In this interview, Nauman Shah, Global Head, Janssen Business Development, discusses the new era of collaboration and the outlook for pharma business development that will lead to future innovation.
At the heart of the pharmaceutical industry is a focus on developing and delivering medicines for some of the world’s most challenging diseases, including those that have few or no effective treatments today.
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson is committed to creating and nurturing external partnerships around scientific advances, platforms, and capabilities that address critical healthcare needs.
Janssen has a strong track record of cultivating innovation and pairing deep internal know-how with some of the most promising external innovation from around the globe.
Listen above or read the transcript below to learn more.
Rebecca Willumson:
Hey there, I'm Rebecca Willumson. I'm the Publisher of Fierce Pharma, and I'm here today with Nauman Shah, Global Head of Business Development at the Janssen: Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson. Nauman, thank you so much for joining me.
Nauman Shah:
Rebecca Willumson:
Nauman, to kick us off, tell me how is Janssen's approach to deal making different from others in the industry and maybe what are your focus areas for BD efforts?
Nauman Shah:
Yes, it's a great question to start with. We’re truly agnostic to the source of the best innovation. We're focused on finding transformational opportunities that can ultimately elevate the standard of care for patients in the areas of focus where we are playing. And, obviously, the external innovation environment plays a significant role in that effort for us.
To give you an idea, historically, just in the last five years alone, in fact, we have spent more than $60 billion in R&D. We've spent $49 billion in M&A. And on top of that, we've spent an additional $2 billion in licensing opportunities as well, spanning a number of deals. That illustrates that when we say we are truly committed to sourcing external innovation, we mean it.
As far as our areas of focus, we are currently focused on certain key areas: oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular, pulmonary hypertension, retina, and also infectious disease and vaccines. Those are our predominant areas of focus today, and we look forward to advancing innovation in each of those areas.
Rebecca Willumson:
Tell me, how are we in a new era of creative collaboration?
Nauman Shah:
First of all, I am incredibly excited about the innovation that is going on in today's world. And quite frankly, it's important for us to continue to foster that innovation as a society and certainly as an industry, because ultimately, innovation is what is going to drive the next level of cures for patients and for the diseases that we need to address. And so truly, I think we're in a new world because no one company, regardless of how big it is, regardless of how many resources it has, can solve key healthcare challenges on its own. It truly takes partnerships, value-creating partnerships, and I think the openness to partnering across boundaries to bring the best of both parties together to solve a key scientific question and deliver that transformational innovation is paramount.
Rebecca Willumson:
Tell me, how have recent pharma partnerships led to innovation and tell me what's the outlook for future deals in 2023?
Nauman Shah:
A number of our most important products, in fact, have come from the outside. Darzalex is a great example of just one opportunity like that. Xarelto's another one. These are major opportunities that truly came to fruition through partnerships that were done across company boundaries and bringing, again, the best capabilities of both parties together to fruition, to ultimately maximize a given asset and a given opportunity.
One of the things that we pride ourselves at Janssen is bringing phenomenal world-class capabilities to the table. Everything from development to manufacturing, ultimately commercialization, medical affairs, real world generation, all of these things are truly brought to the table to maximize a given opportunity. And so we pride ourselves in doing that. And more recently, we're very proud of some of the deals that we've done. One was with pipeline recently for a phase two ready asset, a highly selective oral muscarinic one antagonist that we look forward to developing for nervous system disorders.
We also just recently did a CAR-T therapy partnership with CBMG. So, we're excited about these kind of opportunities. We're also excited about bringing the full array of capabilities that we have to the table from a resourcing standpoint, whether it be equity, whether it be obviously upfronts, whether it be acquisitions and differently structured deals that are ultimately customized to each and every opportunity to enable deals to get over the finish line.
Rebecca Willumson:
I have one final question for you to close out. Tell me what are the values that make Janssen an attractive partner?
Nauman Shah:
We're guided by our credo that is truly our North Star. It illustrates our commitment to serving the needs of patients, to the mothers, the fathers, and all others who use our products. We also highlight our commitment within our credo to our employees, to our partners, to the worldwide community in which we operate, and to the health of that worldwide community, and ultimately to our shareholders. Beyond that, I think our purpose is an attractive element as well in people seeking out Janssen. And that purpose statement is simply that we blend heart, science, and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity. What a great aspiration to have. And that's truly what we are all about. So, I think the values, the capabilities, the resources we bring to the table, and ultimately the know-how, commitment to flawless execution, and our track record really make Janssen a very, very attractive partner to our external partners.
Rebecca Willumson:
That is the perfect place to end. Thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciated the conversation.
Nauman Shah:
Thank you for having me, Rebecca. It was great to be here.