Servier

From Markets to Leadership: Building Purpose-Driven Pharma Marketing

Since the beginning of my career, I have been passionate about marketing strategy and healthcare impact. In the early years, I focused on product launches and market development in very competitive therapeutic areas, where I learned the importance of differentiation and flexibility. At Servier, I have the pleasure of overseeing marketing for the Adriatic region (Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania), which has even reinforced my convictions that marketing has to support business growth and serve patient outcomes.

My highlight was coordinating the Croatian and Slovenian Mission 70/92 campaign—a public-private partnership to raise hypertension awareness and control in hypertensive people. It only strengthened my belief that when it comes to marketing in pharma, we need to do more than just sell products—we need to drive public health outcomes. My leadership philosophy now is never to lose my sense of purpose, to be adaptable and to co-create interaction between countries and teams.

Unifying Brand Strategy with Patient-Centric, Data-Driven Execution

This is the most significant challenge and incredible opportunity in our region. My first step is creating a strategically coherent region-wide foundation on which we build everything we stand for at Servier Adriatic and what our mega brand propositions are. However, within that framework, I give each country team ownership to execute.

So, if I give you one example in hypertension, the story that we believe we can communicate—and we are communicating—about 24-hour efficacy and organ protection is a consistent message across the region. The emphasis is different, though—one country might work on generic pressure, another on patient adherence and another on position-fixed combinations given prescription behavior.

“We are not here just to promote medications but to improve lives. When you build marketing around patient outcomes, data insights and field collaboration, business success becomes the natural result—not the only objective”

This can only be achieved through constant dialogue, sharing of best practices between the countries and respecting local market realities.

One of the principal transformations I’ve been driving is instilling a patient-centric mindset in every marketing conversation—not for regulatory reasons but because it truly drives value. We use embedded home blood pressure monitoring programs and programs such as My Health Partner, literally in the background the whole time, to support patients.

Another is a focus on data-centric marketing. Whether we’re monitoring adherence with digital tools or analyzing the market share effect of fixed combinations, our decisions are increasingly based on real-time insights rather than gut instinct.

Finally, I greatly advocate field partnership—marketing should not stray far from the sales force and physicians. This is to ensure our messages are heard at the practice level, where they will mean something.

Transforming Insights into Patientcentric, Outcome-Driven Strategies

We merge formal learning—market research, surveys, CRM data—with informal learning: constant feedback from our sales force, advisory boards with KOLs and other interactions with physicians.

One very effective practice has been that of co-creating value with the physicians. For example, our Mission 70/26 effort was not just a marketing campaign—it was about partnering with the medical community to contribute to hypertension control as partners. This creates confidence and puts us out there—not just as somebody supplying drugs but helping to change the outcomes of patient lives.

I would reimagine patient education and engagement as a significant marketing pillar, not an add-on. Pharma marketing continues to be disproportionately leveraged against the HCP channel too often. While that is still important, giving power to patients—particularly in chronic diseases such as hypertension—can lead to dramatic results.

Digital tools, enhanced patient content, and stronger collaboration with medical societies can drive the creation of a fully integrated ecosystem—uniting patients, physicians, and the pharmaceutical industry in closer, more effective partnership.

Marketing with Purpose in a Regulated yet Creative Industry

For one, own compliance—it’s not something to restrict you but to believe in health care. The second is to allow creativity to flourish within that structure by listening and learning deeply about what customers need and finding authentic ways to address that through your products and services.

Third, keep a foot in the field and near patients. The better you can relate to the day-to-day realities of the treating physician and what the patient is up against, the more relevant (i.e., effective) your marketing will be.

Lastly, let’s all remember that we are ultimately about improving lives. When focused on that purpose, your work will naturally align with ethical standards and business success.