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LUNDBECK<br />
MAGAZINE<br />
09
LUNDBECK<br />
MAGAZINE<br />
09<br />
p6<br />
On behalf<br />
of the brain<br />
p10<br />
Now I dare myself to<br />
leave the house again
3<br />
Blood reveals psychiatric disorders 14<br />
Close to her heart 16<br />
Hoping for a lifebelt 20<br />
A laptop and a vacuum flask 26<br />
Danish-Japanese partnership – the American way 32<br />
In search of building blocks for the future 34<br />
Always one step ahead 36<br />
From genes to galaxies 40<br />
p22<br />
A job<br />
for specialists<br />
p28<br />
A career<br />
with global focus<br />
H. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> A/S<br />
Corporate Reporting<br />
Design: Bysted A/S<br />
Illustrations: Mads Berg<br />
PRINT: Quickly Tryk A/S<br />
TExT: Xenia Wieth: On behalf of the brain, A job for specialists, From genes to galaxies, A laptop and a vacuum<br />
flask, Blood reveals psychiatric disorders, Danish-Japanese partnership – the American way, In search of<br />
building blocks for the future, Now I dare myself to leave the house again.<br />
Elisabeth Poulsen: Close to her heart, A career with global focus, Always one step ahead, Hoping for a lifebelt.
specialister s22<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
5<br />
Worth<br />
fighting for<br />
We have made it our ambition to be the company that<br />
makes the biggest difference worldwide in the treatment<br />
of patients suffering from brain disorders<br />
rain disorders such as depression,<br />
schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s<br />
disease, to name but a few, inflict<br />
a huge amount of suffering on patients, as<br />
well as sorrow and despair on their relatives.<br />
Hundreds of millions of people in the world<br />
suffer from brain disorders. In spite of<br />
therapeutic progress, unfortunately, we remain<br />
a long way from fully understanding these<br />
disorders. There are immense unmet needs,<br />
not only for medication, but also for entire<br />
solutions in which therapy and updated<br />
information about the disorders are crucial<br />
factors.<br />
Unfortunately, public awareness and the resources<br />
spent on curing and alleviating brain disorders are<br />
a long way from matching the severity and<br />
consequences of these disorders. Brain disorders<br />
place an enormous economic burden on society<br />
because they reduce or eliminate the patient’s<br />
ability to work.<br />
At <strong>Lundbeck</strong>, we have made it our ambition<br />
to be the company that makes the biggest difference<br />
worldwide in the treatment of patients suffering<br />
from brain disorders. Assuming this responsibility<br />
is an enormous task, but it is also an incredible<br />
joy when we succeed in developing a new and<br />
innovative drug that benefits people worldwide.<br />
In this magazine, we present a cross section of<br />
our world. I hope you will find it a pleasure to<br />
read, and that it will provide insight into who<br />
we are and what <strong>Lundbeck</strong> stands for.<br />
Yours sincerely<br />
Ulf Wiinberg<br />
President & CEO<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
7<br />
On behalf<br />
of the brain<br />
Throughout his career, Professor Jes Olesen has been<br />
championing the cause of more research in the diseases<br />
which are the most expensive to treat, and which have the<br />
most severe consequences for patients: brain diseases.<br />
The costs of brain diseases are as expensive for<br />
society as the combined costs of heart disease<br />
and cancer, not to mention the enormous<br />
suffering and poor quality of life experienced<br />
by the individual with a brain disease. Despite<br />
the fact that the figures have long since been<br />
documented, brain diseases remain at the back<br />
of the queue for money and attention.<br />
“The brain and the diseases that affect it have<br />
a huge image problem. In contrast to the heart,<br />
for example, it is not possible to feel one’s<br />
brain, despite the fact that the brain is the seat<br />
of the emotions which are traditionally<br />
ascribed to the heart, such as love and sorrow.<br />
The brain is responsible for everything that<br />
makes us human beings; it just has an<br />
incredibly bad press.”<br />
These are the words of a man who for decades<br />
has been struggling for the brain and brain<br />
diseases to be given attention corresponding<br />
to the burden they comprise for both the<br />
individual and society as a whole. Jes Olesen is<br />
a professor of Neurology, and is employed at<br />
the Glostrup Hospital in Copenhagen. His<br />
research has helped to clarify the mechanisms<br />
of migraine headache, and the fact that<br />
Glostrup Hospital is the world’s leading centre<br />
for research in headache is largely due to Jes<br />
Olesen’s efforts.<br />
Enormous need<br />
Jes Olesen is also the man behind the founding<br />
of the European Brain Council (EBC), an<br />
umbrella organization for scientific medical<br />
"The brain is responsible for everything<br />
that makes us human beings; it just has<br />
an incredibly bad press"<br />
societies, patient associations, basic<br />
neurological research and industry. EBC<br />
focuses on brain diseases including psychiatry,<br />
neurology and neurosurgery. Founded in 2002,<br />
the mission of the EBC is ‘to promote brain<br />
research in Europe and to improve the quality<br />
of life of those affected by brain diseases’. In<br />
Europe, 127 million persons have a brain<br />
disease, and the EBC endeavours to improve<br />
these persons’ situation through concentrating<br />
the collective efforts of scientists and laymen<br />
from this very wide field.<br />
“Several branches of medical science and<br />
many patient associations focus on brain<br />
diseases. There is very little tradition for<br />
collaboration between the individual branches.<br />
This is true all over Europe, not just in<br />
Denmark. It is a major problem in relation to<br />
being heard, as well as in relation to obtaining<br />
funds for research and treatment. And the<br />
need is enormous. Brain diseases comprise<br />
one-third of all illnesses, though if one<br />
considers the impact on the lives of individuals<br />
in terms of reduced working ability and quality<br />
of life, brain diseases are responsible for half of<br />
the burden which must be borne by society,”<br />
Jes Olesen states.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
8<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
"Health research is one of<br />
the most profitable activities<br />
a society can invest in"<br />
The European Brain Council<br />
The European Brain Council (EBC) is a<br />
coordinating council formed by European<br />
organizations in neurology, neurosurgery,<br />
psychiatry, basic brain research<br />
(neuroscience), as well as patient<br />
organisations and industry. The EBC<br />
was founded in 2002 in Brussels, and<br />
has offices in Brussels and Florence.<br />
www.europeanbraincouncil.org<br />
No public money for research<br />
Brain diseases are also costly for society. In<br />
fact, they cost as much as heart disease and<br />
cancer put together. In 2004, the cost of brain<br />
diseases in Europe was EUR 386 billion.<br />
“The figure comes from a study that I was<br />
involved in compiling. It revealed that brain<br />
diseases are both more expensive and have<br />
more far-reaching consequences than was<br />
previously thought. But if one looks at the<br />
amount of money that is actually used on<br />
brain research, it is as if this is forgotten.<br />
Migraine, which I specialize in, is a very<br />
expensive disease in socio-economic terms.<br />
It costs European countries EUR 27 billion<br />
annually, but there is almost no public money<br />
to research it. Among the more than 300 PhD<br />
scholarships recently awarded by the Danish<br />
Agency for Science, Technology and<br />
Innovation, there was not one single<br />
scholarship for brain research in Copenhagen.<br />
As a field of study, the brain is not nearly as<br />
prominent as it ought to be,” Jes Olesen says.<br />
High return on investment<br />
However, the EU Commission has in its<br />
Seventh Framework Programme given priority<br />
to brain research for the first time ever.<br />
“This is better than it has been, but I am<br />
disappointed that the strong wording has not<br />
resulted in a similar increase in funds. Health<br />
research is one of the most profitable activities<br />
a society can invest in, and it gives an<br />
enormously high return on investment,” adds<br />
Jes Olesen.<br />
Another problem is the lack of large and<br />
powerful patient organizations on a par with<br />
the Heart Association or the Cancer Society.<br />
“The area of brain diseases is poorly organized.<br />
In Denmark, we have 27 patient organizations<br />
that focus on brain-related issues, but there is<br />
a lack of collaboration between them and<br />
affected persons to lead out in efforts on<br />
behalf of the cause. Persons who have been<br />
cured of heart disease or cancer are frequently<br />
so grateful that they become involved in<br />
volunteer activities – and have the strength<br />
to do so. But no one wishes to step forward on<br />
the basis of a psychiatric diagnosis. In addition,<br />
brain diseases sap patients of their energy to<br />
the point where they must draw on their<br />
meagre reserves,” Jes Olesen explains.<br />
On the rise<br />
And the need for more knowledge and<br />
treatment will continue to rise. Brain diseases<br />
do not merely disappear. Dementia and<br />
migraine are both on the rise in the Western<br />
world, while the situation for psychiatric<br />
diseases is less clear. The only disease in which<br />
progress with certainty is being made is stroke.<br />
“That there are more persons with dementia is<br />
related to the fact that more people are living<br />
longer. But we have no idea why the incidence<br />
of migraine headache is rising. That the<br />
incidence of stroke is not rising by five per<br />
cent annually as statistics indicate it should, is<br />
probably due to better prevention in the form<br />
of medications that lower blood pressure and<br />
inhibit cholesterol formation. And also that we<br />
have become better at warning people to<br />
avoid alcohol and tobacco, or at least to keep<br />
down their consumption, which is also true in<br />
relation to some other brain diseases. Apart<br />
from that, the prevention of brain diseases is<br />
largely uninvestigated,” Jes Olesen says.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
10<br />
"The psychiatrist offered<br />
me medication, but I didn’t<br />
