Meet Marcelo

In the most recent episode of Molecule to Market, Marcelo Bigal discussed everything from his experience at Teva Pharmaceuticals to the current state of the capital market and the challenges faced in drug development over the last three years. It was a brilliant episode and one that highlighted just how many factors are involved when it comes to getting a breakthrough to market, having sheer determination to succeed even when all odds are against you, and the power of being emotional glue – whether that be for a person, in a team or amongst a business.

At Molecule to Market HQ, we were blown away by Marcelo’s honesty, authenticity, and humble reflection on his career to date. 

So, what did we learn from the magic of Marcelo Bigal?

Feelings can be paired with fact

It’s not often you hear exceptional scientific minds talk about the power of emotion full stop. Marcelo discussed the importance of being the emotional glue, connecting with your team, thinking about the people you are dealing with, and having humility.

For us at Molecule to Market, this was a powerful statement. Despite its sole purpose being to help patients, we think it’s fair to say that our sector isn’t known for its soft skills and fluffy approach. But, the world is changing. And, so is the eagerness of younger generations to speak up, speak out, and want more from their career than slowly climbing up a hierarchal career ladder. 

Like Marcelo, could we be doing more to bring our vulnerable selves to the workplace?

Problem-solving with the patient in mind

Most biotech and innovator organizations build entire businesses around a problem they are trying to solve for a patient. Unfortunately, many fail in the first few stages of drug development or have to stop research due to funding challenges.

What we found inspiring about Marcelo, was his sheer determination to bring a product to market that could help the patient set he was passionate about. He went against the grain by including patients who were deemed traditionally unsuitable for involvement in a clinical trial and faced multiple setbacks along his journey.

Despite all that, he managed to get approval and can now say that he was involved in helping those patients. He also talked about some of the pains and struggles he heard from the patients first-hand, which seemed to act as a motivator to continue helping them regardless of the challenges in his way.

We think we can all take a leaf out of Marcelo’s book when it comes to restoring passion for the patient element of our industry. And, never backing down when there is something worth fighting for.

You can have it all

So, to summarize just some of the things we learned from Marcelo. You can be brilliant, technical, scientific, and authentic – all at the same time. Just because you face setbacks doesn’t mean you won’t get where you need to be. And, in the end, the destination is just the beginning of another exciting adventure. 

We hope to welcome Marcelo back on the podcast for a follow-up conversation soon. 

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