MikaelAhlfors / Keksi Agency via City of Helsinki

Oct 6, 2021

Key take-aways from Nordic Big Pharma Reverse Pitching Event in September 2021

Startup do‘s and don’ts when approaching big pharma

The first-ever Nordic Big Pharma Reverse Pitching Event took place virtually on 15 September, 2021, followed by 48 one-on-one meetings between health startups from the region and big pharma companies. The pharma companies were impressed with the Nordic collaboration potential right now.

The reverse pitching event came free of charge for the participants which were quite numerous: all and all, 283 people from over 20 countries had registered for the event. The event was organized by Health Capital Helsinki in collaboration with Amgen, Pfizer, Takeda, HealthTech Nordic and Health Founders from Estonia.

The event kicked off with 10-minute reverse pitches by the sponsoring pharma companies: in the pitches, they presented their offering and opened up some of their special innovation needs. After the presentations, there was a Q&A session, followed by pre-booked one-on- one meetings (48 in total) where startups talked with the pharma companies.

The event provided an amazing opportunity for startups, scaleups, researchers and pharma industry to get introduced and initiate collaboration, believes Director Juha Paakkola from Health Capital Helsinki.

“During the event, we got clear insights from big pharma: their current focus areas, ways of collaboration, and advice on how to get connected,” says Paakkola, adding that also interesting case examples surfaced where collaboration had opened new doors and paths to the startups.

Rooted on trust, driven by values

All three big pharma corporations were unanimous about the two fundamentals that any and all potential startup partners must hold: trust and shared values. According to the trio, the focus must always be on benefiting the patient and improving care. Given this context, big pharma is keen on early access to latest innovative solutions.

Furthermore, the three big pharma companies have a wealth of expertise in dealing with all kinds of startups and were willing to offer some do’s and don’ts for those innovators looking to collaborate with the major players of the industry.

Getting the win-win-win situation

The starting point, of course, is very positive: all three companies confirmed that they’re always interested in partnerships – it’s just a matter of getting the win-win-win situation, with the pharma company, startup and the patient all benefiting from the collab.

“Because partnerships can be so demanding, trust is the most important element in a partnership. A shared agreement on a common vision is crucial,” says John Gordon, Digital Innovation Lab Lead for Pfizer.

Trust is the most important element in a partnership.

Be prepared to customize

Another thing to remember is that partnership is rarely one-on-one: it’s all about the network. Being prepared to work with a range of operators is a must.

Startups with a fresh innovation may be convinced they have the ultimate be-all-end-all solution, but the three pharma companies caution against overconfidence. The so-called “ready-made solutions” are rare:

“Be prepared to customize your solution,” says Hannes Toivanen, Strategic Partnerships Lead at Takeda’s Nordic Innovation Centre, while adding that, in most cases, transformative tech, people and teams is what the big pharma companies are after.

Know the healthcare system

Big pharma is also attracted to startups that know their way around the industry in general. Niilo Färkkilä, Country Director, Finland and Baltics, at Amgen points out that startups who are connected to the healthcare system in some way have a leg up in the race.

“If you know clinicians and patients, that really helps to get things moving,” he says.

Another “don’t” from all three: don’t expect to know the end-game beforehand. Quite often in the pharmaceutical industry, one changes course over time, Toivanen points out.

“It is a high-risk arena, after all. You need to manage your expectations, because nothing is ever fast with big pharma.”

If you know clinicians and patients, that really helps to get things moving.

MikaelAhlfors / Keksi Agency via City of Helsinki

“In most cases, transformative tech, people and teams is what the big pharma companies are after.”

Who are you pitching to?

This is a no-no, too: Don’t be too general in your pitch.

“Position your innovation in the context of the pharma company you’re pitching to,” says Gordon.

The way to fight coming off too all-over-the-place is bringing data. Appropriate data which proves, say, acceptance by the healthcare community, goes a long way to convince the pharma companies.

“Be ready for tough questions and back your statements up with data,” Toivanen says, adding that big pharma has whole R&D teams armed with PhDs who are eager to test your mettle.

Data links with the over-all future of the healthcare system, as well.

“We’re headed towards value-based healthcare, and we need to use data to identify those patients who are in a greater risk,” says Färkkilä, adding that skilled partners are needed in this effort.

Be ready for tough questions and back your statements up with data.

Nordics & Baltics: hotbed for innovation

Meeting the startups, the big pharma trio was suitably impressed with the current Nordic collaboration potential. Juha Paakkola believes that this is the perfect platform for great things:

“Nordics and Baltics are one of the world’s startup and innovation hot spots and really the place to be for global corporations. There is tremendous potential in collaboration between startups and big pharma.”

Text: Sami J. Anteroinen

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Startup do‘s and don’ts when approaching big pharma

Rooted on trust, driven by values

Getting the win-win-win situation

Be prepared to customize

Know the healthcare system

“In most cases, transformative tech, people and teams is what the big pharma companies are after.”

Who are you pitching to?

Nordics & Baltics: hotbed for innovation

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Startup do‘s and don’ts when approaching big pharma

Rooted on trust, driven by values

Getting the win-win-win situation

Be prepared to customize

Know the healthcare system

“In most cases, transformative tech, people and teams is what the big pharma companies are after.”

Who are you pitching to?

Nordics & Baltics: hotbed for innovation

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