want it. I was only 17 at<br />
the time"
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
11<br />
Now I dare myself to<br />
leave the house again<br />
Yolanda has suffered from depression since she was very<br />
young. But only now is she receiving the treatment that helps.<br />
Yolanda is 52 years of age and lives in Mexico<br />
City. She is the mother of three, and together<br />
with her husband she operates a small<br />
company that sells natural medicine.<br />
Yolanda was only a teenager when she had<br />
depression for the first time. At the time, she<br />
decided that she would manage without help<br />
– and certainly without medication.<br />
“I didn’t know any better, and for many years<br />
things went fairly well. But when my youngest<br />
son became ill, I went into severe depression,”<br />
Yolanda recounts. Her son was 16 years old<br />
when he began behaving violently towards the<br />
family.<br />
“It was especially towards his father and<br />
brother. I was the only one who could approach<br />
him. It culminated one day when he attempted<br />
to stab his father with a knife. We drove him to a<br />
psychiatric hospital where I knew some doctors.<br />
They discovered that our son had schizophrenia<br />
and kept him in hospital for a month. He had<br />
been aggressive ever since he was a small child,<br />
but we didn’t know why. We just thought he was<br />
a bit different,” Yolanda says.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
13<br />
"I have depression and I<br />
am being treated for it"<br />
A long way to go<br />
Their son received treatment and began<br />
attending school again. And then his mother<br />
collapsed.<br />
“I refused to get up; I would not leave the<br />
house; I wept much of the time and felt utterly<br />
desolate. And I didn’t know what was wrong.<br />
I have always been a very strong and<br />
independent woman. Here in Mexico, women<br />
are responsible for the home, and we believe<br />
we can cope with anything. My husband said<br />
joking that, ‘it’s just not possible for you to get<br />
ill, because there’s no one to take care of you<br />
and the house.’ He could scarcely even<br />
recognize me,” Yolanda says.<br />
Her depression had returned and was worse<br />
than ever. She was admitted to hospital where<br />
her doctors succeeded in convincing her that<br />
she needed medication, and Yolanda has now<br />
been in treatment for approximately 18<br />
months. She is taking antidepressants and goes<br />
to therapy several times a week.<br />
“Now I am making progress. It is slow, I have a<br />
long way to go, and it is very hard work. Some<br />
days, life is both sad and painful, but I get up in<br />
the morning and do my work. And I dare<br />
myself to walk alone in the street again,”<br />
Yolanda says with a slight smile.<br />
Harsh childhood<br />
Yolanda’s son’s schizophrenia is not the only<br />
gloomy chapter in her life. Her story is a tale<br />
of a harsh childhood in one of the poor<br />
districts of Mexico City; a tale of abuse and<br />
repeated rapes, one of which resulted in her<br />
becoming pregnant at the age of 16.<br />
“I was determined to get out of that<br />
environment, and took a short secretarial<br />
course. When I became pregnant, I had to find<br />
a job to support myself and the child. I got a<br />
job with an art gallery, and the lady who<br />
owned it arranged for me to have therapy. The<br />
psychiatrist offered me medication as well, but<br />
I didn’t want it. I was only 17 at the time,”<br />
Yolanda continues.<br />
Felt a sense of guilt<br />
Later, she married and had two more children,<br />
even though she didn’t want to at the time.<br />
“Being raped had filled me with fear, and it was<br />
very difficult for me to care for my children.<br />
Merely touching them filled me with anxiety.<br />
When my youngest son became ill, I felt a<br />
terrible sense of guilt. I felt that it was my fault<br />
that he had schizophrenia. And that seriously<br />
exacerbated my depression,” Yolanda says.<br />
She now wishes that she had accepted the<br />
medication she was offered by doctors many<br />
years ago, and that people were better<br />
informed about psychiatric disorders.<br />
“When people say that I am neurotic or crazy,<br />
I reply that I have depression and that I am<br />
being treated for it. If people were better<br />
informed about psychiatric disorders, the<br />
world would look a lot different,” says Yolanda.<br />
FOTO: Joachim ladefoged
14<br />
Blood reveals<br />
psychiatric disorders<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> researchers seek new knowledge of depression<br />
biology in patient blood samples.
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
15<br />
You go to the doctor, have a blood sample<br />
taken, and the result reveals if you are<br />
predisposed for developing depression later in<br />
your life. While this may sound like science<br />
fiction, it may not be many years before it<br />
becomes reality. Scientists at <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Research USA in New Jersey are working<br />
towards a new means of diagnosing and<br />
treating depression, anxiety and a number of<br />
other brain disorders.<br />
“We are seeking to understand the basic<br />
mechanisms of depression with the aid of<br />
blood samples from patients who are receiving<br />
medical treatment,” says Irina Antonijevic,<br />
Psychiatrist and Director Translational Research<br />
at <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Research USA.<br />
Biomarkers in the blood<br />
“We observe how the medication affects<br />
specific biomarkers. We use this knowledge to<br />
attempt to understand the biology of the<br />
disorder, to enable us in future to develop<br />
better and more specific methods of treatment.<br />
At present, most patients with depression<br />
receive more or less the same treatment, which<br />
is not necessarily a good idea. There are simply<br />
no alternatives,” Irina states.<br />
Using biomarkers to clarify if a specific drug will<br />
benefit a specific patient is a new and groundbreaking<br />
view of treatment. Irina and her<br />
colleagues in both New Jersey and Valby<br />
primarily study biomarkers in the blood.<br />
“We are doing this, because blood samples<br />
are easy to obtain, and because there are<br />
standardized methods of preserving and<br />
measuring the messenger RNA (mRNA)<br />
content in blood. mRNA is an intermediate<br />
cellular product in the ‘translation’ of the<br />
genetic code into proteins, which is what we<br />
are studying in blood cells. It is still widely<br />
maintained that a disorder such as depression<br />
cannot be traced in the blood, but how do we<br />
know that? Depression clearly takes place in<br />
the brain, but then blood does flow through the<br />
brain,” Irina continues.<br />
High time<br />
“It is our theory that some critical changes we<br />
can measure in the blood also take place in the<br />
brain. We have begun using the method on<br />
blood samples from patients, and can already<br />
see different patterns in different groups of<br />
patients who all have depression or anxiety.<br />
Now we will attempt to find out if we can<br />
predict how patients with a specific mRNA<br />
profile will react to a specific treatment,” Irina<br />
explains.<br />
The hope is that it will someday be possible to<br />
predict which medication will work best on the<br />
individual patient on the basis of disease<br />
biology.<br />
“And it is high time that this happens. Doctors<br />
in the CNS field are now using substances that<br />
are based on discoveries made by sheer good<br />
luck. In some areas we have made very little<br />
progress during the last 50 years. The most we<br />
have done is to find medicines with fewer side<br />
effects. As a psychiatrist with many years of<br />
experience, it can make me very angry indeed<br />
when I consider the fact that we have no idea<br />
who will benefit from a drug and who will not,”<br />
Irina says.<br />
"What would make me happiest would<br />
be a totally new concept for a drug for<br />
treatment of a psychiatric disorder"<br />
Farewell to diagnoses<br />
She also hopes that the new knowledge will put<br />
an end to the current classification of diagnoses<br />
which, in her view, are both too general and too<br />
crude.<br />
“My dream is to change the whole system<br />
entirely, so biomarkers are used to diagnose<br />
patients. And that patients with the same<br />
biological deviation are treated in the same way,<br />
regardless of the diagnosis we may have given<br />
them. I would like to expand biomarker methods<br />
to include diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and<br />
schizophrenia and other CNS disorders. It is<br />
possible that the mRNA profiles of some<br />
patients with schizophrenia will resemble those<br />
of some patients who have depression. It may<br />
even prove to be possible to intervene with<br />
treatment when the first symptoms occur and<br />
prevent the disorder from developing, because it<br />
can be traced early on in the blood. We know<br />
that many adults who have depression have had<br />
anxiety as children or teenagers, and much<br />
evidence indicates that many brain disorders<br />
begin much earlier than has hitherto been<br />
thought.”<br />
From the clinic to the laboratory<br />
The work with biomarkers is also a step on the<br />
road towards translational medicine (TM), a<br />
concept which is currently high on the agenda<br />
of the pharmaceutical industry. TM involves<br />
transferring knowledge from work with patients<br />
in the clinical setting to cell and animal models<br />
in the laboratory.<br />
“We will use the information from patient’s<br />
blood in animal models, and study if the same<br />
biological changes take place in the animal. With<br />
time, this will give us a far better understanding<br />
of the mechanisms of the disorder we wish to<br />
treat. What would make me happiest would be a<br />
totally new concept for a drug for treatment of<br />
a psychiatric disorder: one that was developed<br />
on the basis of biological data from start to<br />
finish. Perhaps it will one day be possible to<br />
predict the risk of individuals developing<br />
depression and other CNS disorders and diseases<br />
on the basis of merely a blood sample. That<br />
would be wonderful,” says Irina Antonijevic.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
16 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
Close to<br />
her heart<br />
The ratio of elderly persons in China is rising rapidly, and 30<br />
years from now the country will have as many persons with<br />
