When Bastion Med Ed launched CAR-T Central in late 2021, we envisioned a platform where leading haematologists could share their combined experience and expertise to advance CAR-T therapies in Australia.

Two years on, and the landscape has changed. New therapies have become available, funding is available for a broader range of indications, and lives are being saved nationwide.

Through all that, CAR-T Central has been a key resource for any medical professional looking to advance their knowledge by providing a wealth of fundamental and cutting-edge information. Since the platform launched over 2,500 HCPs and users have accessed the site, viewing more than 12,000 pages, benefitting from the cutting-edge educational content, including 20+ bespoke articles developed by Bastion in collaboration with the expert steering committee.

So, before we get into the newest data and news releases in 2024, we are taking pause and reflecting on the journey of CAR-T therapies in Australia, starting with a look at our launch in 2021.

CAR-T Central Launch

The initial launch of CAR-T Central was an important moment for the Australian haematology space. This was a unique platform where a healthcare professional could find impartial information on a new therapy class.

From an initial offering of CAR-T fundamentals and the state of CAR-T in Australia, CAR-T Central developed into a valuable resource with coverage of the latest congresses, breaking news about approvals, and lists of referral centres across Australia. All of this is supported by an expert steering committee driven to share their combined experience and elevate the standard of care available for Australian patients.

Expanding Treatments

The past few years have seen a steady expansion in the number of TGA-approved CAR-T therapies, approved indications, and available funding. There are now four approved therapies in Australia, and this expansion has broadened the benefits of these ground-breaking therapies to more patients and has allowed CAR-T to blossom into an essential tool in the battle against blood cancers.

Alongside the expansion of approved therapies, there has also been a continuation of CAR-T research being conducted on Australian soil. Home to some of the best cancer research centres, Australia has continued pushing CAR-T therapies forward, providing access to ground-breaking treatments and hope for hundreds of patients. Continued participation in key clinical trials ensures that the Australian patient’s needs remain central to CAR-T development.

Expansion of Treating and Manufacturing Facilities

CAR-T is a highly specialised treatment limited primarily to major public hospitals. However, the last two years have seen a steady proliferation of this therapy class from a few select centres. There are now hospitals all over Australia offering CAR-T therapy, improving accessibility and convenience of treatment.

In addition to these expanded facilities, there has also been a marked change in how CAR-T therapies for Australians are manufactured. Two years ago, patients would need to wait for their cells to be transported to North America or Europe. Today, CAR-T therapies are being manufactured on our shores, with the recent expansion of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation facility further expanding capability.

With this expansion in use, a need to educate the haematologists, nurses, pharmacists, cell scientists and any other clinicians involved in supporting patients receiving CAR-T has come. This need will only grow as CAR-T expands across the country, and we are determined to meet this demand.

The Future

The last two years have seen considerable progressions in the proliferation and utilisation of CAR-T in Australia. But the future may be even brighter. Experience with CAR-T treatment is improving our ability to optimise treatment and improve outcomes, “Off-the-shelf” allogeneic CAR-T therapies are showing promise in clinical trials and notable advances are being made to develop CAR-T therapies for solid tumours.

There are a lot of exciting developments on the horizon for the field, and CAR-T Central will grow to meet the needs of Australian healthcare. This includes patient-focused materials, dedicated resources for nurses and pharmacists, and an expansion of our clinical trial coverage.

All of this would not be possible without support from dedicated sponsors driven to enhance the quality of Australian healthcare.
If your organisation is interested in supporting the continued development of CAR-T Central, please reach out at contact@bastionbrands.com.au or call +61 (3) 8592 1234.

Visit https://car-tcentral.com.au/ and register for our newsletter to find out more.

Simon Davies simon.davies@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0402 425 545  Dan King  dan.king@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0439 190 700    Nick Tsimplis   Senior Medical Writer  nick.tsimplis@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0414877216

 

