Read the Conversation
Meeting highlights:
- Prioritize prevention through adult vaccination, raise awareness, and consolidate leadership in respiratory medicine.
- Patrick Eckert's focus is on establishing GSK’s presence in Oncology and Hematology, leveraging his previous track record and extensive global experience in these areas.
- Expanding access to key areas such as ovarian cancer, myelofibrosis, and HIV through partnerships with the government.
- Brazil ranks among GSK's top 10 global operations by the number of patients treated, underscoring its significance within the company's portfolio.
- 2025 Outlook: Commitment to capitalizing on opportunities in Brazil and further strengthening market leadership.
- Talent & Innovation: Emphasizing the importance of thinking outside the box and attracting the right talent to drive success.
- GSK provides a unique environment for personal development and professional challenges.
EF: As a pharmaceutical leader, what message would you send on the importance of improving access to innovations in Brazil?
PE: I would start by emphasizing the need for stronger dialogue between public and private entities in the field of healthcare. This dialogue needs to improve, and we have a unique opportunity to learn from how this collaboration has evolved over time in more established markets. In those regions, greater cooperation between the public and private sectors has led to more transparency about the future of healthcare.
For example, the industry could play a role in better showcasing what is in the pipeline and what new developments mean for public health systems and private payers. By working together, we can anticipate and prepare for upcoming innovations. This would help shift the conversation around access from a last-minute discussion to a more strategic, long-term planning process.
It is important to ensure that this approach also considers the sustainability of the system. With new innovations, there might be a need to reassess existing treatments and make decisions about which ones should remain and which may need to be phased out. This holistic view would help us build a healthcare system that balances the introduction of new advancements with the stability and sustainability of existing resources.
EF: What attracted you to GSK, and what mission have you set for yourself in this new role?
PE: GSK stands out among the major pharma players due to its broad and diverse pipeline, covering areas like vaccines, HIV, and respiratory immunology, and now making a strong return into the oncology and hematology fields. This breadth is especially appealing to me because having primarily worked in oncology and specialty sectors, I now have the chance to learn from the dynamics of other therapeutic areas, like HIV and vaccines. It is a unique opportunity at this stage of my career to expand my knowledge and skills.
Additionally, I am excited about the chance to contribute to GSK's vision of establishing itself as a biotech-oriented company, focusing heavily on immunology, respiratory, and oncology. With significant investments in its pipeline, GSK is poised for a transformation, and I believe my experience can help drive some of the mindset shifts needed to make the most of these advancements. My goal is to blend my expertise with the company’s evolving strategy to help us fully leverage our capabilities and deliver on the potential of our pipeline.
This role offers me the challenge of bringing my know-how into new areas while also deepening my understanding of different market dynamics. It is a chance to develop a more comprehensive, 360-degree view as a professional, and I see tremendous value in both contributing to and learning from this journey.
EF: What were your expectations for this year, and what priorities will be at the top of your agenda as we move into 2025? How do you envision the upcoming year in terms of performance and goals?
PE: 2024 has been another remarkable year for GSK Brazil, particularly in our key focus areas. In the vaccines sector, we have had a successful year, highlighted by the launch and consolidation of Shingrix, our vaccine for herpes zoster. We have made significant strides in raising awareness about the importance of adult vaccination, especially around shingles. Today, awareness about herpes zoster in Brazil is at its highest, which sets the stage for our 2025 goals. Next year, our focus will be on capitalizing on this awareness by improving access, especially in the private market, while also exploring opportunities with the government to expand access to the public sector.
In the respiratory field, we see a major opportunity in the speciality area, where we are introducing new technologies to strengthen our leadership. We recently achieved incorporation into both public and private systems, and our priority for 2025 will be to build on this progress, ensuring our leadership in the field while providing a better quality of life for patients with asthma, including children. This is particularly important given the environmental challenges Brazil faces, such as seasonal fires, which exacerbate respiratory conditions. Climate change is placing additional pressure on us to ensure that our treatments are readily available across Brazil, especially for those most at risk.
Turning to oncology and hematology, we have had one important launch in 2024 for first-line endometrial cancer treatment, reinforcing our portfolio in gynaecological cancer. This is an area with significant unmet medical needs, as there have been few treatment options available. Our reception in the medical community has been very encouraging, and our goal for 2025 is to further expand access to this innovation. We are also preparing for a launch in the hematology space with a new treatment for myelofibrosis, a condition that has been significantly undertreated in Brazil. Our new therapy offers a substantial improvement over existing options, and we aim to ensure that it reaches both the private and public markets as quickly as possible to meet the urgent demand.
Lastly, in the area of HIV, GSK remains a leader and a close partner with the Brazilian government. This administration has shown a strong commitment to advancing care for people living with HIV, and we are working closely with them to introduce the latest treatment options. Our focus is on providing innovative therapies that offer greater convenience and improve the quality of life, with fewer doses and a more normal life experience for patients. As most current treatments are already supplied by GSK, we are eager to see the next generation of therapies incorporated into the public health system.