dementia as in the entire rest of the developed world.<br />
Professor Zhang Zhen-Xin is one of China’s<br />
leading neurologists who specialize in<br />
Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. As a<br />
professor at Beijing Union Medical College<br />
Hospital, she has studied Alzheimer’s untiringly<br />
for more than 40 years. She feels that it is her<br />
responsibility to increase knowledge and<br />
awareness of the disease as well as the<br />
treatment for it. Because Professor Zhang is<br />
convinced that treating Alzheimer’s is<br />
definitely worth while.<br />
“I have patients who have been treated for<br />
more than 10 years, and who with the aid of<br />
medicine can still communicate and perform<br />
daily tasks when they have the right help,”<br />
Zhang Zhen-Xin says. As adviser to the Chinese<br />
health authority SFDA, she is also one of the<br />
leading experts in the newly-established<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Institute in China.<br />
“China has a rapidly aging population. Thirty<br />
years from now, the country will have just as<br />
many persons with dementia as there are in<br />
the entire rest of the developed world. Our<br />
government is aware of the problem, which is<br />
sometimes referred to as a ticking bomb,” says<br />
Professor Zhang.<br />
“Parkinson’s has been in focus for some time,”<br />
she adds, “because several of our political<br />
leaders – including Deng Xiao-Ping – had the<br />
disease. But it was commonly thought that the<br />
incidence of Alzheimer’s was significantly<br />
lower in China than in the rest of the world.”<br />
5.8 per cent have Alzheimer’s<br />
Zhang Zhen-Xin helped disprove the myth<br />
when she headed an epidemiological study of<br />
the incidence of dementia in a number of<br />
cities and rural areas in China. The study, which<br />
took six years and included 40,000 persons, is<br />
one of the most comprehensive in the world,<br />
and clearly showed that the incidence of<br />
dementia in China is on a par with that in the<br />
rest of the world’s population. The study shows<br />
that 5.8 per cent of the population above the<br />
age of 65 develop Alzheimer’s.<br />
“Dementia and Alzheimer’s used to be<br />
considered a natural result of old age. And<br />
even now, very few are diagnosed or treated<br />
for the disease by a doctor. This is changing,<br />
however. Especially in wealthy cities such as<br />
Shanghai, the ratio of persons who seek<br />
treatment is on the rise. And this despite the<br />
fact that most people have to pay every yuan<br />
themselves. There is no government<br />
reimbursement for medication for dementia.”<br />
China has a long tradition in herbal medicine.<br />
And while professor Zhang does not dismiss<br />
traditional medicine across the board, she does<br />
believe it is often fraudulent when elderly<br />
persons pay thousands of yuan for a small<br />
amount of herbal medicine. And she<br />
underscores the fact that most Chinese<br />
consumers now prefer Western<br />
pharmaceuticals, of whose efficacy has been<br />
scientifically established.<br />
Sons care for their parents<br />
Zhang Zhen-Xin spent time in rural areas<br />
where she literally went from bed to bed<br />
visiting patients during the course of one of<br />
her studies in the late 1990s.<br />
“Conditions were often deplorable. In China,<br />
the sons traditionally care for their parents. If<br />
there are several sons, they care for their<br />
parents in turn. Especially in poor rural areas,<br />
however, there is little sympathy for persons<br />
with dementia, and they risk being turned out<br />
if caring for them becomes too difficult.<br />
Persons with dementia often die within a few<br />
years due to malnutrition, pneumonia and<br />
poor care.”<br />
“This situation has improved, especially among<br />
well-educated people in the cities – first and<br />
foremost due to the improved economy. The<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
"It is not true when<br />
people say that there is<br />
no treatment for<br />
Alzheimer’s disease,<br />
because there is"<br />
17
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
19<br />
health system is also being expanded, though<br />
at present only highly-placed government<br />
employees have full coverage. The rural<br />
population has no coverage whatsoever, but<br />
political initiatives have now been taken to<br />
provide a certain amount of health insurance<br />
coverage for agricultural labourers.”<br />
“Nursing homes are now also available,<br />
especially in the cities, but they are expensive.<br />
People who can afford to do so, employ a<br />
person to care for their parents. An example of<br />
this would be modern families who are fully<br />
occupied by their work,” Zhang says, adding<br />
that the one-child policy makes it increasingly<br />
essential for the government to solve the<br />
problem of the rising numbers of elderly<br />
persons with dementia. The care burden is<br />
simply becoming too great.<br />
An important role for <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
The task of getting government authorities to<br />
provide support for treatment of dementia in<br />
future is very close to Professor Zhang’s heart.<br />
The same is true of increasing knowledge and<br />
awareness of the disease among doctors,<br />
families and friends.<br />
“The <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Institute plays an important<br />
role in that respect. Its activities will enable us<br />
together to spread knowledge of the disease<br />
and treatment for it to doctors throughout<br />
China. I am very impressed by <strong>Lundbeck</strong> –<br />
particularly by the fact that the company does<br />
not think merely in terms of commercial<br />
interests – but has a long-term view to<br />
improving quality of life for patients, as well<br />
as their family and friends. Doctors and the<br />
pharmaceutical industry have many common<br />
interests. And we can help a lot of people by<br />
working together,” Zhang Zhen-Xin states. She<br />
has also received support for her research from<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>.<br />
In addition to looking after her patients at<br />
Beijing Union Medical College Hospital, she<br />
is an untiring lecturer and instructor – not just<br />
in China, but also at the international level<br />
where her comprehensive knowledge is highly<br />
respected.<br />
The same is true among her patients. On<br />
display in her office, one can see several gifts<br />
from grateful patients whom she has treated<br />
for Alzheimer’s. “Thank you for adding a year<br />
to my life,” says one of the New Year’s<br />
greetings she has received.<br />
“And that warms my heart,” Professor Zhang<br />
says.<br />
“It is not true when people say that there<br />
is no treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,”<br />
she adds, “because there is. We only have<br />
to persevere in making government officials<br />
and the general public aware of the fact that<br />
treating Alzheimer’s is truly worth while.<br />
We can make a difference.”<br />
New <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Institute in China<br />
In December 2008, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> opened<br />
The <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Institute, China. Based in<br />
Beijing, the Institute will work to spread<br />
knowledge of CNS disorders among<br />
doctors and patient associations in China.<br />
The aim is to contribute to improving<br />
quality of life for persons with psychiatric<br />
or neurological disorders.<br />
Like The <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Institute in Denmark,<br />
the Institute in China will help establish<br />
the <strong>Lundbeck</strong> name as a research-based<br />
company that specializes in CNS. The<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Institute in Denmark has<br />
held courses on depression, anxiety,<br />
schizophrenia and dementia for more<br />
than 4000 specialists from around the<br />
world since it was founded.<br />
The Institute in Beijing intends to hold<br />
courses for Chinese specialists conducted<br />
by specialists from China. The newly<br />
established Institute has therefore allied<br />
itself with a number of key opinion<br />
leaders in the fields of psychiatry and<br />
neurology.<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
20 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
Hoping<br />
for a lifebelt<br />
Mehmet Cengiz has had Parkinson’s disease for six years. His<br />
health condition has gradually worsened, and his hopes are now<br />
pinned on scientists discovering a new drug for the disease.<br />
Mehmet Cengiz’s face lights up despite his<br />
serious condition when he speaks of his hope<br />
in the progress of research in Parkinson’s<br />
disease. He became ill six years ago, and now,<br />
at the age of 48, his illness has progressed to<br />
a stage that occasionally makes it difficult for<br />
him to walk and speak. He still works, but as<br />
the disease progresses, working is becoming<br />
more and more difficult. He no longer dares<br />
to make plans for the future, but is still<br />
hoping that scientists will discover new<br />
medications and new forms of treatment that<br />
can combat the disease and improve his<br />
quality of life. This is one of the things that<br />
keep him going.<br />
Dropped the salt<br />
It all began six years ago with a tingling in his<br />
left arm.<br />
“I dropped the salt I had in my fingers, and my<br />
friends asked why I held my left arm against<br />
my body in such a strange way,” Mehmet<br />
Cengiz recalls, sitting at home in his flat in<br />
Istanbul. He thought that a nerve in his arm<br />
had been damaged.<br />
But there was nothing wrong with his nerves.<br />
Instead, a doctor asked him if he had ever<br />
heard of Parkinson’s disease.<br />
“I had no idea what it was, and I was shocked<br />
when I was given the diagnosis. It is difficult and<br />
very alarming to learn that one has a chronic<br />
and incurable disease.” Mehmet Cengiz says.<br />
At home, he began searching the Internet to find<br />
out more about the disease, and discovered that<br />
he was far from alone. Among famous<br />
Parkinson’s patients, he discovered names such<br />
as Pope John Paul II, Bülent Ecevit,the former<br />
Prime Minister of Turkey, the actor Michael J.<br />
Fox, and the boxer Muhammad Ali.<br />
Involuntary isolation<br />
Even though he shares the diagnosis with<br />
approximately 0.2 per cent of the population in<br />
Turkey and the rest of the world, his illness has<br />
still sent him into a form of involuntary<br />