Bastion Brands recently conducted a survey of marketing experts to gauge their understanding, uptake and future usage of Artificial Intelligence in Australian Pharmaceutical  Marketing. It is clear the overarching desire was to embrace AI technology, however it seems it is still a while off being implemented effectively. Some of the major insights are as follows… Current usage: While responses generally indicate ‘room for improvement’, in terms of ‘future use’, respondents saw big steps being taken by their companies with AI, not just in terms of marketing, but in broader aspects of healthcare such as research, treatment development and education. An average response of just 4.2 (out of 10), suggests the understanding of AI and its implications specifically in marketing, is quite low. A similar result was recorded to the question of uptake, with only 4.8 saying their business was ‘enthusiastically embracing AI’ This response was surprising given the continued talk around how AI has already made an impact on so many industries, however results like this seem to indicate the ‘revolution has slowed’, or simply can wait. In fact, when asked if their company was using Ai, over 50% said hardly at all, or they were not aware of its uses. Opportunities and advantages: However, when the question came to opportunities and advantages, the answers were more definitive, with respondents indicating Ai could be used in: Data analytics (82% of respondents), Education program development (65%), Personalised sales interactions (64%) Idea generation and strategy (61%), Better understanding of customers/targeting (28%), Social media generation (24%) Personalised treatment programs for patients (22%) Marketing strategy planning (18%)   The advantages of AI were seen as consistent across the board, with the key benefits being: Speed and cost effectiveness (92%) Thinking ‘Outside the box’ (80%) Better understanding of data (77%) Enhanced interactions (sales) (75%) Helping target communications (60%) Limitations of AI Conversely, when it came to perceived limitations, respondents indicated Ai: Was only as good as the available data (94%) Getting company acceptance to utilise fully/buy in from pharma to commit (82%) Privacy concerns (81%) Copyright issues (66%) Ideas/creativity needs tweaking (60%) Everything will look formulaic/same (55%) Loss of individualisation/authenticity (42%) Limit self growth (25%) Unethical/not our own ideas (18%) While these results lean toward the desire to uptake AI- even with the many concerns and issues mentioned – across the board marketers still seem a bit ‘in limbo’, until their companies (and the industry in general) fully embrace AI and its capabilities – particularly from a marketing perspective. When asked about specific training programs with AI, only 38% had attended information/training or workshops on AI, with many stating there was no streamlined or detailed training in place. The remaining 62% stated a clear ‘NO’ to any formalised training at all. The role of AI moving forward Despite the lack of training and movement in the area, the last 3 questions asked about the future role Ai can play, specifically how it might assist marketers and the benefits to the pharmaceutical industry in general. Respondents were somewhat in agreeance about specific tasks and functions that AI could help them with, identified in no particular order: Targeting/analytics Education programs/HCP upskilling Education programs for patients/discussion facilitation Personalising customer journeys Monthly comms strategy planning Monthly sales strategy planning Personalised sales and Forecasting Idea generation/Copywriting Channel mix/Omnichannel strategy Test and trial/market testing Regulatory Approvals Day to day emails Finally we asked how AI could benefit the industry as a whole, and while many respondents flagged they were not there area of expertise, the overwhelming response was around R&D in new medicines, and the ability of AI to quickly and efficiently compare data to improve patient outcomes. Overall, the survey clearly showed that currently AI is not being used as much as marketers would like. There was a clear understanding of what they desired to achieve particularly around formalisation of comms strategies, personalising education and treatment programs (for HCP and patient), maximising sales interactions via streamlined messaging and generating effective and unique creative content fast. However, when it comes to implementation – in a highly risk-averse industry as ours, it seems it is a case of ‘slow and steady’ rather than simply rush ‘all in’. For a full rundown and deeper dive into the findings of our survey, please get in touch: contact@bastionbrands.com.au  Simon Davies  simon.davies@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0402 425 545  Bruce Williams  bruce.williams@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0407 359 582

 

Emma Murray’s tips and tools on developing a high-performance mindset. 

Those of us lucky enough to hear Emma Murray’s talk on High-Performance Mindfulness at the recent Melbourne and Sydney Pharma Marketers breakfasts would agree she was one of the very best speakers ever enjoyed at our events.

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive – not just because of the profound learnings and vulnerability Emma shared from her own life experiences, but also the practical, everyday steps she armed us with to bring us a little closer to our ‘A-games’.

As the founder of High-Performance Mindfulness, Emma uses mindfulness, psychology and meditation to help people perform at their best, so from elite athletes to team leaders in Pharmaceutical companies, Emma aims to overcome the unhelpful thinking that can sabotage performance and build the mindset to help deliver our very best.

It was good to hear about the value she places on ‘being in the right emotional state for optimal performance’, as this is a value shared by us at Bastion – where we find the right balance between science and emotion in our work.

We tried to break down some of the main tips and tools we all took away from the breakfast session:

• Identifying your ‘A-Game’

We all know that actions lead to results, right? Simple!

But Emma started her talk with a whiteboard explanation, that outlined the importance of ‘Emotional state’ and the profound impact that has on our actions.

Namely, when we perform actions in the ‘wrong’ emotional state, how can we expect high performance results?

A big part of her advice is to identify and ‘control your mindset, to own your skillset ’ and the powerful role your mindset plays in how you perform. – and that included being totally aware of what your ‘A game’ looks like… as opposed to your ‘B-Game’.

To truly understand why our minds keep defaulting to our ‘B-Game’ (and getting trapped there), Emma explained the science behind how our minds work and it’s all to do with our survival wiring – Those ‘fight or flight’ impulses that control most our thoughts – and hard-wire our physiology… and it’s these thoughts and practices that can overwhelm and consume us.

