Supporting a Biopharmaceutical Leader in Pharmacovigilance Crisis Management

Explore how Barrington James effectively filled urgent Pharmacovigilance leadership roles for a mid-sized biopharmaceutical company, ensuring continuity in safety science operations and supporting the advancement of key projects.

The Challenge

A mid-sized biopharmaceutical company with approximately 2,000 employees, specializing in rare diseases, immunology, and haematology. With 11 launched products and a robust pipeline of 8 compounds, the company faced a critical challenge when a Global Pharmacovigilance leader went on long-term sick leave, impacting the team’s ability to advance key projects within their therapeutic focus.

The absence of a key figure in Global Pharmacovigilance created an urgent need for interim leadership and safety expertise. The delay in filling this critical role risked stalling the company’s ability to advance their promising rare disease pipeline, particularly moving key compounds through their development phases.

Our Approach

Barrington James leveraged its longstanding relationship with the client as part of their Preferred Supplier List (PSL), having made 26 successful placements in Regulatory and CMC functions over the past three years.

For this specific need, we engaged with the client to gain a thorough understanding of the hiring manager’s expectations, role requirements, and organizational culture. With urgency being paramount, we expedited the recruitment process:

• 10-Day Turnaround: Within ten days, we identified, selected, and facilitated interviews for candidates.
• Rapid Placement: An interim Global Senior Manager in Safety Science was onboarded in Sweden within one week of the offer being made.
• Strategic Expansion: Following the initial hire, we placed a Global Safety Science Lead (Director-level) to provide additional leadership and expertise, ensuring long-term stability for the team.

Results

Our recruitment efforts addressed the urgent Pharmacovigilance needs promptly, minimizing disruption to the client’s workflow. The addition of an interim Global Senior Manager in Safety Science allowed the team to maintain critical functions during the absence of their Global Pharmacovigilance leader. Shortly afterward, the placement of a Global Safety Science Lead at the director level further reinforced the team’s capacity to handle ongoing projects and provided the leadership required to stabilize operations in this vital area.

Additionally, the client praised our meticulous adherence to compliance standards and our accurate matching of candidates to both the technical requirements and cultural values of the organization. As a result, these placements ensured continuity in the client’s development activities and reinforced their standing as a leader in the biopharmaceutical space.

The success of these placements strengthened Barrington James’ partnership with the client, culminating in us becoming their exclusive provider for Pharmacovigilance roles in Sweden. This achievement highlights our ability to not only meet but exceed client expectations in terms of speed, quality, and strategic support.