isolation. He used to travel frequently and often<br />
spent time with friends and family. But he rarely<br />
goes out anymore, primarily because he<br />
sometimes has difficulty walking and speaking,<br />
and easily becomes tired. But also because he<br />
feels that people stare at him.<br />
In addition to decreased mobility and tremors in<br />
the hands, another typical symptom is loss of<br />
facial expression. This means that others have<br />
difficulty in interpreting the expressions on one’s<br />
face, and sometimes think that one is displeased<br />
or angry when this is not at all the case.<br />
“My family have grown accustomed to it, but it<br />
is more difficult with friends and acquaintances.<br />
I still feel that they stare at me,” Mehmet Cengiz<br />
says. For this reason, he prefers to stay at home<br />
in the flat with his wife and daughter.<br />
“It would be good if ordinary people knew more<br />
about Parkinson’s disease. I am continually asked<br />
to explain what Parkinson’s disease is, and I<br />
don’t always feel like doing it or have the energy<br />
to do so,” he says. Parkinson’s patients in Turkey<br />
do not yet have an association that can help<br />
spread knowledge of the disease.<br />
Recently, however, Mehmet Cengiz has improved<br />
a great deal, due to a new combination of<br />
medicine. This has given him the courage to go<br />
out again and to get some exercise. His wife has<br />
also given up her job so she can help him in his<br />
store where he sells electric cables.<br />
“My neurologist could hardly believe her eyes<br />
when she saw me a few days ago,” Mehmet<br />
Cengiz recalls with satisfaction in his voice.<br />
Medically, he feels that he is in good hands, and<br />
the national health system also pays for his<br />
medicine.<br />
So, even though he takes one day at a time, the<br />
new treatment has given Mehmet Cengiz a ray<br />
of hope for himself and for the future.<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
"For me, any new form of<br />
treatment would be like getting<br />
a lifebelt in a storm at sea"<br />
21
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
23<br />
A job<br />
for specialists<br />
Professor Markku Kaste has placed Finland among the<br />
world’s leading nations in treatment of stroke.<br />
No one wants to suffer a stroke. But if<br />
Professor Markku Kaste were to have one, he<br />
knows where he would want to be treated: in<br />
Finland.<br />
Here, it was recognized 30 years ago that<br />
stroke requires treatment by specialists.<br />
Finnish stroke patients are therefore always<br />
sent to the nearest large hospital that has<br />
expertise in neurology. Hospitals with<br />
neurological expertise are the only places that<br />
have the broad professional basis necessary for<br />
providing optimal treatment. When a resident<br />
of Helsinki suffers a stroke – and there are<br />
approximately 2000 incidences of stroke<br />
annually in the Finnish capital – the special<br />
neurological emergency room and the acute<br />
stroke unit at Helsinki University Central<br />
Hospital, HUCH, in Meilahti where Markku<br />
Kaste works – is ready and waiting when the<br />
ambulance arrives.<br />
Call centre 112 and ambulance personnel are<br />
trained to recognize the symptoms so they are<br />
able to alert the stroke team to be prepared,<br />
and the patient is met by a stroke neurologist,<br />
a stroke nurse and a laboratory technician as it<br />
enters the doors to the hospital. The laboratory<br />
technician is ready to take blood samples, and<br />
following a quick neurological examination,<br />
Facts about stroke Stroke is an acute bleeding (hemorrhagic stroke) or blood clot in the brain artery<br />
(ischemic stroke). In ischemic stroke the supply of oxygen to an area of the brain fails, and the brain<br />
cells die. Depending where in the brain the damage takes place, one’s capability to move one’s arm<br />
and leg can be lost on the opposite side of the body. If the centres that control speech and language<br />
are affected, one can lose the ability to speak and to understand language.<br />
Stroke is the most frequent cause of permanent invalidity in both Europe and the United States. At the<br />
global level, stroke is currently the second-most frequent cause of death, and the number of people<br />
affected by stroke is rising as population is aging, and the risk of suffering a stroke increases with age.<br />
the patient is placed in a CT scanner, and in<br />
which the patient’s name has already been<br />
entered following a prehospital warning call<br />
made by the ambulance personnel. When<br />
appropriate, the patient is treated with a drug<br />
that dissolves the blood clot in the brain artery<br />
immediately after being scanned.<br />
City council saw the light<br />
Rapid and competent intervention is vital if a<br />
patient is to survive and return home or in a<br />
nursing home when treatment is finished. The<br />
credit for Finland’s stroke alert must be given<br />
to Markku Kaste. As a specialist in neurology,<br />
he has for years been fighting for optimal<br />
treatment for everyone who suffers a stroke –<br />
also patients in the scarcely populated areas of<br />
the country.<br />
“Until a task force of the National Board of<br />
Health in 1989 recommended that all stroke<br />
patients should be treated by neurologists at<br />
large regional hospitals, stroke patients were<br />
treated in medical wards, which I perceived as<br />
a poor idea already as a young neurologist.<br />
Neurologists are the ones who know the most<br />
about the brain, just as cardiologists are the<br />
ones who know the most about the heart.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
24 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
"Unfortunately, there are<br />
still major differences in the<br />
treatment on offer to patients in<br />
different countries in Europe"<br />
Everyone agrees that patients with a<br />
myocardial infarct should be treated by<br />
cardiologists, but the attitude was that anyone<br />
could treat stroke patients,” Markku Kaste says.<br />
When he was able to document on the basis<br />
of a study that stroke patients who had been<br />
treated by neurologists were able to leave<br />
hospital 16 days earlier than those treated in<br />
other wards, and that more were discharged to<br />
their own homes and were also better able to<br />
care for themselves without help, the Helsinki<br />
City Council saw the light. That happened in<br />
1995. The stroke unit at HUCH Meilahti<br />
hospital has since treated all acute stroke<br />
patients in Helsinki. The experience gained in<br />
acute care of stroke has been formulated as<br />
European guidelines. The recommendations,<br />
previously written by a task force of the<br />
European Stroke Initiative (EUSI) and later on<br />
by the European Stroke Organisation (ESO),<br />
both of which Markku Kaste helped found, are<br />
available in multiple languages.<br />
Four out of ten neglected<br />
“Unfortunately, there are still major differences<br />
in the treatment on offer to patients in<br />
different countries in Europe. Recently we<br />
asked 4261 randomly selected hospitals<br />
throughout the EU about their treatment of<br />
stroke, and the results were shocking. Only one<br />
out of seven patients – between 13 and 14 per<br />
cent – were treated as recommended by WHO<br />
i.e. in a stroke unit at a university hospital or<br />
other well equipped hospital, which has<br />
neurologists, cardiologists, neurosurgeons,<br />
vascular surgeons, and a CT scanner that is<br />
manned 24 hours a day. Forty-four per cent<br />
receive acceptable treatment, generally at<br />
large hospital centres. But the remaining 42<br />
per cent are treated in hospitals that lack both<br />
equipment and experience. And this happens<br />
in rich countries as well as in poor. This is not<br />
only appalling for patients, it is also costly for<br />
society,” Markku Kaste says.<br />
Too weak to bang on the table<br />
Stroke is an illness which costs society a lot<br />
of money. “In Finland, caring for a patient in<br />
a nursing home costs EUR 50,000 per year.<br />
As strokes generally occur in persons between<br />
the ages of 60 and 70, their life expectancy is<br />
higher than, for example, persons with<br />
dementia, who are usually older when they<br />
enter a nursing home. Stroke is exceedingly<br />
expensive for society, but those who have<br />
suffered a stroke are too weak to bang on<br />
the table and demand better treatment. This<br />
makes it important to prevent the illness –<br />
also from an economic point of view,”<br />
Professor Kaste continues.<br />
The factors that can cause stroke are the same<br />
as those that can cause cardiovascular<br />
diseases: high blood pressure, high cholesterol,<br />
obesity, smoking, high alcohol consumption<br />
and lack of physical exercise.<br />
Quick treatment makes the difference<br />
“It is therefore possible to do something<br />
oneself, and prevention is of course the best<br />
mode of action. But for those who suffer a<br />
stroke anyway, it is important for society to<br />
invest in stroke units where it is possible to<br />
obtain the best possible treatment, which<br />
increases the likelihood of good recovery. With<br />
the present drugs for dissolving blood clots, we<br />
consider it possible to save many patients up<br />
until four and a half hours of the time of the<br />
symptom onset and in some patients even<br />
after longer time before irreversible damage<br />
occurs. We are currently investigating a new<br />
drug which may give us as much as nine hours,<br />
and thus more time to get patients to<br />
hospitals that can provide the right treatment.<br />
Some patients cannot tolerate drugs that solve<br />
the blood clot, which occludes the brain artery,<br />
for example if they have very high blood<br />
pressure or internal bleeding. But quick arrival<br />
at the hospital and appropriate treatment<br />
benefit all patients. Competent intervention by<br />
a wide spectrum of specialists reduces the risk<br />
of the patient dying or becoming helpless and<br />
requiring care. Quick and correct treatment is<br />
good for the individual patient, and a major<br />
economic benefit for society,” says Professor<br />
Markku Kaste.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magasinet 2009<br />
25
26<br />
"I have been involved all the<br />
way from oldfashioned<br />
psychiatry to the present, and<br />
a great deal of progress has<br />
been made during that time"<br />
Sales rep Thorfinn Nygård drives 50,000 km per year<br />
on the roads in northernmost Norway.