Unhelpful thoughts, drive unhelpful feelings, that drive ineffective action and continue to deliver low-performance results – a cycle Emma calls the ‘B-Game Loop’.

• Stopping the ‘B-Game Loop’.

Getting out of the B-Game Loop represents a paradox to our natural instincts, as our actions are based on ‘survival mode’ – we do what is necessary to ‘get through’.

But to perform at our best no matter how much stress we’re under; how much we fear failure; the opinions of others or our obsessive focus on outcomes, we need to be able to shift from our B-Game into our A-Game.

To do that we need to actually diffuse the internal monologue that tells us to keep on doing what we always do, to survive.

Emma describes finding a ‘STOP’ tool – that works for you and becomes automatic under any level of pressure, involving 3 steps:

1. Stop and Accept the emotional state you are in
2. Do something right here, right now… to change your physiology – try breath work, meditation or mantra.
3. ‘Step’ into your best

• By changing your Motion, you help change your E-Motion

In short, to move from unhelpful ‘B-Game’ thoughts we need to shift our focus and move our bodies.
The word ‘emotion’ means Energy in Motion… it is the energy that is constantly moving between our mind and our body. And if you are in an emotional state that is making you feel scared, bored, tired or anxious then you need to change this emotion… and you do this with ‘motion’, which can include a focussed breathing technique.

When we know how to deliberately, purposefully and consciously regulate our breath- so it doesn’t become dysfunctional and panicked – we can then shut off our stress response… or stop it from kicking in in the first place.

Emma had the whole room stand up and work on some simple breathing techniques that can help us in any situation.

• Overcoming the Overwhelming

When we are in our ‘A-Game’ we’re bringing all of our strengths to the moment to help us execute at our best.

But our B-Game can still creep into our subconscious – after all, this is our innate instinct. This can consume us when we are overwhelmed and feel like we have too many things to get through in life.

Emma talked us through a simple tool called ‘Chunking it Down’ as a practical way to tackle overwhelming schedules and workloads and likened this to a flashlight – where we cannot see anything but the ‘one thing’ that must take our full focus. By shining our light on a single thing, we shift our focus from the insurmountable to the achievable, staying present and not attaching ourselves to outcomes.

For sharing these useful tips and tools toward High-Performance mindfulness, we are sure Emma will be welcome back to the Sydney and Melbourne Pharma Marketing breakfast anytime.

For more information on Emma, visit her website: https://www.highperformancemindfulness.com.au/

Simon Davies  simon.davies@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0402 425 545  Bruce Williams  bruce.williams@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0407 359 582

 

We hope this Pulse finds you well. We are delighted to provide you with a recap of the 2023 Veeva Digital Summit held at the ICC in Sydney, which recently concluded with resounding success. This event brought together some of the brightest minds in the life sciences industry, and we wanted to share the highlights with you.

Key Takeaways:

Innovations in Digital Transformation

The summit featured insightful keynote presentations that explored the latest trends and innovations in digital transformation within the life sciences sector. Speakers emphasized the importance of agility and data-driven decision-making in today’s competitive landscape. Advanced use of data, a strong customer focus, and the use of technology to accelerate engagement were also raised in key note speeches by CEO’s of major pharma companies.

Creativity and Story Telling

To help start conversations we presented Bastion’s views on localising global content in the Content Transformation stream. We believe creating compelling content and telling stories is the key stimulus to create conversations between pharma with HCP’s, and their patients. In our keynote we brought to life our 5 key tips that we’ve learned over 10 years of localising global content.

1. Starting with objectives to design strategy
2. Understanding the customer and their persona
3. Localising the words and visuals to align with customer expectations
4. Optimising performance through objectives driven data and insights
5. Engaging with Regulatory and Compliance early to be efficient and effective

Product Demonstrations

Veeva provided an amazing range of product demonstrations that gave attendees an in-depth understanding of how Veeva’s technology, data and capability can streamline operations and improve efficiency of both R&D and Commercial Pharma operations. These demonstrations were particularly valuable for those seeking to advance their knowledge and understand solutions to their challenges.

Networking Success

The networking for the pharma industry was a highlight of the summit, allowing participants to connect with industry peers, share experiences, and build valuable professional relationships. Many attendees praised the ease of networking in the virtual environment and Veeva also told me this aspect of their summit is highly important.

We would like to express our appreciation to all participants, speakers, and sponsors for contributing to the success of the Veeva Digital Summit. The event was fantastic, and your engagement and enthusiasm made this event a truly enriching experience.

We look forward to continue shaping the future of the life sciences industry together.

Simon Davies simon.davies@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0402 425 545  Dan King  dan.king@bastionbrands.com.au M: 0439 190 700