In today’s episode, we chat with Hemanth Padmanabhan, Executive Director, Global Brand Launch Lead, who shares his passion for innovation and collaboration in biotechnology at Dicerna Pharmaceuticals.

Hemanth brings experience as a Marketing professional with Product Management, Market Research, Consulting, and Business Analysis experience. We talk about some of the creative things that he is seeing in the life sciences and biotech industries. 

Today, Hemanth tells us about the rare disease business, the number of rare diseases there are, the millions of dollars invested in it, and the process of working on a rare disease drug which they are trying to get this drug through clinical trials to apply to the FDA and get it approved.

However, before that is achieved the question they need to answer is how do they diagnose these patients effectively in a timely manner? The solution is sponsored genetic testing. This is where they help patients get access to free genetic testing so that they can get themselves tested if they have certain symptoms. Finding a balance between speed and diligence is one of their challenges. 

Hemanth and his team are using education to solve this. They are educating the marketplace to, get those physicians to, diagnose quicker, through their website which has information on rare diseases like uncovering PH.  Team collaboration is key in this industry, as there are many moving parts. Team alignment in their thinking is of utmost value to building the drugs and listening and meeting the needs of their patients.  

One of the cutting-edge methods the Dierna team has come up with is self-injection. This is where the patient can get this drug shipped to their home, as well as injected themselves. The patient does not have to go into the physician's office. This saves them from having to get insurance or traveling on a monthly or a quarterly basis to go into a physician's office.

As a professional leading such a team, Hemanth gets his inspiration and creative solutions from Nature. He is always hiking and going for runs. These activities help him make connections mentally, that he wouldn't have made if he was sitting in front of a computer or actually working. Cause you have some focused thinking to do there. 

In conclusion, Hemanth believes in strengthening relationships with people. “I think you need to be open to helping people. When you start with helping people at some point in your life, they get back to you and they help you when you need it.”  His future plans include working on a project that will have a real impact on the happiness level of people by writing a book.  

Company Website: Dicerna

LinkedIn: Hemanth Padmanabhan