China 2030 Strategy is a long-term plan that shows a commitment from BMS in China, projecting significant investment in core therapeutic areas (TAs) to address the enormous unmet medical need in China in areas like gastric cancer. Anna was aware that the need for effective immunotherapy and oncology therapies was huge in China. With this large a market and an industry that cannot market directly to patients, the role of marketers was crucial in getting critical information and clinical core value of treatments delivered to healthcare specialists.
Making Transformative Therapies a Reality in Innovative Ways
An interesting facet of marketing is that the team is involved in almost every stage of the product lifecycle. “We need to understand the essence and the evolution of the market better than anyone, usually from collecting insights from customers, sales and matrix teams,” Anna explained. “That way we can develop strategies that achieve quick wins as well as long-term goals. My day-to-day work includes articulating key messages that get distributed via integrated platforms.”
Breaking through the clutter is incredibly important, but the science and the therapies must be up to the task. Like all BMS employees, Anna puts everything she has into the job, knowing that it’s the patients they are working for. “Many of us are—or know of—people battling cancer,” she said. “It makes me excited to be a part of it. At times it might seem like climbing a mountain. But it makes me proud to be part of the journey.”
An Environment that Fosters Innovation
In a market as large and highly competitive as China’s, Anna and her team are constantly looking for innovative and more effective ways of doing the work, as the patients’ needs and the physicians’ mindset are constantly evolving.
“We recently won a BMS innovation award for being able to speak to and win over our customers with precise messaging,” Anna recalled.
There were a few other reasons that made it easy for Anna to come back into the BMS fold. An environment that encourages everyone with ideas to speak up, high-performing teams with clearly defined goals, and lots of opportunities to grow within the organization all made an impression on her.
“The commitment of leadership, the commitment to China—it all adds up to an exciting place to do meaningful work,” she said. “When we add ‘innovation’ into the mix, to me, meaningful and innovative work make for very interesting work. And the BMS innovation award our team won is a good testament to that.”
A Diverse and Inclusive Culture
Speaking of "an exciting place," the BMS location in Shanghai offers a very international and modern feel, with colleagues joining from all over China. Anna speaks fondly of the affection the residents have for their city, as well as the dedication and commitment that BMS employees have for their work.
“It’s an open-minded and passionate city, and my colleagues are very passionate about their work,” Anna said. “That leads to a special collaboration. BMS is a very diverse culture that encourages innovation and inclusion. If you’re working toward transforming patients’ lives through science, you need an environment like the one we have here.”
No matter where you might be on the globe, if Anna’s story inspired you, explore the amazing number of diverse career choices BMS has to offer. Not only could the work you do transform patients’ lives, as Anna noted, but it could transform your career as well. Explore the options: careers.bms.com.
