Interview with Kirsti Nyhus, Market Access and External Affairs Director Scandinavia, Country Lead Norway, AbbVie

14 Mar Interview with Kirsti Nyhus, Market Access and External Affairs Director Scandinavia, Country Lead Norway, AbbVie

Business Focus (BF): AbbVie is one of Norway’s top-five leading pharmaceutical companies. Can you provide an overview of the company’s history and current presence in Norway?

Kirsti Nyhus: AbbVie was established on January 1st, 2013, following a split from Abbott, which had a long-standing presence in Norway. Since then, our commitment to Norway has remained steadfast, with over 60 employees in Norway and over 280 across Scandinavia. Our primary domestic focus is ensuring patient access to our medications, while helping to shape the country’s pharmaceutical landscape. We strive to be a proactive partner and industry advocate, working to enhance Norway’s attractiveness for investments that benefit our patients and our research. As part of the global community, we aim to showcase Norway’s strengths and collaborate with policymakers to optimize our contribution to the healthcare ecosystem. While our roots lie in immunology, our portfolio has expanded to encompass neurology, oncology, virology, and eye diseases. As a pharmaceutical company deeply committed to innovation, we invest heavily in research and development, boasting a robust pipeline of over 90 projects. In fact, in 2022 alone, we invested $7.1 billion in research and design.

Despite being part of a global entity, our presence in Norway underscores our commitment to the region’s healthcare landscape. Norway’s healthcare sector has garnered increased attention in recent years as we transition away from reliance on the oil and gas industry. Recognizing the importance of diversification, policymakers have identified healthcare as a priority sector with great export potential. Despite Norway’s small market size, we possess significant strengths, including a highly educated workforce, advanced digitalization, an integrated public healthcare system, and comprehensive health data. This rich data environment constitutes an advantage for real-world evidence gathering. Additionally, Norway offers stability, clean infrastructure, and a receptive regulatory environment. However, the key to attracting investment to the health industry lies in ensuring access to the domestic market. Given the centralized nature of Norway’s healthcare system, securing agreements with government authorities is paramount for business viability.

BF: What are the main priorities for AbbVie in Norway this year?

Kirsti Nyhus: We’re currently focusing heavily on neurology in Norway, particularly in migraine relief, which presents new opportunities for us. We’re conducting a comprehensive analysis on healthcare prioritization in Norway, where the societal impact from conditions like migraines is a key topic. Migraines disproportionately affect young women, impacting their ability to participate in the workforce and education. However, government assessments typically focus solely on the cost and efficacy of treatments, overlooking the broader societal implications. This raises concerns about underinvestment in healthcare, as societal impacts are not ethically factored into decision-making processes. It’s crucial to strike a balance between addressing individual needs and considering broader societal welfare to ensure optimal healthcare investment.

In Norway, as a social democratic country, equality is paramount. However, the country’s focus is not merely on redistributing wealth; rather, it’s about providing equal opportunities and making healthcare investments that will benefit everyone. With an aging population and a shrinking workforce, ensuring a healthy and productive workforce is crucial for future sustainability. While prudence in spending is key, it’s imperative to view healthcare spending as an investment rather than an expense. Innovation and efficient healthcare systems are pivotal to maintaining a healthy and productive population, and at AbbVie we are committed to contributing to this with our innovations.

BF: What is your outlook for the pharmaceutical industry in Norway in the coming years, and where do you see the greatest opportunities?

Kirsti Nyhus: It’s crucial to attract clinical trials to Norway, a process that has been streamlined to ensure efficiency in approval and implementation. However, a key consideration is the utilization of approved drugs in the domestic market. For global companies, it’s essential to know that their products will be used once approved. Unfortunately, Norway lags in this aspect. Sometimes, the absence of certain drugs in the market poses a hindrance, especially when conducting comparative trials. To become an attractive hub for clinical trials, ensuring the availability of competitive drugs in the market is paramount. Market access remains one of the biggest challenges in this endeavor. The positive political emphasis on collaboration is a promising start, fostering a willingness to work together across sectors. Norway’s competitiveness lies not in sheer size, but in its ability to specialize and excel in specific areas of expertise, such as oncology or neurology. By focusing our efforts on these specialized domains, we can leverage existing hubs and further enhance our competitive edge. The collective momentum towards action plans and roadmaps is exciting and underscores the significance of this collaborative endeavor.

