Focus; Confidence; Commitment – The Building Blocks of Win-Win Partnerships 

Ipsen’s Senior Director of Global Partnering for Oncology, Madee Gooriah, is part of the team leading efforts to expand Ipsen’s oncology franchise through external partnerships at every stage of development. But in an industry marked by complexity, how do we approach identifying, evaluating, and securing partnership opportunities? Madee describes what she believes are the building blocks of shared success – for Ipsen, our partners and ultimately patients.  

1. Precision Focus  

At Ipsen we play to our strengths by taking a ‘little r & big D’ approach to research and development. By exclusively sourcing our pipeline through external innovation, we can focus our sole attention on guiding drug candidates through every stage of development. Unlike many other pharma companies of our size, we have no competing internal pipeline, meaning every partnership is a priority for us and very quickly “your babies become our babies”.  

We also focus our efforts where we can have the greatest impact. Instead of following trends we follow the science – focusing on specific indications and underserved patient populations. Big pharma often shy away from these smaller patient populations but Ipsen’s size, global capabilities and unique strategy means it is able go where others have not and, as a result, bring innovative therapies to patients with few or no existing treatments. 

2. Considered Confidence 

Drug development is an inherently risky business, so it is important that every partnership is built on a foundation of mutual trust and confidence. At Ipsen, our strength is our ability to conduct mindful risk taking, backed by confidence in our science-driven strategy. We invest early in the development – to ensure each program is set up for the best chance of success – from target validation and patient population selection to clinical trial design and submission pathways. There will always be things out of our control but with a thoughtful and efficient approach, we can be confident we are entering new therapy areas with the conviction to overcome any challenges on the way.  

3. Unparalleled Commitment  

Commitment is the guiding principle that transforms partnerships from transactions into collaborative journeys that can accelerate development and bring life changing innovation to patients. Ipsen’s size and agility means that our partners can have direct access to Ipsen’s executive leadership team, who are fully committed throughout the program lifecycle, starting right from the early stages of evaluation. To every partnership Ipsen also brings a dedicated team, handpicked for their appropriate skill set, expertise and experience, to ensure that the value derived from each partnership is maximized and patient access is expedited. 

By prioritizing shared goals, navigating challenges with confidence, and delivering on our commitments, together we can unlock the true potential of collaborative innovation.  

Madee Gooriah