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
27<br />
A laptop<br />
and a vacuum flask<br />
Throughout his 14 years as a sales rep for <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Norway,<br />
he has been braving snowstorms and high water to reach<br />
doctors and give them the most recent knowledge on<br />
psychiatric disorders and the possibilities of treating them.<br />
In the village in Norway where Thorfinn<br />
Nygård grew up in the years after WWII, there<br />
was a special way of expressing that someone<br />
had been admitted to hospital with a<br />
psychiatric disorder. When someone had been<br />
led to hospital, it was understood that it might<br />
be some time before one saw the person again.<br />
Indeed, one might never see them again.<br />
Since then, the possibilities of treating these<br />
disorders have improved a great deal. And<br />
Thorfinn has contributed to people in all of<br />
northern Norway being able to obtain help if<br />
they become affected by a psychiatric<br />
disorder.<br />
Largest district<br />
Thorfinn travels 50,000 km a year in his 4WD,<br />
accompanied by a vacuum flask of hot coffee<br />
and music or reading on the CD player. And<br />
this does not include air travel and trips in<br />
hired cars.<br />
“I visit doctors in an area stretching from just<br />
south of Trondheim to Narvik in the north, a<br />
distance of nearly 1200 km. No other reps<br />
cover such a large area, and it is necessary to<br />
be well acquainted with both the district and<br />
ferry schedules to keep one’s appointments.<br />
Otherwise, one won’t be in the right place at<br />
the right time,” says Thorfinn, who over the<br />
year is in contact with approximately 1000<br />
GPs as well as a number of specialists.<br />
He sees working with doctors as a form of<br />
collaboration.<br />
“I don’t have a single pill in my briefcase, only<br />
information. My most important sales tools<br />
are myself and my laptop. Every day is a<br />
challenge, because doctors are busy and it can<br />
be difficult to engage them in conversation.<br />
Many of my appointments take place during<br />
doctors’ lunch hour, so I take food along, and<br />
then the doctor has time to chat. I have known<br />
some of the doctors for decades, and that is an<br />
advantage. Personal acquaintance means a<br />
lot,” Thorfinn says.<br />
Major progress<br />
He has observed developments in psychiatry<br />
at close hand for more than 40 years, ever<br />
since he was employed as a carer at a<br />
psychiatric hospital in 1968. Thorfinn later<br />
became a nurse, leaving the public health<br />
system in 1988 for a job in the pharmaceutical<br />
industry at a Danish company then known as<br />
Dumex. He was headhunted by <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Norway in 1995.<br />
“I have been involved all the way from oldfashioned<br />
psychiatry to the present, and a<br />
great deal of progress has been made during<br />
that time. When the first neuroleptics were<br />
introduced in the 1950s, it emerged that very<br />
little was known about either the medications<br />
themselves or correct doses. The drugs were<br />
simply given to patients until their skin turned<br />
yellow. Then the organism was saturated and<br />
reduction could begin. The side effects were<br />
severe. The patients were exhausted, and the<br />
medication affected their cognitive abilities.<br />
Today, we fortunately have drugs with far<br />
fewer side effects,” Thorfinn states.<br />
Among the eldest<br />
He has long since celebrated his 60th birthday,<br />
and is thus one of the eldest <strong>Lundbeck</strong> sales<br />
reps. But Thorfinn is not finished with life on<br />
the steep and crooked roads.<br />
“For me, working with a company that has<br />
helped improve treatment of persons with<br />
psychiatric disorders has been very fulfilling.<br />
I have seen what it was like before – how few<br />
options were available. This is what drives me<br />
forward and keeps me going,” Thorfinn<br />
remarks.<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
28 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
A career<br />
with global focus<br />
Her career with <strong>Lundbeck</strong> has to date led Italian-Canadian<br />
Lorena Di Carlo across the Atlantic from Montreal to<br />
Copenhagen, and then down under to Sydney.<br />
Lorena Di Carlo had only been with <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Canada as a CNS Specialist for six months<br />
when she took on the role of Associate<br />
Product Manager with responsibility for the<br />
nation-wide launch of Celexa®/Cipramil®. The<br />
ensuing launch became the most successful<br />
introduction of a new antidepressant on the<br />
Canadian market, with <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Canada<br />
experiencing almost explosive growth.<br />
“We were 10 employees when I was hired in<br />
1995, and 140 a couple of years later,” Lorena<br />
recalls, admitting that she knew only very little<br />
about <strong>Lundbeck</strong> when she was hired and met<br />
with the words: “Welcome to <strong>Lundbeck</strong>. You’re<br />
our first staff member in North America.” At<br />
that time she had been working three years in<br />
sales. Lorena was enthusiastic about being part<br />
of the founding team of a new company in<br />
Canada whose mission is to improve the<br />
quality of life of people with psychiatric and<br />
neurological disorders. Her career took off<br />
immediately, and she became Vice President of<br />
Marketing at <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Canada before her<br />
career led her to Denmark and, most recently,<br />
to Sydney in Australia.<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> gave me the chance<br />
“The values first led me to <strong>Lundbeck</strong> and has<br />
kept me with the company over the years –<br />
primarily because being imaginative,<br />
responsible and never giving up are values that<br />
are entirely compatible with my own. I am very<br />
result oriented and I am fully committed to<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
31<br />
"Experience has taught me not to<br />
engage in comparisons of how things are<br />
done ‘at home’. Being openminded and<br />
appreciative is the best approach"<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s vision of being the world leader<br />
in CNS. My contribution has always been<br />
appreciated and I really do feel that as part<br />
of a wider team, I am helping to make a<br />
difference. In addition, there is the willingness<br />
to take a chance. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> took a chance with<br />
me by giving me the opportunity to launch<br />
Celexa®/Cipramil® early in my career, and I<br />
appreciate that.”<br />
Since then, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> has become an<br />
international company with 55 subsidiaries<br />
around the world.<br />
“<strong>Lundbeck</strong> has progressed from having a<br />
mainly European focus to being an<br />
international company, and is well on its way<br />
to becoming a global leader in CNS. What I<br />
value most about the scope of my role is that,<br />
on the one hand, I know each and every one of<br />
my reps, and as a subsidiary we have room for<br />
flexibility and individual ideas. On the other<br />
hand, I have colleagues all over the world, and<br />
am constantly aware of our global focus,” says<br />
Lorena, who holds a Degree in Marketing and<br />
an MBA in International Business. She was also<br />
a member of the Strategic Marketing Team for<br />
six months in Valby and is a long-time member<br />
of the Global Brand Board which meets twice a<br />
year to provide input on global marketing<br />
initiatives. She is now located on the other<br />
side of the globe in Sydney where she has<br />
been Sales and Marketing Manager of<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Australia for one year.<br />
Tri-cultural<br />
“Having grown up in French-speaking Montreal<br />
with Italian parents, I am naturally tri-cultural,<br />
so I find it easy to adapt to new cultures. And<br />
even though Australia is a Western culture,<br />
there are still many nuances. Experience has<br />
taught me not to engage in comparisons of<br />
how things are done ‘at home’. Being openminded<br />
and appreciative is the best approach.”<br />
Lorena likes living down under, where she<br />
heads a group of some 60 staff members.<br />
“Australia is a very interesting market. It is very<br />
thoroughly regulated and has lots of obstacles,<br />
but once one gains a foothold, it is very<br />
attractive. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> is well regarded by<br />
physicians, and Australia is among the largests<br />
markets for Lexapro®/Cipralex®, despite the<br />
fact that the country has only 21 million<br />
inhabitants.”<br />
Global network<br />
Thanks to her <strong>Lundbeck</strong> network, Lorena had<br />
friends in Australia from the day she arrived.<br />
“After almost 15 years with <strong>Lundbeck</strong>, I have<br />
an extensive network all over the world.<br />
Professionally, it is fantastically beneficial to<br />
be able to phone a colleague in Spain to learn<br />
how they have solved a problem, but it is also<br />
personally rewarding. People have a tendency<br />
to stay with <strong>Lundbeck</strong>, and colleagues turn<br />
into friends.”<br />
“I really enjoy the Australian outdoor culture.<br />
I run, I recently started cycling, and I have a<br />
swimming coach. My aim is to do a triathlon<br />
before the end of the year. I ran my first<br />
marathon in Chicago 18 months ago. Apart<br />
from that, I have also tried surfing, but after<br />
the shark attacks of recent months, I may well<br />
decide to relent on my motto: never give up!”<br />
How long do you intend to stay in Australia<br />
before you move on in your career?<br />
“I will certainly stay until I finish my<br />
assignment. What happens after that will<br />
depend on where my skills are best suited and<br />
needed,” Lorena replies with a smile. “I am<br />
open to anything that will contribute to the<br />
company’s success and help me continue to<br />
develop and learn, no matter where in the<br />
world it might be.”<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
32<br />
Danish-Japanese partnership<br />
– the American way<br />
Antidepressants of the future are being developed jointly<br />
by <strong>Lundbeck</strong> and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
33<br />
In 2007, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> entered into a strategic<br />
alliance with Takeda, Japan’s largest<br />
pharmaceutical company. The partnership<br />
involves further development of a new series<br />
of compounds for treatment of disorders such<br />
as depression and anxiety, as well as marketing<br />
of the finished drugs in Japan and the United<br />
States.<br />
The substances, which were discovered by<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>, belong to a totally new<br />
pharmacological class of drugs. It is expected<br />
that these drugs will be superior to current<br />
antidepressants in a number of areas.<br />
Researchers from <strong>Lundbeck</strong> in Denmark are<br />
participating in the development activities,<br />
together with Takeda’s US subsidiary, Takeda<br />
Global Research & Development Center, Inc.<br />
located at Deerfield, Illinois, near Chicago.<br />
At least once a month, Marianne Dragheim,<br />
Senior Specialist and Medical Doctor, boards<br />
an aeroplane for Chicago to meet with her<br />
colleagues at Takeda. Marianne is in charge of<br />
the clinical aspects of the project at <strong>Lundbeck</strong>,<br />
and sees clear advantages in the alliance with<br />
our Japanese partner.<br />
Ambitious plan<br />
“Without our partnership with Takeda, we<br />
would not have advanced to the current stage.<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> would not have been able to do it<br />
alone, as we have neither the resources nor the<br />
necessary staff. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> has the know-how<br />
and Takeda has the resources for developing<br />
drugs to treat disorders of the central nervous<br />
system. This is why companies form strategic<br />
alliances; a company needs a partner to help<br />
bear part of the burden. We have had a clear<br />
vision of what we want to do from the very<br />
