Interview  •  Members

Five questions with Ioana Parsons, General Manager, Ipsen U.K. & Ireland

We interviewed Ioana Parsons, General Manager of Ipsen U.K. & Ireland, to explore her career journey—from strategy consulting to leading a major biopharmaceutical company. She shares key lessons learned, how she balances innovation with compliance, and Ipsen’s commitment to patient care, sustainability, and research. Ioana also discusses the evolving U.K. biopharmaceutical landscape and what’s needed to keep the country at the forefront of life sciences.

Can you tell us a bit about your career journey? Looking back, can you highlight a key lesson or turning point from your journey, particularly in transitioning between roles or industries? How have these experiences shaped your leadership approach at Ipsen?

My career journey has been both diverse and enriching. I started out in consulting, working with leading firms in Bucharest and London. This phase of my career allowed me to develop a strong strategic and analytical toolkit, which has proven valuable throughout my professional life. In 2016, I transitioned into the pharmaceutical industry, taking on a strategic planning role at a major American biotech company based in Switzerland. This role covered all of Europe and all products, giving me a broad understanding of different markets and therapeutic areas. It also allowed me to collaborate closely with our colleagues in California.

A key turning point in my career was moving into a sales manager role in Italy, covering the Lazio and Sicily regions. This hands-on experience in the field was crucial in getting my head around the human and operational aspects of the business. After a year, I was promoted to lead the Oncology-Haematology business unit, which allowed me to further develop my leadership skills. In 2021, I joined Ipsen as General Manager in Poland, where I gained a deep understanding of the company's business and culture. As stretch assignments, Ipsen also provided me opportunities to work on global projects, which broadened my perspective on the industry. I am now honoured to serve as the General Manager for Ipsen U.K. & Ireland since March 2024. One key lesson from my journey is the importance of adaptability and openness to new ways of doing things. Transitioning between consulting and the pharmaceutical industry, and moving across countries and roles, taught me to embrace change and to continuously learn from each situation. These experiences have shaped my leadership approach at Ipsen by reinforcing the value of strategic thinking, collaboration, and a patient-first philosophy. I believe in fostering a culture of experimentation and teamwork, ensuring that we are always focused on delivering the best possible health outcomes for our patients.

As a leader in a highly regulated industry, how do you navigate the challenges of compliance and regulatory change, particularly in relation to innovation and ensuring patient safety?

Navigating the challenges of compliance and regulatory change in the pharmaceutical industry requires a multifaceted approach. At Ipsen, we prioritise patient safety and innovation while ensuring we meet all regulatory requirements. One of the key strategies is to stay ahead of regulatory updates and changes. This involves continuous monitoring of guidelines from regulatory bodies such as the European Medicines Association (EMA) and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA),and proactively engaging to shape policy and to identify the best routes for our medicines. By staying ahead of the game, we can proactively adapt our processes and ensure compliance without compromising on innovation. A significant challenge is balancing the stringent regulatory environment with the need for innovation. To address this, we foster a culture of collaboration, excellence and open communication within our cross-functional teams. This allows us to integrate regulatory considerations early in the development process, ensuring that our innovative solutions are compliant from the outset.

Ipsen has made significant commitments in areas such as patient care, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. What are the key priorities for Ipsen U.K. & Ireland in these areas, and how do they align with the company’s global vision?

At Ipsen U.K. and Ireland, we are deeply committed to advancing patient care, sustainability, and corporate responsibility. These priorities are integral to our operations and align closely with Ipsen's global vision of making a real impact on patients, society, and the environment.

Our primary focus is on delivering transformative medicines in oncology, rare diseases, and neuroscience. We collaborate with leading clinical centres and the NHS to ensure our therapies are developed robustly and ethically. By continuously gathering data and insights, we strive to improve patient outcomes and to address unmet medical needs. Our commitment to patient care is reflected in our efforts to provide innovative solutions for disabling conditions and to ensure patients throughout the U.K. and Ireland have timely access to our treatments.

