Mark van der Ploeg, Brand Manager for Neurology

‘We are given a lot of opportunities to try out new approach routes’

In May 2021, just as Mark van der Ploeg was wondering whether he was ready for a new challenge in the pharmaceuticals sector, he received a call from Herakles Pharma Staffing. Whether he was interested in the position of Brand Manager for Neurology at Centrafarm, part of the German group STADA? He was. Not least, because this was a new position that had been created. A specialist business unit has been created at Centrafarm to introduce its first branded medication to the market. ‘There is of course a great deal of knowledge and expertise in our team, but we are also looking ahead and experimenting to the full. And that makes my new position specially interesting.’

Soon after gaining his HEAO diploma in Commercial Economics in the late 1990s, Mark van der Ploeg found out that experience in sales was a prerequisite for any attractive position in marketing. An acquaintance of his pointed out that an ideal way to gain this experience would be to visit doctors as a rep for a pharmaceutical company – and that is what he did. He enjoyed working in the pharma sector so much that it has never occurred to him to work outside it. Nevertheless, 20 years down the line and working for Bayer, Van der Ploeg began to feel restless and in need of a fresh challenge.

‘I’m loyal. I tend to remain at the same company for a long time. But from a career perspective, I should have switched sooner. Then I might have been able to focus completely on marketing at an earlier stage. But I liked it there and had plenty of room for development, so there was in fact no real reason to switch jobs.’ That was, until I received a call from Herakles Pharma Staffing in May 2021. A new division for placing a speciality medication on the market for treating advanced Parkinson’s Disease was being created at Centrafarm.

Was he interested in the position of Brand Manager? The call could not have come at a better time, he says, ‘But much more about this job opportunity appealed to me. It’s a small team at Centrafarm that is going to launch this branded medication. The lines are shorter and the professionals in small teams are generally more involved with each other. In addition, the organisation at Centrafarm has no experience in placing specialty medications on the market. This means that we have lots of room for experimentation and trying out new angles of approach. This makes for a feeling of great freedom.’

Entrepreneurship

At the larger pharmaceutical companies, as Van der Ploeg explains, different departments support you in carrying out your marketing activities. The advantage is that aspects unrelated to marketing are not within your remit. ‘As a professional just starting out with little experience, this is great. You’re surrounded by expertise and professionalism, and there are also greater opportunities for you to develop. But the disadvantage is that all your colleagues also have their own input into the marketing strategy, and this makes the entire process sticky. It can block the creativity that is ultimately an essential element in marketing. For years I greatly enjoyed working for a larger pharmaceutical company, but I was ready with all my knowledge and experience for a position with greater scope for my own talents. I got this at Centrafarm, where agility and entrepreneurship are corporate values alongside integrity and One STADA. They follow on seamlessly from what I see as important in my work.’

When it comes to challenges, there are many directions I can take every day.

Archipelago

Since September 2021, Van der Ploeg has been responsible for marketing the first speciality medication to be introduced by Centrafarm: ‘Once reimbursement for the medicine has been agreed, we will go to market. We’ve been busy with all the preparations over recent months. Everything is ready to go, such as support materials for patients, doctors and nurses. We are also ready to launch various campaigns. We will be attending congresses at which scientific studies on our medication will be presented. We will start advertising and informing care workers about our product by invitation. As the market strategy for this branded medication is new for Centrafarm, I’m also making my contribution to creating the parameters for marketing it properly. When it comes to challenges, there are many directions I can take every day.’

It is also not the intention at Centrafarm to stop with just one branded medication. Van der Ploeg continues: ‘That was another major reason for me to come aboard this organisation. I see it as a great challenge to contribute to developing a business unit with a number of speciality medications at a company that is currently focused primarily on generic medications, biosimilars and care products, where a completely different approach to marketing and sales will apply. With our branded medication and our way of working, we at Centrafarm are still currently on an island, but with a lot of short lines to the other units. It would be great to work towards an archipelago with lots of bridges and lines linking up to all the Centrafarm business units.’