beginning – and a very ambitious schedule for<br />
the project. I think Takeda thought we were<br />
a bit mad when we first showed it to them,”<br />
Marianne says.<br />
Amazed and fascinated<br />
Atul Mahableshwarkar, Senior Medical Director<br />
with Takeda and psychiatrist by training, is in<br />
charge of the clinical aspects of the project.<br />
He, and others were hired by Takeda to work<br />
with <strong>Lundbeck</strong> on this project. Atul clearly<br />
remembers his initial reaction on being<br />
introduced to it for the first time.<br />
“I was amazed at both the scope and the<br />
time horizon, but now I am fascinated by<br />
how well it has gone. Merely developing an<br />
antidepressant for multiple indications –<br />
depression and anxiety – at the same time is<br />
new and has not been done simultaneously<br />
before. In fact, one of our key opinion leaders<br />
has suggested that we publish a report on our<br />
work, once the substances are on the market,<br />
because this is something we can be proud of,<br />
and it can be used as an example of how to do<br />
things correctly,” Atul says.<br />
Learning from each other<br />
Transatlantic collaboration requires planning,<br />
but it is worth the effort, he believes.<br />
“We come from our own two cultures, so we<br />
approach things in different ways. Our various<br />
backgrounds enhance our perspective of<br />
developing pharmaceuticals. One of the major<br />
benefits of our collaboration is being able<br />
to draw on our wide ranges of experience.<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> has developed many other drugs<br />
for use in the CNS field. Takeda's contribution<br />
is our experience in developing drugs in<br />
the United States. In addition to my drug<br />
development experience, I personally have<br />
treated thousands of persons for depression.<br />
Moreover, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> and Takeda both have<br />
experience in their various markets.<br />
Registering a drug with the U.S. Food and<br />
Drug Administration (FDA) is different than<br />
registering with the European Medicines<br />
Agency (EMEA). We learn from each other<br />
all the time, and I have benefited from working<br />
with my <strong>Lundbeck</strong> colleagues. Of course there<br />
are challenges in combining two different<br />
corporate cultures and ways of working, but we<br />
have a common goal of which we are aligned<br />
around,” Atul states.<br />
Mutual values<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> and Takeda are jointly responsible<br />
for the project.<br />
“All decisions are made jointly, and we must<br />
always concur in major decisions. Working<br />
together also enables us to use our resources<br />
better. And while we are pressed for time,<br />
everyone is very committed and in total<br />
agreement on the goal. Not all companies are<br />
like that, but <strong>Lundbeck</strong> and Takeda are similar in<br />
this respect. There are people on both sides of<br />
the Atlantic who have been working very hard<br />
for a very long time. This is true of everyone<br />
who is involved in the project, not just the front<br />
figures. Staff members grow with a project<br />
when they are included the way they are at<br />
both Takeda and <strong>Lundbeck</strong>,” Marianne says.<br />
Looking forward to approval<br />
She thrives under pressure.<br />
“I am happiest when all the odds are against us.<br />
But if I had to do it again, I would probably try<br />
to ensure that we had more of the necessary<br />
resources,” says Marianne.<br />
Atul is looking forward to seeing the first<br />
substances approved as drugs in Europe and the<br />
United States during the coming years.<br />
“And I would be incredibly happy if I sometime<br />
in future – perhaps 15 years from now – could<br />
say that millions of people’s lives are better<br />
because of the work we have done together.<br />
That is my motivating force,” says Atul.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
35<br />
Tommy Skovby is a chemical engineer at the <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
synthesis factory at Lumsås where he chairs a project that is<br />
to prepare the way for an entirely new way of manufacturing<br />
pharmaceuticals.<br />
As the author of a dissertation on aromatics for<br />
use in the food industry, Tommy Skovby’s<br />
education actually prepared him for a different<br />
line of work. But ever since he began working in<br />
the Quality Department at the Lumsås factory<br />
nine years ago, he has focused on production of<br />
pharmaceuticals. Tommy is deeply involved at<br />
present in a project that, in the foreseeable future,<br />
will change pharmaceutical production as we<br />
know it.<br />
The current method of manufacturing drugs is on<br />
the way to being replaced by a new process which<br />
is fundamentally different, and <strong>Lundbeck</strong> is at the<br />
forefront of developments.<br />
Known as continuous production, the method is<br />
new to the pharmaceutical world, though it has<br />
for many years been used by refineries and<br />
chemical industries. Instead of producing large<br />
amounts of a product in batches and closing<br />
down the production line between each batch,<br />
the new method involves manufacturing only<br />
small amounts on a production line that is in<br />
continuous operation. The process is monitored at<br />
strategic points along the way, enabling errors to<br />
be isolated. An entire production system takes up<br />
only a fraction of the space required for current<br />
systems, and is also cheaper and safer for<br />
employees to operate.<br />
Financial necessity<br />
Small-scale continuous production saves money<br />
in several ways, such as power bills.<br />
“With our current method, we heat up a steel<br />
reactor weighing a couple of tons and then cool it<br />
down again several times during a production<br />
process. In future, we will achieve the same result<br />
with a small steel box at only a fraction of the<br />
cost. The systems are so small that it is possible to<br />
have 10 reactors in a space the size of a family<br />
sitting room. A system of this kind saves money<br />
on both heating and ventilation, and we will be<br />
able to increase production tenfold without<br />
moving a single wall,” Tommy says. Financial<br />
necessity is a significant reason for introducing<br />
continuous production.<br />
“At <strong>Lundbeck</strong> we annually manufacture between<br />
30 and 40 tons of escitalopram, the active<br />
ingredient in Cipralex®. Production takes place in<br />
reactors large enough to contain between 3000<br />
and 4000 litres, and each batch must be put into<br />
sacks or barrels and moved to a warehouse where<br />
they occupy space. If we switch to continuous<br />
production and manufacture 60 grams per<br />
minute, the process can take place in a space<br />
roughly the size of a matchbox,” Tommy explains.<br />
Globalization has added further pressure to keep<br />
production costs down.<br />
“Ten years ago we manufactured most of the raw<br />
materials ourselves, whereas we now purchase<br />
them in the Far East. We must consider how we<br />
can reduce our costs, and it’s a matter of reducing<br />
them as soon as possible,” Tommy continues.<br />
Extremely interesting<br />
As Senior Project Manager, he heads a project<br />
known as Innovative Future Manufacturing IFM.<br />
“When I began working here, I flirted a bit with<br />
process intensification, in which technologies are<br />
combined to improve processes. It was in reality<br />
the forerunner of continuous production, so, in<br />
that sense, I have led the project from the very<br />
beginning – though not full-time. Our main job at<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> is to manufacture, so the project has<br />
been put on hold several times along the way. In<br />
2006, we devised a strategy for tackling<br />
globalization, and the continuous production<br />
project is part of that strategy,” explains Tommy,<br />
who has been an ardent supporter of the new<br />
method all along.<br />
“Someone had to champion the cause, and it<br />
happened to be me. Both because it is extremely<br />
interesting for an engineer from a professional<br />
point of view, and because, in the final analysis,<br />
it is a matter of <strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s production activities<br />
surviving in the long term. That is my driving<br />
force,” Tommy states.<br />
Collaboration with the Technical University<br />
of Denmark<br />
The actual systems for the project are one of the<br />
major challenges. They cannot be bought, but<br />
must be developed from scratch. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> has<br />
therefore entered into a five-year agreement<br />
with DTU concerning development of<br />
applications for the new production method.<br />
Several students are involved in designing<br />
proposals, and the first results have already been<br />
presented for <strong>Lundbeck</strong>.<br />
“The aim of collaborating with DTU is to obtain<br />
a number of building blocks to have at our<br />
disposal. Everyone in the pharmaceutical<br />
industry is interested in the possibilities, but not<br />
many dare experiment with it. It is difficult to<br />
break the habit of batch production, because it<br />
has been the basis for manufacturing in the<br />
pharmaceutical industry for so many years,”<br />
Tommy says. “<strong>Lundbeck</strong> would like to be a<br />
pioneer in the area.”<br />
“But we aren’t in any rush. The project has been<br />
set in motion because <strong>Lundbeck</strong> can see a<br />
number of advantages in the method. And we<br />
aren’t in a great hurry; we would prefer to reap<br />
the results gradually as we move forward,”<br />
concludes Tommy.<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
37<br />
Always<br />
one step ahead<br />
The tempo has been high at <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Turkey since Gaye<br />
Burhanoglu became Managing Director seven years ago.<br />
If Gaye Burhanoglu were to identify her<br />
greatest fault, it would perhaps be her inability<br />
to sit down and do nothing for five minutes at<br />
a time. However, this trait is also one of her<br />
greatest strengths, because it ensures that she<br />
and <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Turkey are always one step<br />
ahead of competitors in a country where<br />
everything takes place at a hectic pace. It is<br />
likewise one of the reasons why <strong>Lundbeck</strong> is<br />
number one in CNS in Turkey and why<br />
Cipralex® is clearly the market leader in<br />
antidepressants.<br />
And while Turkey is also feeling the effects of<br />
the world economic crisis, there are no signs of<br />
a crisis at <strong>Lundbeck</strong> in Istanbul, where the<br />
headquarters have just moved to new and<br />
larger offices and added 10 new reps to the<br />
staff, bringing it up to 170 in all.<br />
Gaye has been with <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Turkey from<br />
its very beginning in 2000 when she was<br />
headhunted for the job as Sales and Marketing<br />
Manager from a post as head of the CNS<br />
business unit at Novartis. Eighteen months<br />
later she took over the reins as Managing<br />
Director of <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Turkey.<br />
“CNS has always been very close to my heart.<br />
Indeed, one might say that it has become my<br />
destiny. I have always been deeply interested<br />
in the human psyche, and I find associating<br />
with CNS specialists intellectually enriching.”<br />
Cotton and olives<br />
Gaye has a degree in marketing from one of<br />
the most prestigious universities in Istanbul.<br />
Her mother is a gynaecologist, and even<br />
though Gaye can clearly recall sales reps<br />
calling at the family home when she was a girl,<br />
it was definitely not in the cards that she<br />
would end up working in the pharmaceutical<br />
industry.<br />
“I thought I wanted to be a farmer and grow<br />
olives and cotton on my family’s property in<br />
southwest Turkey,” says Gaye who was born<br />
and raised in Izmir.<br />
On finishing school, she moved to Istanbul to<br />
study at the School of Agriculture, but changed<br />
her mind and opted for marketing instead.<br />
Since then she has lived in Istanbul, a city of<br />
approximately 20 million inhabitants. The<br />