BF: The Nordic Pharmaceutical Forum (NPF) aims to address medicine access across Scandinavia, and the Norwegian government is one of Europe’s strongest proponents of generic and biosimilar substitution. What opportunities does this present for AbbVie?

Kirsti Nyhus: It makes sense to prioritize cost-saving measures, but a heavy emphasis on driving down prices, particularly for innovative drugs like those developed by AbbVie sometimes

undervalues our products. Cost-saving shouldn’t take priority over offering optimal patient care. As a company dedicated to innovation, our priority is ensuring patients receive the most effective treatments available. This involves analyzing the societal impact to inform decisions and reevaluating treatment goals to prioritize patient well-being over cost-savings.

While we support efforts to make medication more accessible and efficient in the region, we’re concerned about additional complexities that could delay access. We’ve observed instances where Nordic initiatives are followed by additional Norwegian regulations, potentially slowing down the process. So far, we have not seen improved access to medicine, which is why we engage with trade associations about how to prioritize patient well-being and avoid solely focusing on pharmaceutical budgets.

BF: AbbVie’s R&D expenditure increased by more than 15% from 2022 to 2023. How do research investments translate into a competitive advantage in Scandinavia and Norway in particular?

Kirsti Nyhus: We prioritize research in areas with significant unmet needs, focusing on high-risk endeavors that have the potential to bring substantial value for patients. Innovating in these areas not only advances patient care globally but also inspires pride among our team to see positive local impacts. We aim to elevate standards of care, whether it’s revolutionizing oncology treatments or improving the quality of life for migraine patients.

BF: The Norwegian government has laid out targets to reduce 40% of CO2 emissions from healthcare services by 2030. How does this impact AbbVie’s strategy in Norway?

Kirsti Nyhus: We fully support the UN Sustainability Goals and strive to contribute through various means, including maintaining sustainable production sites and optimizing medicine transportation to Norway. We endorse the integration of environmental criteria into pharmaceutical tenders.

BF: What differentiates AbbVie from other Norwegian companies?

Kirsti Nyhus: What distinguishes us is our focus on meeting unmet needs with innovation, rather than imitation. In Norway, AbbVie takes broad responsibility on behalf of the industry. We advocate for initiatives that benefit society and individuals by taking a long-term approach and having faith in the value of our innovations. We actively engage with startups and clusters, participate in industry events like Norway Life Science Week, and contribute to trade associations such as the pharma trade association and AmCham. Our proactive stance and willingness to voice opinions on industry matters sets us apart. This mindset drives our efforts to foster innovation not just in pharmaceuticals but also in policy, entrepreneurship, and research and development.

We have warehousing and cross-border coordination with neighboring countries like Sweden and Denmark, which ensures efficient distribution. We are also proud of our approach to sustainability, from production to packaging, and we understand the environmental impact of pharmaceutical production. We maintain a department in Chicago to oversee all production sites, emphasizing our commitment to excellence in this area. Our approach remains globally driven.

BF: As a transatlantic success story, what are the key factors contributing to AbbVie’s success in Norway?

Kirsti Nyhus: AbbVie’s culture, people, and business approach all contribute to its strong reputation. We tirelessly attract top talent and have consistently ranked in the top 10 great places to work for over a decade. An emphasis on culture and values extends throughout our organization, driven by leadership at the highest level. This opens doors and positions us as a valued partner.

Transatlantic cooperation allows us to leverage local expertise while accessing global competencies, resources, and markets. This collaborative approach of combining local resources and global expertise mirrors the success of Norway’s oil industry. Similarly, building Norway’s healthcare sector requires leveraging local talent and resources alongside global contributions. We aim to bridge this gap and facilitate success by connecting local knowledge with global capabilities.

BF: What potential synergies and collaborations do you envision between Norwegian and US biotech companies? 

Kirsti Nyhus: Norway has abundant opportunities for building startups and fostering entrepreneurship. But due to the country’s focus on specialization rather than expansion, the path to success lies in finding a niche market. Norway serves as an ideal testbed for high-level clinical trials due to its centralized, efficient healthcare system, which facilitates quick implementation and provides valuable data points from national registries. Additionally, Norway’s advanced digitalization and familiarity with telemedicine make it an attractive market for companies engaging in digital health solutions.