THE PM360 TRAILBLAZER AWARDS 2010
PHARMA/BIOTECH COMPANY OF THE YEAR WINNER

ASTRAZENECA

AstraZeneca is not afraid to change. In a year in which traditional modes of communication were in flux and the market more challenging than ever, AstraZeneca introduced a bold new sales and marketing paradigm called Customer Driven Interaction (CDI), whose success promises to be widely influential in the industry. That’s one reason they won the 2010 Trailblazer Award for Pharma/Biotech Company of the Year.

The second reason they won the award was their commitment to employees and community during these changes. In the words of CEO David Brennan: “As we navigate our business through the challenging times ahead, I am determined that we will not lose sight of our commitment to doing the right thing, not the easy thing. We will continue to focus on delivering enduring value for our stakeholders and society.” Strong words, especially under the circumstances, but the company has by and large made good on them.

The motivation for CDI was simple: “Customers want to interact with us in different ways,” says Rich Fante, President of AstraZeneca US. Some prefer traditional meetings and relationships with the company’s expert sales representatives, but others would rather initiate the contact themselves by phone or electronic media at a time and place convenient to them. CDI addresses the needs of both groups, enabling customers to engage knowledgeable company representatives by means of an easy-access call center and to obtain 24/7 digital access to product information, samples, and resources. CDI improves customer access, enables more efficient use of sales resources, enlarges the pool of potential HCP customers, and opens new possibilities for multi-channel communication. The successful transition of Nexium to CDI in 2009 augurs wider application in the future.

Thus it is clear that AstraZeneca served its investors and customers well in 2009. But how about its own employees? One thing that surprised us, especially in view of the significant changes, was that AstraZeneca boasted one of the best working environments of any company we reviewed. It was recognized by the National Association of Female Executives, Working Mother magazine, and DiversityMBA; it was one of The Scientist’s Best Places to Work; and it received the Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award, the U.S. government’s highest recognition for supporting employees in the National Guard and Reserve—just to name a few of its citations. Our talent cultivation criterion was well satisfied.

AstraZeneca pursues its goals in patient access, civic involvement, and environmental design with comparable skill. Thus in 2009’s recession, the company increased prescriptions for needy patients by 20% while pursuing a range of charitable initiatives designed to yield the greatest benefit for each dollar invested. They emphasized prevention—of heart disease, suicide, obesity, asthma, tuberculosis, and HIV—and various kinds of education—disease “navigators” for cancer patients, HCP training, awards for young minds in psychiatry, and education for the disabled. The company supported the AstraZeneca Hope Lodge, where cancer outpatients visiting Boston stay for free. AstraZeneca also has a distinguished environmental record, dedicating its Brixham Environmental Laboratory to research on the environmental fate of pharmaceuticals and recently ranking highest among pharma companies by ClimateCounts.org. AstraZeneca made Ethisphere’s list of “World’s Most Ethical Companies” again in 2010.

All in all, we think AstraZeneca has served its stakeholders and society well, and we’re proud to name it our 2010 Trailblazer Pharma/Biotech Company of the Year. —Bruce Lacey

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