exact population of this city situated at the<br />
crossroads of Europe and Asia is unknown, as<br />
thousands of the country’s 70 million citizens<br />
flock to the metropolis every day in search of<br />
prosperity.<br />
"Turkey is a very dynamic country with a<br />
young population that is eager to attempt<br />
new things, and I love that attitude"<br />
Fought and won<br />
“Turkey is a very dynamic country with a<br />
young population that is eager to attempt new<br />
things, and I love that attitude,” Gaye says.<br />
However, rapid developments – not least in<br />
Istanbul – are also an enormous challenge for<br />
Gaye and the staff members at <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
38 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
"I have always been deeply<br />
interested in the human psyche,<br />
and I find associating with CNS<br />
specialists intellectually enriching"<br />
Turkey, because the market changes from day<br />
to day.<br />
“This means that we must constantly be a<br />
step ahead of everyone else. From the very<br />
beginning, I fought for more reps because it<br />
suddenly became possible to market Cipramil®<br />
directly to GPs. We were only 15 employees at<br />
the time, and I could see opportunities in<br />
expanding our staff. We succeeded in<br />
convincing headquarters, though it took some<br />
time,” says Gaye, who found it difficult to<br />
maintain her patience. Her efforts paid off in<br />
the end, however, with sales of Cipramil®<br />
rocketing skyward and becoming the bestselling<br />
pharmaceutical in Turkey in 2003.<br />
Cipralex® has since taken over the role of<br />
market-leading antidepressant in Turkey.<br />
Despite keen generic competition, sales are<br />
still rising.<br />
Cipralex® has six generic copies. There are four<br />
of Ebixa®. However, they are branded generics<br />
which cost 80 per cent of the price of the<br />
originals. Under the current health system and<br />
reimbursement regulations, only a fraction of<br />
patients must pay for treatment with the<br />
original products.<br />
“In terms of pharma, Turkey is close to being<br />
on a par with Europe. Regulations have<br />
become more and more stringent, and the<br />
government is taking longer and longer to<br />
process applications for price adjustments and<br />
reimbursement. This will result in major<br />
challenges for us in the time ahead,” says<br />
Gaye, who has handled numerous crises over<br />
the years. In her view, she merely needs to<br />
apply an extra large amount of her<br />
competitive gene and combat capability.<br />
Loves sports<br />
She cultivates both by engaging in a variety of<br />
sports in her spare time. “I love sports. I used<br />
to swim when I was young, and I played<br />
basketball at a professional level. Basketball<br />
taught me teamwork and swimming taught<br />
me self-discipline. Both are useful in my work.<br />
I now have very little spare time, but we have<br />
a gym at the office where I do Pilates. I also do<br />
yoga, and we compete in Wii Sports in my<br />
family at home.”<br />
Gaye is the mother of two daughters aged 20<br />
and four, hence her lack of spare time.<br />
“With my first daughter, I was so busy that<br />
time just flew by, but I now have another<br />
perspective on life and try to maintain a better<br />
balance between my work and my private life.”<br />
To the extent that time allows, she travels the<br />
world with her husband who has his own<br />
company and is a passionate photographer.<br />
“As I mentioned, I find it difficult to sit still for<br />
very long at a time,” Gaye says with a smile.<br />
“I do feng shui to acquire more peace and<br />
harmony – also here at the office. I used the<br />
principles when we furnished our new offices,<br />
and when I eventually retire, I may well begin<br />
working as a feng shui consultant. I could<br />
never even dream of stopping work entirely.”<br />
PHOTO: Simon ladefoged
40<br />
From genes<br />
to galaxies<br />
The <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Foundation is one of Denmark’s largest private<br />
contributors to research in the health and natural sciences.
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
41<br />
s an active researcher, Anne-Marie<br />
Engel was so successful at applying<br />
for and obtaining financing for her<br />
research that she taught her colleagues how<br />
to write applications that get the desired<br />
results. Now, she is on the other side of the<br />
table. As Director of Research at the <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Foundation and secretary of its selection<br />
committee, Anne-Marie Engel is involved in<br />
processing the approximately 600 applications<br />
for funds for research purposes in the health<br />
and natural sciences which the Foundation<br />
receives annually.<br />
The selection committee has eight members,<br />
three of whom are on the board of the<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Foundation, and three of whom are<br />
scientific experts in Denmark’s neighbouring<br />
countries. The eight members gather three<br />
times a year to assess the individual<br />
applications, in order to provide the best<br />
possible basis for the Board of the <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Foundation to distribute the large amounts<br />
of money at its disposal. Between 2008 and<br />
2010, the Foundation will distribute<br />
approximately DKK 1 billion.<br />
Many excellent researchers<br />
The first requirement is that research must be<br />
top quality, a criterion that applicants normally<br />
have no difficulty in meeting.<br />
“We see many good applications, and it is<br />
my impression that we have many excellent<br />
researchers in Denmark. Research projects<br />
must be in either the health or natural<br />
sciences. The foundation has a long tradition<br />
of supporting neurological research, though we<br />
also give money to many other fields within<br />
the health sciences. In recent years, we have<br />
given money for research in areas such as cell<br />
biology and cell communication. We have also<br />
donated to translation, which deals with<br />
building bridges between basic and clinical<br />
research that is done with a view to<br />
discovering improved methods of treatment<br />
based, among other things, on new knowledge<br />
of the role of genes in development of certain<br />
diseases. If scientists can map the significance<br />
of genes in development of illnesses such as<br />
asthma and various life-style diseases, it will<br />
have major consequences for both treatment<br />
and prevention,” Anne-Marie Engel says.<br />
Focus on intervention<br />
Intervention is another area of current interest<br />
to researchers.<br />
“In 2008 we supported the establishment of<br />
three centres. At the first centre, research is<br />
being done to optimize radiation treatment<br />
of various types of cancer, and at the second<br />
centre efforts are being made to discover a more<br />
efficient and less traumatic method of replacing<br />
knees and hips. The third centre focuses on<br />
neurological research, namely schizophrenia.<br />
Danish scientists have helped establish the<br />
existence of a chromosomal error that causes<br />
susceptibility to schizophrenia – a discovery that<br />
may well change the perception of persons with<br />
psychiatric disorders – the same as discovery of<br />
the bacteria that causes stomach ulcer has done<br />
for persons with that disorder. These persons<br />
used to be considered ‘delicate’. We now know<br />
that the illness has a physiological cause,” Anne-<br />
Marie Engel continues.<br />
A few years ago, the Board of the <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Foundation also decided to earmark an amount<br />
for research in physics and chemistry, and the<br />
Foundation has also given money to projects<br />
such as Danish scientists’ studies of the universe.<br />
“It is very difficult to obtain financing for this<br />
type of research in Denmark, while there are<br />
many foundations that support research in the<br />
health sciences. The <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Foundation<br />
wishes to support Danish research on a broad<br />
front. We believe it is important to have a<br />
dynamic research environment in Denmark,”<br />
states Anne-Marie Engel.<br />
Too few young people<br />
She is a medical doctor, and became<br />
fascinated by research. She was employed as<br />
a researcher at Statens Serum Institute when<br />
she saw a job advert from the <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Foundation. Much of the work consisted of<br />
reading applications and writing an<br />
introduction to them.<br />
“It was the ideal job for me. I was always<br />
reasonably lucky with writing applications to<br />
foundations to finance my research. Later, I<br />
taught others how to write successful<br />
applications to foundations that had<br />
previously turned them down,” Anne-Marie<br />
Engel continues.<br />
Her greatest concern for research is the fact<br />
that too few young people are studying for<br />
degrees in the natural sciences.<br />
“It would be unfortunate if the falling<br />
tendency continues. For this reason, the<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Foundation is supporting a number<br />
of initiatives that seek to influence students’<br />
choice of field of study during their early years<br />
at school. This must be done at a stage when<br />
they are still asking spontaneous questions<br />
about nature, and, among other things, the<br />
initiatives involve strengthening instruction in<br />
nature and technology for the youngest<br />
children in primary schools. Teachers must<br />
have more possibilities for making<br />
experiments. Children love classes where they<br />
are able to experiment, and they remember<br />
them for a long time – perhaps for the rest of<br />
their lives. Stimulating young people’s pleasure<br />
in the natural sciences is very close to my<br />
heart,” concludes Anne-Marie Engel.<br />
The <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Foundation is a commercial foundation which was established in 1954 by Mrs Grete<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>, the widow of the founder of H. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> A/S. The primary aim of the Foundation is to<br />
maintain and expand the activities of the <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Group, and to provide funding for research of the<br />
highest quality in the health and natural sciences.<br />
In 2007 and 2008, the Foundation supported the establishment of research centres whose aim is<br />
to make the results of basic scientific research available for patients as quickly and efficiently as<br />
possible. The theme for 2009 is nanomedicine.<br />
In 2008, the <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Foundation donated DKK 328 million to research.<br />
PHOTO: Joachim ladefoged
42 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
From idea<br />
to drug<br />
Distribution of drugs<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> drugs are registered in more than 90 countries.<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s own representatives are in charge of spreading the<br />
knowledge of <strong>Lundbeck</strong> products in 55 countries. As <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
products are prescription drugs, doctors must decide when<br />
patients will benefit from them. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> spreads knowledge<br />
of its products through publications in scientific journals,<br />
participation in scientific conferences, and through meetings<br />
with doctors and specialists.<br />
Production of drugs<br />
A drug must be safe and efficacious. It must also be possible<br />
to produce it in large amounts and in a manner that enables<br />
patients to take the drug and assimilate it optimally in the body.<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> manufactures its own drugs in Denmark, the United<br />
Kingdom and Italy where a total of 964 persons are employed in<br />
the manufacturing. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> also collaborates with a number of<br />
other companies on various phases of the production process,<br />
ranging from supply of raw materials and semi-finished products<br />
to pharmaceutical production and packing of the drugs.
