Leading by Example: Dr. Vas Narasimhan

“Leaders don’t resist innovation, they symbolize it.”

— David Ogilvy

AS A FORMER public health physician, Dr. Vas Narasimhan has a personal passion for eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases. His notable accomplishments are many, from working with the Botswana Minister of Health to launch the first campaign to treat HIV/AIDS in Africa, to his most recent high-profile role working with the federal government and public health agencies to bring the A(H1N1) 2009 influenza vaccine to market in time to help fight last year’s pandemic. In his leadership role as Head, Vaccines North America for Novartis, Narasimhan is someone who makes it a point to lead by example.

True leadership skills often surface under pressure, and 2009 presented Novartis Vaccines with a daunting challenge: how to appropriately respond to a deadly influenza outbreak, and quickly develop and deliver a vaccine that would help protect a panicked public. The company, with Narasimhan at the helm of its North American operations, rose to the occasion, delivering 90 million doses of bulk influenza vaccine to the U.S. government by early 2010, a scant few months from the time the virus was first identified.

“As the largest supplier of pandemic vaccine to the U.S. government, we had to manage a very rapid scale-up in a short amount of time,” Narasimhan says. “Naturally, manufacturers faced a lot of scrutiny from various government stakeholders who had concerns about their ability to deliver the vaccine in time. It was challenging, but I believe it was, in the end, a success.”

Many criticisms have arisen in the wake of the A(H1N1) 2009 pandemic, with accusations of missteps and miscalculations hurled in numerous directions. Still, if there is a lesson to be learned, Narasimhan says it is always better to be over-prepared when dealing with an unpredictable virus.

“I don’t believe it’s realistic to think you can develop a plan that will fit every possible pandemic scenario, because we simply don’t know what these viruses will do or how they will behave,” he explains. “There will be those who say it was overblown or that we developed too much vaccine, but I’d prefer this scenario to one in which we under prepared and things turned more deadly than anticipated.”

A New Vaccine Addresses a Deadly Disease

Earlier this year, the NovartisVaccines division accomplished a significant goal when it received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of Menveo, a vaccine to prevent meningococcal disease, the leading cause of bacterial meningitis, for use in people 11 to 55 years of age. The approval represents an important milestone for adolescent immunizations in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 16 million adolescents between the ages of 11 and 18 are at risk and remain unprotected against meningococcal disease, a troubling statistic since the disease is characterized by its ability to rapidly kill or debilitate previously healthy adolescents.

“Novartis has a long history and tradition of leading through innovation and vaccine technology, and our goal is to continue driving research and innovation to bring needed vaccines to market. Menveo is the culmination of 10 years of dedicated effort and the first manifestation of that goal for our meningococcal disease franchise in the United States,” notes Narasimhan. “We plan to expand the indication to children, eventually to include infants, which is part of our longer-term goal to eradicate this killer disease completely.”

Because of his background in public health, Narasimhan believes educating the marketplace on vaccine benefits is essential when it comes to reaching out to all sectors, including advocacy groups, patients and physicians. As part of its disease education and Menveo marketing efforts, for example, the company has engaged meningococcal survivors to share their experiences with various stakeholders.

“Physicians want to hear from survivors (or people who have suffered from the disease) because it reminds them from a clinical and public health standpoint why meningococcal disease is so dangerous and why Menveo, as a vaccine indicated to prevent the disease, is so important,” he says. “With preventive disease, you are dealing with healthy people and you often can’t see what impact you are having. However, the impact becomes clear when the disease is no longer prevalent or is eradicated, like in the case of polio. These forums put a face on the disease.”

Innovation and Technology Pave the Way

Narasimhan says that as the industry looks at the future of vaccine technology, the emphasis will be on less common diseases, particularly those impacting populations beyond the borders of the United States and Europe. Novartis Vaccines seems well-equipped to meet these changing demands — it was recently recognized for having the industry’s best research and development pipeline at the 2010 World Vaccines Congress.

“We areworking very hard at developing new technologies and vaccines for pediatric illnesses and new patient groups such as hospitalized patients, the immune-compromised and the elderly,” Narasimhan explains. “We want to open up areas where new vaccines can be used to prevent disease. We’re also focused on expanding our geographic presence in regions like Asia and Latin America to better meet the needs of populations that have not historically been addressed by the vaccine industry.”

The measure of a good leader is often best analyzed by a team’s track record and growth. When Narasimhan joined Novartis Vaccines’ U.S. operations, the division consisted of a small group of people. Today, the group has grown to more than 300 strong, and is characterized by a culture and work environment that fosters an entrepreneurial spirit. Narasimhan says he empowers team members by encouraging them to take ownership of ideas and initiatives. By all accounts, he leads with a compelling vision and sense of purpose that influences every aspect of the business.

“Empowerment means driving adaptive change within the organization so that over time, individuals learn to seize opportunities without waiting for someone to give them direction,” he says. “You need to keep oversight of course, but the only way to succeed is for everyone to feel they can take ownership and be leaders in their day-to-day work.”

Narasimhan adds that the culture at Novartis Vaccines thrives on a deep commitment to public health and intervention. Like Narasimhan, his team members feel a sense of urgency when it comes to meeting the global demand for life-saving vaccines.

“The vaccine industry is very fortunate to be at the intersection of business and public health,” he says. “Vaccines are the most transformative public health development of the past hundred years — there’s so much that can be done to address public health problems around the world, and the only way to solve these problems is to break down walls between the industry, the government and nongovernmental stakeholders. I want to be a part of that solution.”