The managing director of the Spanish affiliate of one of France’s most exciting and ambitious mid-caps speaks out about crafting a commercial powerhouse and efficient launch machine in oncology, and shares the secrets of deftly managing organizational change.    How would you describe Ipsen´s legacy and footprint within the Spanish market?  The story of Ipsen’s engagement with Spain commenced some 30 years ago with the acquisition of a small company in Barcelona called Lasa that possessed both a production facility and an R&D centre. Since then, many changes have occurred as we have continuously adapted to the maturing industry environment. While both of these assets have subsequently been relinquished, this is not a negative step, but rather reflect part of the natural evolutionary path of the company. The adjustments happened when Ipsen took the strategic step, at global management board level, of rationalizing production. Nowadays Ipsen’s R&D activities are focused in Europe (France, UK, Ireland and Germany), the USA and China. Our three main R&D hubs are located in Paris-Saclay, France; Oxford in the UK and Cambridge in the USA and we have five other R&D sites located in China, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK. One of the Spanish affiliate’s main claims to fame has actually been its part in the creation of star product, Somatuline, used for the treatment of neuroendocrine (NET) tumours and the hormonal disorder Acromegaly. Somatuline, which was launched in the US three years ago and continues to undergo sequential innovation, was originally developed here at the local site.

"We firmly appreciate the importance of maintaining presence in the regions alongside the value and access players. Therefore, we have decided to go for a complete different model in terms of organizations."