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
43<br />
700 million in the world<br />
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 700 million<br />
cases of disorders of the central nervous system are reported each year. These<br />
are serious and life-threatening illnesses that affect not only patients’ quality of<br />
life, but also that of their families and friends. For society in general, the major<br />
economic consequences caused by these conditions make it important to<br />
develop new and innovative drugs. During the past 50 years, novel drugs have<br />
revolutionized the possibilities of treatment. However, there is still a huge<br />
unmet need for new and innovative drugs.<br />
From idea to drug candidate<br />
More than 480 persons are employed at the <strong>Lundbeck</strong> research<br />
units in Denmark and the United States. The basis for a new and<br />
innovative drug is deep insight into the disorder itself, and into the<br />
unmet needs of patients. The process takes between three and five<br />
years, during which researchers work to identify where in the<br />
human organism a new drug must act and to test substances for<br />
any efficacy, side effects and toxicity. If a substance passes all of<br />
these tests, it becomes a drug candidate.<br />
From candidate to approved drug<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> has development activities in some 40 countries around the world.<br />
800 employees are involved in development activities which are necessary<br />
for a drug to be approved. First, a substance is tested in healthy persons for<br />
its tolerability, assimilation and distribution in the body. Following this, its<br />
efficacy and side-effect profiles are tested in a small group of patients. In the<br />
third and decisive phase, the drug is tested in a large group of patients.<br />
Developing a new drug is very demanding, and normally takes between eight<br />
and ten years.<br />
ILLUSTRATION: MADS BERG
44 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Milestones<br />
1945-1960<br />
The foundation of <strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s CNS expertise<br />
During the years following World War II, <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
intensified its research, laying the foundation stone<br />
for the drugs which would later make <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
world famous. As the result of these efforts,<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> was able to introduce Truxal® in 1957,<br />
one of the first drugs for treatment of<br />
schizophrenia.<br />
In 1954, Mrs Grete <strong>Lundbeck</strong>, the widow of<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s founder, established the <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
Foundation for the purpose of ensuring and<br />
expanding <strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s business operations, as well<br />
as for providing financial support for primarily<br />
scientific objectives and fight against diseases.<br />
1915-1930<br />
The first years as a Danish trading company<br />
Hans <strong>Lundbeck</strong> founded an agency in<br />
Copenhagen on 14 August 1915. The company<br />
dealt in everything from machinery, biscuits,<br />
confectionery, sweeteners, cinema equipment<br />
and cameras to photographic paper and<br />
aluminium foil, besides renting out vacuum<br />
cleaners.<br />
During its first years, the business was operated<br />
as a trading company, but, from the mid-1920s,<br />
pharmaceuticals were added to its range of<br />
products. Eduard Goldschmidt was hired in<br />
1924, bringing into the company a number of<br />
new agency contracts for drugs: suppositories<br />
for haemorrhoids, painkillers etc. Cologne and<br />
creams were also added to the portfolio.<br />
1930-1945<br />
Expansion in manufacturing and research<br />
In the 1930s, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> began production and packaging<br />
of pharmaceuticals in Denmark. To ensure sufficient<br />
manufacturing capacity, the company moved to the<br />
Copenhagen suburb of Valby in 1939, where <strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
headquarters is situated today.<br />
In 1937, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> introduced Epicutan® for treatment of<br />
wounds – its first original pharmaceutical – and Lucosil®<br />
for treatment of urinary tract infections in 1940. 45 staff<br />
members celebrated <strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s 25th jubilee the same<br />
year.<br />
Hans <strong>Lundbeck</strong> died in 1943, and Poul Viggo Petersen was<br />
employed to build up <strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s pharmaceutical research.<br />
Thanks to his efforts, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> was able to create a niche<br />
for itself in psychopharmaceuticals.
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
45<br />
1975-1990<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> defines CNS as its primary focus<br />
After 60 years of growth and development based on a<br />
wide assortment of products, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> decided at the<br />
end of the 1970s to phase out its existing agencies and<br />
cosmetics departments. After that, the company would<br />
focus on development and commercialization of drugs.<br />
At the close of the 1980s, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> further intensified<br />
its business strategy focus. In future, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> would<br />
dedicate its efforts to development, manufacturing and<br />
commercialization of drugs for the treatment of<br />
diseases and disorders of the central nervous system.<br />
Cipramil® was launched in Denmark in 1989 and<br />
played a key role in <strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s expansion.<br />
2005-2020<br />
Best CNS company<br />
In 2009, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> has more than 5,500 staff<br />
members who work in 55 countries. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> has a<br />
broad portfolio of drugs on the market for treatment<br />
of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s<br />
disease and Parkinson’s disease. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> has 12 new<br />
and innovative drugs under development.<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s ambition is to be the worlds best<br />
company in development of drugs for treatment of<br />
disorders and diseases of the central nervous system.<br />
With more than 50 years of experience in<br />
development and commercialization of CNS drugs,<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> has a solid foundation for ensuring that this<br />
ambition can be fulfilled during the coming decade.<br />
1960-1975<br />
Expanding <strong>Lundbeck</strong> goes international<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s success with Truxal® increased the<br />
need for additional production capacity. In 1961,<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> purchased a redundant creamery in<br />
Lumsås and soon began production of active<br />
compounds.<br />
A number of drugs for treatment of psychiatric<br />
disorders were launched during the following<br />
years, and <strong>Lundbeck</strong> established its own<br />
representation in a number of countries. Between<br />
1960 and 1970, the number of employees<br />
doubled to 680, of whom approximately 100<br />
were employed abroad. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> was becoming<br />
an international company.<br />
1990-2005<br />
Expansion propelled by Cipramil® success<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> expanded rapidly in the 1990s, due to the success of Cipramil® for<br />
treatment of depression. Cipramil® was registered in more than 70 countries and<br />
grew to account for the major share of <strong>Lundbeck</strong>’s business operations.<br />
To ensure its continued success, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> intensified its research activities and<br />
began in-licensing drugs from other pharmaceutical companies. This enabled<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> to launch new drugs to take over when the patent on Cipramil® expired.<br />
Cipralex® was launched in 2002 and Ebixa® in 2003, and the two drugs were<br />
capable of compensating for Cipramil® when it was exposed to generic<br />
competition.<br />
In 2003, <strong>Lundbeck</strong> acquired the American research company Synaptic, thereby<br />
establishing an American research unit as a bridgehead in the United States.
46 <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong><br />
at a glance<br />
H. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> A/S is an international pharmaceutical company with more than 50 years of experience<br />
in research, development, production, marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of<br />
diseases of the central nervous system, CNS.<br />
Our values<br />
Imaginative – Dare to be different<br />
Passionate – Never give up<br />
Responsible – Do the right thing<br />
Founded in 1915 by Hans <strong>Lundbeck</strong>, the company<br />
was listed on the Nasdaq OMX Copenhagen stock<br />
exchange in 1999.<br />
The <strong>Lundbeck</strong> Foundation is the largest shareholder,<br />
own-ing about 70% of the shares. In 2008, the<br />
foundation paid out DKK 328 million in funds for<br />
scientific research.<br />
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> worldwide<br />
The Group employs more than<br />
5,500 employees in 55 countries.
<strong>Lundbeck</strong> Magazine 2009<br />
47<br />
Cipralex/Lexapro® (escitalopram)<br />
Approved for:<br />
Depression and anxiety<br />
Launch year:<br />
2002<br />
Partner:<br />
Forest Laboratories, Inc. (USA)<br />
Azilect® (rasagilin)<br />
Approved for:<br />
Parkinson’s disease<br />
Launch year: 2005<br />
Partner:<br />
Teva Pharmaceutical<br />
Industries Ltd.<br />
Ebixa® (memantin)<br />
Approved for:<br />
Alzheimer’s disease<br />
Launch year:<br />
2002<br />
Partner:<br />
Merz Pharmaceuticals GmbH<br />
Serdolect® (sertindol)<br />
Approved for:<br />
Schizophrenia<br />
Launch year:<br />
2006<br />
Circadin®<br />
Approved for:<br />
Insomnia<br />
Launch year:<br />
2008<br />
Partner: Neurim<br />
Pharmaceuticals Ltd.<br />
Revenue per product 2008<br />
16%<br />
1%<br />
2%<br />
14%<br />
22%<br />
2%<br />
43%<br />
Cipralex®<br />
Lexapro®<br />
Ebixa®<br />
Azilect®<br />
Serdolect®<br />
Other<br />
pharmaceuticals<br />
Other revenue<br />
Revenue DKK 11,282 million<br />
Research and development costs DKK 2,992 million<br />
Profit from operations DKK 2,352 million<br />
Net profit for the year DKK 1,510 million<br />
Pharmaceuticals in clinical development<br />
Development stage Registration<br />
Indication I Compound Phase I Phase II Phase III application<br />
Employees by business area 2008<br />
2,500<br />
2,000<br />
1,500<br />
1,000<br />
500<br />
0<br />
Production<br />
Research & Sales &<br />
development marketing<br />
Europe USA Other<br />
Administration<br />
Schizophrenia I Serdolect® USA<br />
Depression/angst I Lu AA21004 2010<br />
Schizophrenia I Bifeprunox 2011<br />
Alchol dependence I Nalmefen 2011<br />
Stroke I Desmoteplase 2011+<br />
Psychosis I Lu 31-130 2011+<br />
Depression I Lu AA24530 2011+<br />
Depression/bipolar disorder I Lu AA34893 2011+<br />
Psychosis I Lu AE58054 2011+<br />
Psychosis/bipolar disorderI Lu AA39959 2011+<br />
Stroke/neuronal damage I Lu AA24493 2011+<br />
Neurological diseases I Lu AA38466 2011+
The specialist in psychiatry<br />
and pioneer in neurology<br />
H. <strong>Lundbeck</strong> A/S<br />
Ottiliavej 9<br />
2500 Copenhagen - Valby<br />
Denmark<br />
Corporate Reporting<br />
Tel +45 36 30 13 11<br />
Fax +45 36 30 19 40<br />
information@lundbeck.com<br />
www.lundbeck.com<br />
CVR no. 56759913