What Was The Biggest Insight You Gained From Working As A Biopharma Manufacturing Exec During The Pandemic?

THE RIGHT PEOPLE/TEAM MATTERS IF YOU’RE GOING TO ACHIEVE GREAT OUTCOMES — no matter how you define “great.” The success of a business continuity disaster recovery (BCDR) plan will improve with real-time monitoring and continuous improvements implemented by the right people/team.

1. Protect personnel first and always — provide staff with the critical tools (e.g., multicommunication systems) and mental protections (e.g., 24-hour help line) for short and extended periods.
2. Having personnel protected protects the business — identify essential at-location versus remote personnel and establish separate teams to derisk operations continuity in case of infections or sickness.
3. Empower personnel for sustained success — increasing connections to personnel and keeping them informed will empower them passionately and disproportionately to deliver “great” outcomes.

JACKS LEE is SVP global manufacturing and supply at Merck. He has 25+ years of experience in vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, and small molecule pharmaceuticals.