Working Life: Jane Griffiths
pharmafile | June 11, 2012 | Feature | Business Services, Manufacturing and Production, Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing |Â Â Janssen, Working Life, brett wells, jane griffithsÂ
After completing her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Aberystwyth in 1982, Jane worked her way up the Johnson & Johnson career ladder, starting as a sales representative.
A straight-talking Brit, Jane is now the first female company group chairman of Janssen in EMEA, the pharmaceutical division of the Johnson & Johnson family. She is responsible for the pharmaceutical business across the entire region.
Jane’s industry roles include co-chairman of the EFPIA executive committee and chairman of the PhRMA Europe committee. Jane is also a member of the Senior Advisory Board of the Healthcare Business-women’s Association (HBA) in Europe. She lives in Berkshire with her husband and two children.
How did you find your way into your current role?
I joined Janssen, the pharmaceutical division of Johnson & Johnson, as a sales representative after completing my PhD at the University of Aberystwyth in 1982. I was in sales for 18 months, and then was offered opportunities in both marketing and R&D. Having done a PhD, I decided to go into R&D for a while and was involved in running clinical trials for some of the products in the pipeline.
I followed one product through into marketing and found my niche in the commercial arm of Janssen. Almost three decades later, in 2011, I became the first female company group chairman in EMEA for Janssen.
Following on from my experience, I’m passionate about developing talent in our organisation. I’ve always had excellent managers and mentors who helped me achieve my best and reach the next level. With the right support and people who believe in you, the opportunities are endless.
How is your field changing?
The dramatic changes in healthcare, especially as a result of ageing populations and budget constraints, force all of us to think and work differently. One really positive change is the open dialogue with healthcare partners on healthcare efficiency and therapeutic effectiveness. In the past, our role ended with the drug’s efficacy based on clinical evidence.
Now we follow the product in the real patient environment. Health literacy, adherence and patient responsibility are essential to increasing therapeutic effectiveness. Luckily, in today’s world, the patient is an informed participant, and this is also changing the dynamic of healthcare. Rather than simply providing safe and efficacious products, we need to provide healthcare and health services that go beyond the disease, supporting the quality of life of the whole person.
At Janssen we have a special phrase to refer to this need to create value for patients that goes beyond safe, efficacious products – we call it working ‘beyond the pill’. For example, we recently provided integrated care solutions for people with schizophrenia in Germany. We also created an initiative which saves patients with multiple myeloma trips to the hospital by facilitating homecare. As well as high quality products and services, consumers today want companies to adhere to honest, compliant business practices.
Integrity is a core value at Janssen. We are constantly looking for ways to increase our transparency and build consumers’ trust in Janssen, and the industry as a whole.
What are the most enjoyable things about your role?
Without question, the best thing about my job is being able to make a real difference to people’s lives. Janssen has 14,000 people working in more than 100 countries in EMEA, with a shared purpose of bringing effective medicines as quickly as possible to the people who need them.
As well as bringing revolutionary products to market, we have access programmes for pandemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS in low income countries; we have donated medicines to treat 400 million children who are infected by worms; we are building sustainable businesses with local communities in Africa. For me, there’s nothing more rewarding than supporting initiatives that save and transform literally millions of lives.
And the least enjoyable?
I travel a lot and that can be demanding, especially being away from my family for long periods at a time. Technology is a great asset though and helps me stay in touch. I’d be lost without my iPad!
What are the most common misconceptions about your field and the people in it?
Often I feel there is little understanding of the positive work that pharmaceutical companies do. Partly, this is a reputation issue that can be addressed by building trust through transparency. But also, as an industry I feel we need to talk more about the positive work we are doing. It’s not about spin. It’s about communicating about what we are doing – for example widening access to medicines, or reducing our carbon footprint.
Is there someone in your field who has inspired you or from whom you have learnt a lot?
Honestly, I learn a lot from many people with whom I work. And I’m still learning today.
Similarly, is there someone (or something) outside your field who has been a source of inspiration for you?
My children. My daughter, who is a biology student and is very passionate about the environment. Because of her, our family is much more conscious about our energy consumption and waste reduction and we have planted a small wood to provide a supply of sustainable energy. My daughter’s influence has made me concerned about our dependence on fossil fuels.
As an organisation Janssen is reducing its carbon footprint. We have made progress in this area, but we can go further, do more. My son is totally unflappable! He is seldom fazed by things and he is a great decision-maker, organiser and team builder. He is a master of doing what is relevant and productive and ditching the rest!
What is the secret to a happy working life?
For me, enjoyment at work is incredibly important. It’s my belief that you cannot excel at your job unless you enjoy what you do. I stay motivated by remembering the wider purpose behind what we are doing: to make a difference to millions of people’s lives on a daily basis.
I see it as my role to ensure that people in my team feel the same way. It’s also about collaboration and openness. The sum of a company can be so much greater than its parts, but this requires everyone to work together effectively – and this is impossible without open communication and a spirit of partnership in everything you do.
If you had advice for anyone starting out in your field now, what would it be?
I’d pass on some advice that my mother gave me when I had my kids: never compromise on your career. Focus on what you want to do and it will happen. I’m a working mother, with a very full life – but I’ve always managed to continue to do the things that I want to do and follow my heart in my career.
My advice: be happy, be adventurous, and don’t lose sight of what you want.
Related Content
Janssen’s study for nipocalimab as indicated for EOS-HDFN published in The New England Journal of Medicine
Johnson & Johnson company Janssen has announced that the results from its phase 2 trial …
GSK enters agreement for license for JNJ-3089 for development of bepirovirsen
GSK and Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals have announced that they have come to an agreement with Janssen …
Janssen and Sanofi enter agreement for potential vaccine programme
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a Johnson & Johnson company, has announced a development and commercialisation agreement with …
