Company Report: EMD Serono Canada
Cutting-Edge Cures EMD Serono Canada blows out the candles on its 20th anniversary while illuminating innovative drug discovery and delivery

EMD Serono has a close relationship with Merck Serono

EMD Leadership team at January 2010 AGM Awards gala

EMD Serono Canada is involved in the community

The Toronto-based division of Merck Serono adeptly navigates the often turbulent waters of the biotech pharmaceutical industry via a three-pronged approach: patients, portfolio and employees. President and Managing Director Deborah Brown unequivocally positions patients at the pinnacle of the pyramid. 

“We are very disciplined in our approach. We have a laser-like focus on our customers,” says Brown.  

To serve those patients, EMD Serono specializes in integrating technology-driven drug therapies with an escalating emphasis on patient care. Responsible for the ground-breaking advances and care, EMD Serono employees are encouraged to find new ways of improving the lives of the patients they serve.

MediaCorp Canada named the company as one of the Greater Toronto Area’s Top 90 Employers for 2010. And with imminent product launches and lifecycle management, EMD Serono envisions an even brighter, healthier future.

THE EVOLUTION
Once a $10 million a year company with a workforce of 20, EMD Serono Canada has evolved into a $125 million enterprise, which is now staffed by 160 employees. The company is continually looking to bolster its existing products and research while monitoring external opportunities through mergers and acquisitions.  

“We utilize two buckets,” says Brown. “We’re constantly looking to add new products and services while exacting as much value from our pipeline as we can.” 

EMD Serono’s origin spawned from fertility drugs in the early 1990s and has since expanded to therapeutic pharmaceuticals targeting neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) and metabolic endocrinology. 

EMD Serono champions its neurodegenerative disease franchise as its largest and its MS treating Rebif medication as one of the leading options in the U.S. and the leading option globally.  

EMD Serono holds the distinction as the only company whose growth hormone is approved for three dissimilar diseases: growth hormone deficiency in children and adults, HIV-associated wasting and in the US, short bowel syndrome. 

THE VISION
Diversifying its portfolio, The company has more recently delved into oncology,  and in addition to products it has internationally to treat colorectal cancer, aims to treat breast and lung cancers. The company is particularly excited about an upcoming launch of a new oral tablet for MS. And in the future, EMD Serono will also focus its attention on Parkinson’s Disease. 

EMD Serono is supplementing its pharmaceuticals with patient care services. They offer injection training for new patients to ensure they are able to self-inject. And last September, the company launched EMD Consumer Healthcare, for non-prescription natural health products. 

“The plan is for consumer healthcare products to eventually grow to almost the same size as the prescription pharmaceutical business,” says Brown.  

Comparatively, EMD Serono Canada is a young affiliate, and Brown believes the company has matured to the stage where they are an attractive partner to other companies who want to co-promote or enter the Canadian market, and thus, they are pursuing more licensing and partnerships. 

“Staying to the core of what we do is important,” says Brown. “Our expertise is supporting healthcare providers and the patients they serve in highly specialized niches, and competing against small and large companies in this space .”   

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES
EMD Serono, as do all biotech pharmaceutical companies, operates in a highly regulated marketplace that is becoming increasingly complex.  Even after approval, new drugs don’t always have a long commercial life; last year, EMD Serono pulled the psoriasis drug Raptiva from the market over safety concerns.  Although it was difficult for physicians and their patients, their customers were largely supportive of the decision as it was based on patient safety.  

A successful pharmaceutical company invests 20 percent of sales into development. EMD Serono invests anywhere from 20 to 27 percent of sales, generally around 25 percent. With approximately €$1.5 billion worth of critical mass needed to develop new drugs, a company must generate more than 4 billion in sales. As operating and developing costs increase over time along with increased regulation, the industry is likely to see more consolidation, EMD Serono sees future potential in not only their pipeline in oncology, autoimmune and neurodegenerative disorders, but also the ability to predict optimal responders to new drugs in terms of both efficacy and safety. Essentially, the strategy is to personalize medicine, much like other businesses do by tailoring their products to the customers instead of using a one-size-fits-all approach. 

“The goal is to focus on therapeutic specialty niches and build our products for these patients with unmet medical needs. Healthcare providers strongly appreciate the customer focus,” says Brown.  

HEALTHY INSIDE & OUT
EMD Serono enjoys a close relationship with its affiliate company Merck Serono in Geneva, Switzerland and the founding company Merck KGaA in Germany. The corporation has a strong focus on corporate responsibility and as part of that, practicing green living. 

On a micro level, EMD Serono Canada formed a ‘Green Team,’ responsible for instituting environmentally friendly habits. The company has produced food waste audits, is working with business partners to green cart food waste, prohibits products like Styrofoam and encourages the use of company-supplied stainless steel water bottles.   

On a macro level, all three offices, with the leadership of CEO Karl-Ludwig Kley, have undertaken numerous global initiatives. A new glass tower office in Geneva employs a geothermal heating system produced by pipes running beneath Lake Geneva. And not long ago, the company sponsored a nautical excursion to an Antarctic shipwreck to clean up waste from early scientific expeditions, and to create awareness, with some lucky employees participating in the project 

EMD Serono and its global network also undertake ‘lighthouse projects.’ The projects further the company’s commitment to corporate responsibility. The corporation is working on an international desalination filtration system to purify the world’s water and operates mini-mobile clinical labs in emerging countries where the demand and need is outstanding. 

“A sustainable operation is very important to our CEO. We benefit from the German and Swiss influence, countries that committed to green ideas a long time ago, and this really resonates with our local employees and our community,” says Brown. 

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