We are dedicated to minimising environmental impact and fostering a sustainable future. Through our Generation Ipsen initiative, we drive positive action across four pillars: Environment, Patients, People, and Governance. We focus on enhancing product sustainability, reducing waste, and adopting renewable energy sources. Ipsen’s goal is to reduce CO2 emissions by 30% by 2025, and 50% by 2030. We’ve recently invested more than £100 million into our manufacturing site in Wrexham as an inward investment into U.K. life sciences and to help realise some of these sustainability goals.  The site now uses 100% renewable energy across its production and research units and updates have been made to the site to reduce carbon output including new energy efficient gas boilers, chilled plants, automatic comfort cooling, a sub-metering for gas, electricity and water, sourcing local suppliers, solar panels on all buildings-built post 2018, and thermal insulation upgrades.

Ethical practices and transparency are also at the core of our operations. We promote a culture of integrity and responsibility, ensuring that our business practices align with the highest ethical standards. Our Code of Ethical Conduct guides all our work, from research and development to marketing. It emphasizes equity transparency, and dedication to health. We actively engage with stakeholders to build trust and foster long-lasting partnerships that benefit patients and society.We also aim to play an active role in our local communities, as illustrated by the participation of 87% of colleagues from the U.K. & Ireland affiliate in our Corporate Social Responsibility day last year.

Given Ipsen's strong focus on Research & Development, what are some of the most exciting developments on the horizon? 

At Ipsen we’re deeply committed to addressing the needs of patients with rare and underserved conditions. Our focus is on developing transformative treatments that can significantly improve the lives of those affected by these conditions. In oncology, we’re developing targeted therapies that improve and extend the lives of patients with various types of cancer. Our research focuses on leveraging cutting-edge science to target specific cancer pathways and biomarkers. By focusing on precision medicine, we aim to deliver treatments that are tailored to the unique needs of each patient, ultimately improving their quality of life. We’re also focusing on paediatric oncology indications, an area that isn’t typically prioritised due to the rarity of these conditions, but where we feel we can make a huge impact on the lives of patients and their families.

From your perspective, what are the most significant challenges currently facing the U.K.biopharmaceutical market, and how do these challenges impact both the industry and Ipsen’s strategic priorities?

Ipsen sees the U.K. as an important life sciences destination, but it is clear that inward investment has become less consistent in recent years and there have been challenges in the clinical trial and access areas in particular. If the U.K. is to continue to attract inward investment in the long-term and realise the Government’s ambition to be a global life sciences leader, urgent action is needed to restore an internationally competitive commercial environment, where companies are encouraged to invest in clinical trials and launches.

The challenges posed by the current commercial environment must be addressed by considering the full life sciences ecosystem. Early access to medicines is limited by existing policy which does not allow for the routine funding of medicines until a reimbursement decision has been made by a health technology assessment (HTA) or payer body.  This is unlike countries like France and Germany which routinely make newly licensed medicines available on a conditional basis until the reimbursement process concludes. Following regulatory approval, ensuring patients have rapid access to treatments is crucial. When assessing uptake of medicines recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the use of these in the U.K. typically lags behind other countries for at least five years after launch.

The national pricing controls for branded medicines – the Statutory Scheme and the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) – aim to ensure medicine spending in the U.K. remains under control. Yet, the current rebate rates under both schemes are causing unsustainable financial pressures that are threatening to undermine the commercial viability of the U.K. life sciences environment. Against this context, we believe that the regulatory and access environment must be considered as a key part of the U.K. life sciences ecosystem. This is because the current access environment is impacting decisions to research and launch new medicines in the U.K.  

As a result of challenges in the commercial environment, the U.K. has experienced the largest decline in its global share of new medicine launches and U.K. patients are less likely to get access than patients in other leading E.U countries. Despite this, Ipsen continues to invest in the U.K. and is committed to working together with all U.K. stakeholders, the health system, patient groups and charities and industry partners to ensure the U.K. is recognised as a global life sciences leader.

Ipsen U.K. and Ireland is a key component of Ipsen’s global biopharmaceutical operations, driven by the belief that patients cannot afford to wait. Combining a biotech mindset with pharmaceutical expertise, Ipsen has built a strong presence in both research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. With facilities in Wrexham, Wales, and Dublin, Ireland, Ipsen is committed to delivering on its promise to U.K. and Irish patients.

Ipsen employs over 1,000 people across three sites, accounting for 17% of its global workforce. More than 300 of the team members are based in London, which serves as one of Ipsen’s three Global Hubs, alongside Paris and Cambridge, U.S.