[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Celltrion Healthcare is accelerating the full-scale establishment of a direct sales system in the United States, the world's largest pharmaceutical market, by recruiting an expert as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO).
Celltrion Healthcare announced on the 7th that it recently appointed Thomas Nusbickel, who has experience at global big pharma companies such as Amgen and Pfizer, as the CCO of its U.S. subsidiary.
Newly appointed CCO Nusbickel is an expert with over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing, market access, and government affairs in the bio and pharmaceutical industries. He graduated from Eckerd College in Florida with a degree in biology and earned a master's degree in business administration from Pepperdine University. He has a strong understanding of the U.S. biosimilar industry, having successfully led biosimilar businesses at global pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer's Retacrit (Epoetin biosimilar).
Celltrion Healthcare plans to accelerate its U.S. business expansion based on CCO Nusbickel's experience and know-how. Having entered the U.S. biosimilar market in 2016 with Remsima (active ingredient infliximab), Celltrion Healthcare laid the foundation for direct sales by acquiring Celltrion USA, which holds a U.S. pharmaceutical distribution license, from Celltrion in August last year. As direct sales are in the early stages, CCO Nusbickel will focus on establishing strategies suitable for the U.S. market and strengthening medical and distribution networks to secure market share for follow-up products such as Vegzelma, Uplyma, and Remsima SC.
Celltrion Healthcare is also actively recruiting additional talent to lead its U.S. business and is rapidly expanding its commercial organization, including sales and marketing, to prepare for scheduled product launches this year. After completing head-level hires within the commercial organization last year, the company plans to continue investing in optimizing the organization and strengthening corporate capabilities by actively recruiting local experts through the first half of this year.
CCO Nusbickel said, “I am honored to be able to work with Celltrion Healthcare, a global leader in the bio industry. Based on my long-standing experience and know-how in the industry, I will actively utilize Celltrion Healthcare’s product competitiveness and demonstrate tangible results in the U.S. market, aiming to launch more than one product annually, starting with Vegzelma and Uplyma.”
A Celltrion Healthcare official stated, “The U.S. pharmaceutical market is expected to be fiercely competitive as many blockbuster drugs face patent expirations. We plan to target the U.S. market by recruiting experts with local sales experience and know-how and launching competitive follow-up pipelines. CCO Nusbickel is the optimal talent with successful experience leading biosimilar businesses at global pharmaceutical companies. We will also actively expand other local experts to ensure the direct sales system is successfully established in the U.S. market, generating synergy across all areas, including sales.”
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