Introduction

Astellas U.S. President Shares Five Principles for Agile Success in Pharma

In an increasingly complex pharmaceutical landscape characterized by shifting market dynamics and rising customer expectations, companies are turning to Agile methodologies to enhance their commercial operations. Mike Petroutsas, President and Head of U.S. Commercial at Astellas, has revealed how implementing Agile principles has transformed their approach to market challenges.

"Agile is a language, it's not an operating model," Petroutsas emphasized. "What Agile does is give us principles on how to better deliver on the ‘how.’" This distinction has been crucial for Astellas, which maintained its vision of "taking innovative science and translating that to meaningful outcomes for patients" while adopting new ways of working.

Petroutsas outlined five key principles that have guided Astellas' Agile transformation. The first is "progress over perfection," which encourages teams to launch solutions that are approximately 70% complete rather than waiting for perfection. "How often do we wait to be perfect with the amount of data that we have... but by the time we get that out, it's either become antiquated or customer feedback suggests that we should have adopted earlier," he explained.

The second principle, "delivery over discussion," involves breaking complex problems into smaller components and empowering teams to solve them in two-week sprints. This approach leverages subject matter experts outside of brand teams to tackle specific challenges efficiently.

"Focus on feedback" represents the third principle, which incorporates continuous customer input throughout development rather than just at the beginning and end of projects. While some feared this would slow processes down, Petroutsas noted that implementing the principle has increased the output quality while supporting expedited processes.

The fourth principle, "adapt to accelerate," has revolutionized Astellas' marketing cycle. Rather than following the traditional annual planning process, one of their strategic brands now reviews and adjusts content, segmentation, targeting and media allocation every three months. "It's extremely productive and customers love it," Petroutsas shared.

The final principle, "be better every day”, involves conducting after-action reviews not only for unsuccessful initiatives but also for successful ones. "The magic is once something is successful, how do you pull the team together, recognize success and then build on that to determine how to become better," he said.

Real-World Impact of Agile Implementation

Astellas has seen tangible benefits from its Agile transformation. The company restructured its operating model to become flatter and more empowered, with small asset teams across commercial and medical affairs.

The continuous customer feedback and iteration approach has particularly advanced their Next Best Action initiatives. By building small pilot use cases and incorporating field feedback quickly, they've created solutions that drive better execution than those based solely on data insights.

In tandem, cross-functional collaboration has also improved, particularly in global interactions. For example, when launching a product in gastric cancer, the team leveraged feedback from Japan's earlier launch to create patient resources for managing side effects, resulting in an "amazing" launch.

Perhaps most importantly, Petroutsas highlighted the strengthened customer connections: "Our proactive approach to engaging with HCPs, patients, payers and providers from the outset has fuelled exponential growth in those relationships, resulting in a two- to four- fold increase in just the last few months. The paradigm shift of how we connect with our network has deepened our relationships with customers and helps them see Astellas not only as a manufacturer but a true partner."

"The relationship we have with HCPs, patients, payers, providers is just exponentially grown 2, 3, 4 fold over the last few months just because we're engaged in them early. And they see Astellas not only as a manufacturer but a true partner." 

Implementation Lessons for Agile Success

For pharmaceutical companies considering an Agile transformation, Petroutsas offered four key recommendations. First, "start small, think big" by identifying areas where agility can have an immediate impact and piloting Agile practices with smaller projects or teams to demonstrate early success and scalability within the broader organization. Second, "focus on the mindset, not just the method," recognizing that Agile is fundamentally about changing perspectives rather than just processes.

Third, "invest in training and tools," including Agile coaches and infrastructure to guide teams through the transformation. Finally, "measure and iterate" by setting short-term KPIs for two-week sprints to track progress.

The impact of these approaches was illustrated through a patient story about a woman who suffered from postmenopausal hot flashes for 11 years. "We launched a non-hormonal therapy, driven by insights from our Agile mindset, and created tools to uplift the unmet needs of the postmenopausal patient community and help them hug and engage with their families," Petroutsas shared.

Key Takeaways:

1. Agile is a languageand mindset rather than an operating model, focused on principles that enhance execution while maintaining organizational vision and values. "
2. The "progress over perfection" principle encourages bringing solutions to market when they're 70% complete rather than waiting for perfection, which can lead to delayed launches and missed opportunities.
3. Continuous customer feedback throughout development processes improves quality and accelerates time-to-market, rather than slowing it down as many might expect.
4. Transforming the traditional annual marketing cycle into quarterly planning for strategic brands, allows for more responsive adaptation to market conditions and customer needs.
5. Flatter organizational structures with empowered asset teams across commercial and medical affairs drive faster decision-making and improved cross-functional collaboration, leading to better customer connections and launch outcomes.

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