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Risk Management Trends

Dr. Kleczyk obtained her PhD in Economics from Virginia Tech in 2008 and is currently employed as the Senior Director, Custom Analytics at ImpactRx (formerly TargetRx), firm that provides pharmaceutical and biotech companies with information regarding the criteria in product choice and adoption for their brands. Among other, Dr. Kleczyk has been awarded for her diligent work by Cambridge Who’s Who, TargetRx Excellence Award, the American Business Women’s Association and the National Association of Professional Women as Dr. Kleczyk has been known and praised for her engagement in promoting women in science.

We talked to Dr. Kleczyk about her career, her paper titled “Risk Management in the Development of New Products in the Pharmaceutical Industry“, the controversial pharmaceutical research field in general and open access.

InTech: For how long have you been researching risk management in the pharmaceutical industry?

I have worked in the Pharmaceutical Consulting Industry for the past 6 years that includes working in the area of new product forecasting and risk management.

InTech: In your chapter “Risk Management in the Development of New Products in the Pharmaceutical Industry” you state that deciding which new products to develop is a major challenge for many pharmaceutical companies with an excess of opportunities, but limited resources. Is it possible that these limited resources prevent some excellent new medicines to see the light of day and cure or relieve the symptoms of a certain population sub-group suffering from rare illnesses?

I think the current ways of selecting products has become subjective and cost driven, impacting negatively the types of products that are taken to the market. Some products should be brought to the market, but due to the scares resources and a number of potentially more profitable drugs in the pipeline, they might not be available for patient use.

For example, recently, Big Pharma has decided to decrease the research finding for neuroscience drugs, as they have high financial and time research costs. This unprecedented decision might result in inadequate treatments of the growing elderly population for diseases such as depression, sleep disorders, Alzheimer, and Parkinson.

“I think the current ways of selecting products has become subjective and cost driven, impacting negatively the types of products that are taken to the market.” – Ewa Kleczyk

InTech: As you wrote, until the late 1980s, cash flows, expected returns, and net present value of income were the key variables in the decision-making process of the new drug development and investment. So according to your research, how have things changed?

The Consumer Theory and its research techniques have become an important part of the new product potential evaluation process. Understanding the product perceptions of potential consumer groups, their adoption speed and rate can help more precisely investigate the product uptake, as well as inform the investment decisions into the new drugs. However, this research should not be done in a vacuum, as this method only covers the demand aspect of the new product potential research. Joining this research with the Net Income Analysis would ensure looking at the production costs and risks, as well as the future potential sales of the product when available for use.

InTech: How would you like for your research to be perceived by risk assessment managers?

I would like my chapter to be viewed as helpful to the risk assessment managers in making new product decisions. Knowing the available evaluation methods of new product potential and knowing when to use each of the different technique should help the management in making their investment and research decisions.

 InTech: While researching this specific field, what information you came across which struck you the most?

The information that struck me the most while doing my research for this chapter was the small number of chemical molecules that become available for patient use. Only 1% researched molecules is brought to market. This finding underlines the importance of understanding the key issues of new product risk management to properly identify the chemical molecules for investment.

InTech: You are a successful researcher publishing articles in journals, books and lecturing at conferences. You are also socially active by encouraging women to pursue a career in fields such as mathematics, traditionally ruled by men. What is your perception of women in science today?

Women play a significant role in all areas in today’s world, including business, politics, academics, and sciences. It is very encouraging for many young women to know that they can be whoever they would like to be in their professional lives, as long as they work hard and are committed to their goals.

However, I think, we, the professional women, should continue mentoring and encouraging girls and young women to study mathematics, sciences, and economics, as the work is not done yet. In today’s world being a super model, reality star, and actress seems more interesting and appealing to many young women, due to greater public exposure and high financial rewards.

Promoting women in science

I think creating sponsorship or mentorship programs at educational institutions could help to promote women in sciences and business. In addition, the financial support many women receive to pursue education in these areas should continue to be distributed. The more support women get, the more likely they to follow their dreams, and become part of the scientific, political, and business cultures.

InTech: You published under the Open Access model. What is your personal opinion on unlocking scientific content to a wider audience then ever before, removing the barriers previously held by traditional scientific publishers?

Open Access Journals have revolutionized sharing of scientific information, and promoted innovation and timely dissemination of research results. Prior to the Open Access Journals, the publishing process was very lengthy, and able to reach only a limited number of readers. Today, within a couple of months (sometimes even a shorter time frame) information can be shared with a wide audience of readers. The timely research dissemination helps for quicker socialization of new concepts, as well as further improvements of researched topics.

InTech: Do you think Open Access is beneficial to all scientists and researchers?

I truly believe that the Open Access Journals are beneficial to all scientists and researchers. As mentioned above, the shorter time frame of research dissemination, and ability for sharing work with a greater audience, inspires innovation and collaboration within the scientific community. I would want to caution the journals though from publishing any documents they receive as a submission. Some of the published work is not to up to the research standards, impacting the credibility of these new venues. Greater oversight should be implemented to limit potentially low quality of work from publishing.

InTech: In terms of a more fertile, subsidised and collaborative scientific environment, how do you compare Northern America to Europe?

In the recent 30 years, the US has become the innovation centre for technology and sciences. Researchers from all over the world arrive to the US to participate in research opportunities provided by the US government as well as private companies. I believe this level of involvement is not seen in the continental Europe, although in order to compete with the US innovation, the European Union has increased research funding for European researchers to retain current and attract new talent.

InTech: What are your impressions on InTech as your Open Access publisher?

I think InTech is a respectable venue for all authors to publish their work in, and receive world-wide exposure to their research. I was very happy to see the number of scientists from different countries contacting me about my work, and sharing their perspectives on the risk management subject.

InTech: Are you satisfied with the editor’s work, the management of the publishing process and the InTech’s publishing team?

I had a wonderful experience working with the InTech Team. The attention to detail and professionalism has made the process quite simple and enjoyable. Overall, I am very delighted by the process of publishing with InTech, and have already submitted another chapter for review.

InTech: Tell us something about your future plans.

In 10 years from now, I would like to lead a market research / consulting company. Even with increased technology, informative data analysis is a necessity to making the optimal decisions for any business. With declining budgets, making the right decision has become even more important, consequently having a highly qualified team, working to help clients finding the right solutions for their business needs, will help to save money, and increase profitability of the company.

About Dr. Ewa Kleczyk:

Dr. Ewa Kleczyk

Dr. Kleczyk serves as the Senior Director, Custom Analytics at ImpactRx (formerly TargetRx). She received her PhD in Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2008, and she is a member of the Who is Who, Healthcare Business Women Association, and Eastern Economic Association. She has given presentations at several conferences including Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence Research Group and Global Conference on Business and Economics and has been published in peer and non-peer reviewed journals including Journal of Medical Marketing, Marketing Bulletin, and International Journal of Business & Economics. Dr. Kleczyk began working for TargetRx as an econometrician, and was thereafter promoted to the Director position.