Overall, 2025 looks to be a year of consolidation, expansion, and continued collaboration across all of these fronts, with a focus on bringing new innovations to the market and making them accessible to those who need them most.
EF: How would you rate the level of awareness and recognition of the importance of innovation within the public sector in Brazil?
PE: I believe that the public sector in Brazil still represents a big opportunity when it comes to awareness and understanding of the importance of innovation. There is a significant role for us, as an industry, to play alongside medical societies and patient advocacy groups in helping to bridge this gap.
Together with our industry partners, medical societies, and patient advocacy groups, we can work to share knowledge about recent advancements, the evolving landscape, and the benefits these innovations can bring. It ties back to the need for open and transparent discussions with payers, including government bodies, about what existing treatments may be phased out and why new options should be introduced. This dialogue should not only be medical but should also focus on providing a clearer understanding of the short-, medium-, and long-term benefits for patients and the potential budget impact for the government.
While data supporting this approach exists outside of Brazil, it’s important to generate local data as well. This would allow us to present a continuous history of outcomes and benefits, helping to maintain awareness through political transitions. Building a robust local evidence base ensures that future governments have a clear understanding of the value of investing in innovative treatments, ultimately making more informed decisions for the benefit of patients and the sustainability of the healthcare system.
EF: A couple of years ago, GSK announced its mission to impact more than 2.5 billion lives over the next 10 years. How do you see the role of your operations in Brazil contributing to this goal? What strategies or initiatives could be implemented to help achieve this target more quickly?
PE: Yes, this ambition remains strong, and Brazil plays a significant role in helping to achieve this goal. As one of the largest operations globally— Brazil ranks among GSK's top 10 global operations by the number of patients treated, underscoring its significance within the company's portfolio.—our impact is substantial. This is largely due to our success in the past few years in integrating many of our treatments into the public system, often through Public Development Partnerships (PDPs) or technology transfers. Our work through PDPs has been a major contributor, and it is one of the reasons I joined GSK—to learn from their expertise in this area. We are now expanding our efforts because we see opportunities not only to provide immediate access to innovation for patients in the public system but also to support local capacity building. By transferring knowledge and know-how, we help public entities in Brazil become more self-sufficient in producing vaccines and other products, which can lead to reduced costs over time.
Looking forward, we aim to leverage this experience with new technologies in vaccines and HIV, following the same successful model. Brazil's large population, much of which depends on the public healthcare system, means that if we can address their needs efficiently within a year to a year and a half, we can make a significant contribution toward GSK's global goal of reaching 2.5 billion lives.
EF: How do you manage your team and keep them engaged and motivated? Additionally, what do you consider to be the essential skill set for building a winning team?
PE: There are a few key factors that I believe are crucial for managing a successful team. First and foremost is the willingness to continuously learn. GSK has built its legacy on adapting to change, and as we enter new markets with different dynamics, leaders need to be open to learning from diverse perspectives.
This curiosity must extend to welcoming individuals like myself, who come from different backgrounds and bring unique knowledge that can help us shorten our learning curve in these new areas. If we fail to create an environment where newcomers feel valued and empowered to share their expertise, we risk missing out on valuable opportunities.
Leaders must recognize that we will not have all the necessary internal knowledge for the new fields we're entering. We need to create an environment where new hires feel at home quickly and have the space to guide us on how to adapt our systems and training approaches for these markets.
EF: Why do you think $1 invested in Brazil is more valuable than anywhere else?
PE: In Brazil, we have a unique opportunity to experiment and innovate because the market is incredibly diverse—almost like having multiple markets within one. Our private market is substantial, and comparable in size to Spain, allowing us to test ideas before rolling them out elsewhere. Additionally, our public market, with its universal coverage, is one of the largest in the world, providing a platform for further experimentation and expansion.
GSK has recently reorganized by market type, which enhances visibility for initiatives we test in Brazil. This structure allows us to quickly adapt successful strategies for similar markets globally.
GSK recognizes a significant unmet need to expand access to innovations within public healthcare. We aim to reduce the time it typically takes to introduce new treatments to the public sector, a challenge that affects not only Brazil but many emerging markets. Innovations can often take double or even triple the time to reach the public compared to established markets like Europe or the U.S.
This context positions Brazil as an ideal testing ground. If we can derive insights and learnings from our experiments here, we can then apply those lessons to other regions, ultimately improving access to healthcare innovations across emerging markets.
EF: Do you have a final message for our readers?
PE: I would like to extend an invitation to anyone considering a career in the pharmaceutical industry: if you are interested in developing yourself in a company that offers multiple opportunities to step outside your comfort zone, GSK is the place to be. That is why I joined—because you can start as a specialist in one area and explore three or four additional fields beyond your expertise. This unique opportunity allows you to broaden your horizons and try new things.
GSK values this approach, leveraging insights from various markets to enhance our effectiveness in providing access to patients, whether through vaccines, HIV treatments, or speciality oncology solutions. We are currently undergoing significant transformation, making this an exciting time to join us. If you're looking for a chance to expand your career, now is the perfect moment to consider GSK.
