CEO reaffirms Invida's commitment to RP

MANILA, Philippines - When a startup San Francisco-based biotechnology company went public in October 1980, raising $35 million after less than an hour on NASDAQ, an enterprising biochemistry student in London followed that initial day of trading with enthusiastic admiration. Thirty years on, the company that offered shares, Genentech, is among the world’s leading biotech firms and the biochemistry graduate is the chief executive officer of Invida Group, the leading specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on the commercialization of healthcare products throughout Asia Pacific.

John A. Graham was pursuing his honors degree at the Imperial College of Science and Technology when biotechnology was in its infancy. The advent of biotech and resounding success of companies like Genentech were “actually among the biggest events that influenced me to join the pharmaceutical industry,” says Graham. He further revealed that, “I always wanted to be in business, working in sales and marketing. So, when I studied biochemistry, I wanted to take my knowledge of science and make a business opportunity out of it. That’s why I went into pharmaceuticals.”

Graham’s keen insights on the pharmaceutical industry were evident in his belief that the future of pharmaceuticals would be built in Asia through the growth of the budding economies. He believed that innovation in pharmaceuticals would come out of countries like India and China and other Asian countries that were investing in the trade. He continued, “I think this is really where the industry dynamics is going to be most interesting in the next five years or so. Invida has a great platform and the know-how to take advantage of the emerging markets in Asia Pacific. Invida also has a fantastic infrastructure in place across Asia that no other company has. That’s why I came to Invida.”

Graham was in the country recently to share in the exciting journey of Invida Philippines through the merger of PL Asia Pacific Philippines Inc., Transfarma Philippines Inc. and Inovail Healthcare Philippines Inc.

The three company brands have also been merged into a unified global brand, Invida. “Partnering is at the core of our business model and a unified brand name will provide a strong marketing leverage and powerful tool to spur Invida’s regional ambition and success,” said Graham.

Invida Philippines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore-headquartered Invida Group that was set up in 2005 by strategic partnership of Quintiles, the world’s leading pharmaceutical services organization; TLS Beta, a subsidiary of Temasek Holdings that is one of the world’s largest investment companies; and the Zuellig Group, the largest pharmaceutical distribution and supply chain management network in Asia. 

The energetic and creative chief executive who held senior management positions in business ventures in the United States, Latin America and Europe before joining Invida shared uplifting observations on the Philippine economy and the Filipinos’ healthcare priority when interviewed in the news and public affairs talk show One Morning Café simulcast live on NBN4, RPN9 and IBC13. Graham spoke of “the rapid growth of many Asian economies, including the Philippines’.” He described the Philippine market as “very attractive and dynamic” and “sophisticated in terms of access to advanced medicine when compared to some other markets in the region that have been slower to opening up or in development.” 

The CEO asserted Invida’s “strong footprint in the Philippines,” citing the group’s more than a decade’s presence in the country. Due to Invida’s heritage in the Philippines, the company employs its largest sales force here. More than a thousand Filipinos are deployed nationwide to address the $2.1 billion local pharmaceutical market. Graham explained that the Philippine team would continue to grow as business opportunities develop, noting that Invida is expanding aggressively across Asia Pacific. 

He reaffirmed Invida’s continuous investment in the Philippine market, disclosing plans to launch a number of products, especially consumer health brands that draw a lot of interest from Filipinos whom, he observed, would spend not only on medicines, but also on products that enhance vitality and improve physical appearance.

As CEO, and decidedly an expert in devising and implementing business strategies, Graham is determined to shape a company that is a leader in commercializing brands for the Asian population. Graham explained that there were a good deal of multinational companies globally but there was really not a single company that focused on the needs of Asians. Invida is a pan-Asian company focused on quality healthcare brands and accelerating the rate of innovation in Asia, providing patients access to new therapies, concepts, and products that might never have arrived in Asia if not for Invida’s value proposition.

Graham animatedly talks of Invida as “a very unique company because there are no other pharmaceutical commercialization companies that are purely based in Asia, for Asia.”