A Partnership Q&A with EVERSANA and Shorla Pharma

As industry and patient needs progress beyond traditional commercialization models, new models are needed to deliver products to patients quicker, especially when launching in international markets. 

Still asking yourself how to execute on a global pharmaceutical product launch? EVERSANA has the answer to this question and others that you’ll have when choosing a commercialization partner.  

In this Q&A, EVERSANA’s Mike Ryan, Executive Vice President, EMEA, and Sharon Cunningham, CEO and Cofounder of Shorla Pharma, answer questions about how Shorla Pharma is bypassing the barriers of traditional commercialization models to launch its oncology portfolio globally with EVERSANA. 

What qualities should you look for in a commercial services partner when preparing for commercialization? 

Sharon: Shorla Pharma is a specialty pharmaceutical company (headquartered in Ireland with an office in Cambridge, Massachusetts) that develops and commercializes innovative oncology products for women’s and pediatric cancers. It was incredibly important to us that we find a partner that shares our vision and the “patient first” mentality. The patients’ needs are always at the heart of our innovation and ensure that we stay on track to deliver medicines and provide a significant clinical impact.  

Under the terms of the agreement with EVERSANA, we maintain ownership as well as all financial, regulatory, legal, regulatory and manufacturing responsibilities of the product, and EVERSANA then receives the exclusive rights to support our commercialization efforts. It was clear to us from very early on in our discussions that EVERSANA was in tune with what we were about and what we were trying to achieve.  

How does EVERSANA foster partnerships to help products reach their potential value? 

Mike: You know, it sounds a little clichéd, but the way to success in these types of engagements is dialogue — and dialogue doesn’t mean just talking; it means listening carefully as well. What was great about the Shorla situation was the joint desire to help patients, number one; and then number two, Sharon was able to give us a really clear vision of how she wanted to approach the U.S. market and what the key advantages of her products were. We’re always looking for partners that are open to dialogue and to interesting ways of thinking about things and, most importantly of all, that singular vision to get it done quickly and efficiently.  

What should companies expect during the process of looking for the right commercialization partner? 

Sharon: It’s a very detailed, drawn-out process, but it is so, so crucial, as we are putting our destiny into the hands of EVERSANA. The partnership is intended to support our oncology innovations with commercialization expertise and infrastructure to ensure successful long-term access to treatments for patients.  

We know other vendors have the capabilities required to support us in competency, strategy, medical market, access and financial; but order-takers can do those things. What was more important to us was the process, and that was a really important indication of the future. The chemistry between us and our partners during collaboration, the level of engagement, and the flexibility that EVERSANA was offering us was key in enabling us to do what we wanted to do so we could make changes and learn along the way together. And that engagement, support and ongoing understanding is key to the long-term success of this partnership. 

How is partnering with EVERSANA different from any other commercialization model on the market? 

Mike: We have a responsibility as an industry to continue to innovate, and that’s at the heart of why EVERSANA offers an alternative model to commercialize without massive infrastructure.  

EVERSANA is a multinational organization that is dedicated primarily to bringing patients new therapies as quickly as possible. We do that by offering an integrated platform of services designed to allow companies, like Shorla, to access our experienced personnel and all of the services that we can to bring a product to market. Our sophisticated team of highly regulated partners understands how to navigate a market that, at times, has lagged in utilizing technology. So, having the ability to leverage people who can launch many products in different ways builds flexibility in our partners’ global commercialization strategy.  

With our end-to-end model, EVERSANA™ COMPLETE Commercialization, we look at the specific needs of an individual organization and their patients and customize strategies to meet these needs. And again, most importantly, our partners benefit from a product staff that is a seamless addition to their team. By interacting with patients and HCPs through a centralized, single source, we can have the right people in the right place at the right time.  

What are the benefits of partnering with EVERSANA? 

Sharon: The idea is that our organizations are a hybrid organization that combines Shorla personnel with EVERSANA, which designs their personnel and infrastructure, so that we acquire capabilities that are most critical to build and drive our business. That allows us to create efficiencies and reduce our implementation risk by leveraging their expertise and experience in the industry, and it will allow a gradual ramp-up of our organization here in the U.S. as more products are launched.  

Mike: We have people in our organization who are highly experienced in both pharma and as service providers. We have a responsibility to the patients as well as our clients to ensure that their experience is respected and that it is channeled. We’re acutely conscious that partners are putting their future in our hands.  

Part of taking our partnerships seriously is listening to client concerns. For Shorla Pharma, we guided conversations around commercialization, and it was easy to see that this was going to be a great partnership with them. There’s always this danger, particularly in these types of forums, that you’re trying to be too positive about these things, but this genuinely was a real exchange of ideas between peers to do something good and to do something better. 

Watch the full conversation here, and learn about our global commercialization solutions.