seeing the external world through partnering; has been a member of Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals for many years and is currently serving on the Program Committee for the September 2018 ASAP BioPharma conference.
Lori Tomassian
Director, BD&L Alliance Management
Novartis
Lori Tomassian is currently a Director, BD&L Alliance Management within Novartis Oncology, where she focuses on relationship management of late stage oncology drug development and commercialization.
Lori most recently served as Director of Operations in the Oncology BD&L group. Prior to that, Lori spent 5 years within the Cell and Gene Therapy CAR-T program working on the Novartis- University of Pennsylvania joint development program in project management and clinical functions leading to the successful US and EU submissions and approvals for Kymriah® in relapsed/ refractory pediatric and young adult ALL.
Lori holds a B.S. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of California Berkeley, an M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from The Johns Hopkins University and is currently pursuing an Executive M.B.A. from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.