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| Banner Pharmacaps: Changing Focus |
| Pharmaceutical | |
| Written by Amanda Gaines | |
| Thursday, 01 November 2007 | |
 To turn this company into an industry leader in softgel technology, Dr. Roger Gordon streamlined its strategic division.  Dr. Roger Gordon, President and CEO “I knew a unified and strategic direction was needed for the company as a whole,” said Gordon. “We gathered the senior management team from each division and spent several days off site talking through the nature of our business and the marketplace in our industry. We came up with a strategic direction focused on product leadership and operational excellence.” Starting the process To put each division on the same page, Gordon began a top-down evaluation of his team. He first clarified an executive level consensus of what direction he wanted to lead from an organizational standpoint. Having the executive team on the same wavelength allowed him to push the specific strategic focus throughout the entire company. “A strategy is only a concept or dream until you actually start to implement it and see the associated results, and implementation requires people,” he said. “We looked long and hard at making sure we had the right people in the right positions to achieve the desired results.” And although he channels Jim Collins when explaining how he started the process, Gordon developed his own criteria for ensuring continued strength. When describing what elements he looks for in employees, Gordon references the company’s core values: innovation, excellence, stewardship, integrity, learning, and growth. “Being a healthcare provider, obviously we want to ensure our information, data, and approach are driven by science and consistent with best practices, but we also want the people within our organization to be the best stewards of their resources, making decisions as if Banner Pharmacaps were their own company,” he said. Gordon developed FACEIT (focus, accountability, commitment, execution, initiative, and teamwork) principles to ensure no misunderstanding about the culture of the company. He feels the acronym is a key to Banner Pharmacaps’ ongoing success, both in its strategic and cultural direction. “We constantly evaluate our people, our strategic plan, and if we’re still on the right page,” he continued. “The changes and advances we’ve seen in recent years indicate we’re moving in the right direction.” The results are in After changing the focus and the cultural orientation of Banner Pharmacaps, Gordon began to see some dramatic changes. Firstly, the company received approval from the FDA for several products, such as Aleve Liquid Gels. The result was an invigorated company culture. “When you have a product that becomes part of an established national brand, such as our Naproxen sodium softgel under the Bayer Aleve brand, it stimulates your employees,” Gordon said. “When it hit the market in February this year, we had a substantial celebration, and it certainly won’t be our last.” In the past six years, Banner Pharmacaps has developed five trademarked technologies in the softgel industry. The first technology, Chewels, spans in composition, from a softgel that releases a fluid center when bitten to a gummy bear consistency. The second, Versatrol, is Banner Pharmacaps’ controlled-release technology—the first of its kind in the softgel industry. EnteriCare is Banner Pharmacaps’ softgel product with enteric properties built right into the shell. “Today, if you buy a tablet with enteric properties, it’s typically coated on the outside of the tablet dosage form,” Gordon explained. “Banner Pharmacaps is the only company with a softgel product that doesn’t require the coating, ensuring the product will bypass the stomach and disperse directly into the intestines.” Banner Pharmacaps’ fourth softgel technology, EcoCaps, is a non-animal-based softgel product for patients with dietary restrictions. “If you don’t consume pork or beef from a health or religious standpoint, this product will enable you to continue to take your medications without compromising those standards,” Gordon said. For those consumers who have stepped away from taking multivitamins because of their large size, smell, or taste, Banner Pharmacaps’ Soflet technology coats the tablet product in gelatin, making it easier to ingest while masking taste and smell. Gordon said the Soflet technology is also an efficient anti-counterfeiting deterrent because it allows companies to color their gelatin tablets making them difficult to duplicate. “The culture within the company is certainly conducive to creativity and problem solving,” he said. “As we’ve rolled out these products, we’ve learned we can add adaptability and flexibility to the list also.” Humanitarian edge When you ask Gordon why he works in this industry, he says it’s because he has the ability to touch the lives of others around the world. The company thinks on a global scale, looking domestically and internationally to markets such as Europe, China, and South America to share its newest technologies to improve the performance and delivery of drugs. And while the company’s product portfolio has transitioned from roughly 80% commodity products and 20% unique products to 60% unique products and 40% commodity, maintaining a company culture with a humanitarian edge has never been more important. “We are focused on developing answers to meet unmet medical and consumer needs,” Gordon said. “But when you can come to work and realize your efforts are impacting people’s lives each and every day, you are humbled by the trust, opportunity, and responsibility you have in your global community.” |
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