Client Story: Patheon

As the pharmaceutical industry desperately seeks answers to the cataclysmic changes of the past decade, Patheon/DPx is quietly creating the leading customer-focused pharmaceutical manufacturing network. Constructed with more than 8,000 employees providing services at 24 contract manufacturing facilities and development centers across North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia, and they are re-defining the contract manufacturing model.

Upon joining Patheon in 2011, CEO Jim Mullen worked with his team of corporate and plant-based change agents to execute his vision of an integrated global network of manufacturing plants and pharmaceutical development services. In creating this aligned network, Patheon partnered with NC State Executive Education to develop the skills of plant leadership to drive their customer-focused strategy. Program work began in 2013 with the first in a series of custom-designed two-day seminars, aligning new skills and tools with change initiatives that would create consistent quality and efficiency across all of the different plants.

The first seminar with senior leaders at the corporate and plant level addressed finance and analytic skills, to analyze capital investment decisions and their ability to meet the growing customer demands. Using a simulation experience to learn the financial impacts of investment decisions, teams applied the new skills to innovation and improvement projects that would have the greatest benefit to their customers. The seminars were delivered in partnership with change agents in the corporate leadership team, to maintain alignment with other initiatives.

Jim Mullen and his senior leaders expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the first seminar series, and are planning the next series to continue developing their network of manufacturing leaders. The program goal, to put it simply, is to provide support for their transformation into the leading CDMO in the world.