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Posted 19 October 2023 AM
Daiichi Sankyo Australia has hit the ground running, forming a leadership team and opening a brand new office in less than a year - and it's just getting started with a major recruitment push underway.
The Japanese pharma commenced operations in Australia in January out of a rented office in Chatswood Zenith Towers and has since moved to the pharma hub of Macquarie Park.
It opened the office on Talavera Road and in walking distance to its Enhertu strategic alliance partner AstraZeneca, a little over a month and a half ago.
Speaking to Pharma in Focus, Daiichi Sankyo's Head of People & Culture, Natalie Down, said "the proximity to other companies in the industry", particularly AstraZeneca was a key driver of selecting the office space as it allows for the companies to "easily collaborate" and "often sustainably".
The office has been designed on an activity-based workplace, allowing people to work in quiet zones or in collaboration zones as they need to. Employees can connect and catch up in the office's kitchen hub area or down in the lobby where there's a selection of cafes.
Growing team
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While the move was purposefully thought out, it's also been well-timed as the company starts to get into its recruitment of the broader team.
So far, the Australian arm, led by Masaaki Kotaki, has onboarded its leadership team and the headcount is rapidly evolving.
"We are looking to add to that about a dozen people between now and early in the new year," Down said.
Daiichi Sankyo is currently recruiting heavily for Medical Managers and a Strategic Planning & Market Access Manager.
"Obviously, we're focusing very, very strongly on oncology in Australia, so that strong oncology track record is important," particularly in breast cancer and/or lung cancer initially.
"Almost equally important given our stage and the true startup nature of business is that flexible entrepreneurial mindset and drive that will help navigate all the complexities of launching a company in Australia," Down added.
"That really resilient, flexible mindset, roll your sleeves up, but also have a really strong vision for what we need now and what we're going to need strategically into the future.
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"For some of the roles we're looking for previous alliance experience, which will be really helpful, but it's not so critical."
Creating a culture from scratch
Down, who joined the company in March, has had experience in integrating a new culture and nurturing it having led the HR for MSD's spin-off company Organon.
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"I think that prepares me really well for what we're doing here at Daiichi Sankyo," she said.
"We have that really strong and innovative legacy of a 125-year-old company, but to set something up from scratch that will create an environment where people can thrive; to ultimately that we put on our mission for patients is something that doesn't come along very often.
"That's why I was so excited to join.
"Some of the things that we're actively, progressively, doing in that space is setting up an open and honest environment for us all, to have a voice, to thrive, to be able to connect and get to know each other.
"And what's been wonderful - even though we are part of a big global company - is that we've really had the freedom locally, as a leadership team and in my role as Head of People & Culture, to be able to agree together what we want to start with and how we want to try and evolve that."
Last week, Daiichi Sankyo became the fourth pharma certified as a Family Inclusive Workplace through the National Work + Family Standards, which also provides the company with a framework and structure for continuous improvement.
Down said the certification was one of the key things that she is "particularly passionate" about.
"It sends a really important message to our employees as they join and to the market, that we're serious about what we're building for our people and the experience that we want them to have," she said.
Tiffany Walker
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