Joan Puig de Dou (Barcelona, 1966). Pharmacist with a degree in Business and Administration, and GM training. He is the CEO of Kymos Pharma, a CRO supporting biopharma companies to develop their products. Last year, 2020, Kymos received the Biosuccess Award.

A short version of the interview was published in the CataloniaBio & HealthTech review.

What have been the most important milestones for Kymos’ growth so far?

The  international agreements that have allowed our strong growth over the last few  years. In particular, the strategic agreement with Ipsen in 2012 under which we  purchased part of the research centre in Barcelona belonging to the French  multinational and which allowed us to enter the world of biologics. Later there  were the acquisition of branches subsidiaries in Italy in 2016 (Pharmaprogress)  and Germany in 2020 (Prolytic).

What should the role of CROs be within the sector?

CROs play an  important role in the competitivity of biopharmaceutical companies. Their role  should be to integrate into the research process of pharmaceutical companies  and provide added value. Today, two thirds of research is done outside of  classic pharmaceutical companies and is instead done in CROs, spin-offs,  biotech companies or in hospitals.

You are talking more about partnerships than an offer of services.

Indeed!  These days the classic customer-supplier relationship is becoming a thing of  the past, and taking in to account the critical nature of research and  development services, a new model of strategic collaboration is arising in  which the CRO provides part of the know-how and covers certain fields that the  sponsor might be lacking, and participates in many stages of product  development rather than just carrying out isolated studies.

Internationalisation has been key to your strategic plan. What barriers have you encountered?

We have not  run into much difficulty and in the last few years we have followed the  internationalisation plan that we outlined with great precision. On one hand,  research today is managed with a global outlook. Products are developed with a  global outlook and that means that companies have not had problems contracting  CROs in any country in the world, so long as the quality is adequate. From day  one, this reality has allowed us to attract clients from many different  countries, over 40 at the moment, and from 6 continents.

 With regard  to the other, more complicated hand, the acquisition of companies outside our  country, part of our success was that before doing so, we had already been  present in the markets in question for years through local business developers.  Knowing the country and its industry allowed us to increase our first market  share, and knowing the local realities allowed us to make well considered decisions.

What advice would you give other companies in the ecosystem that would like to grow in the way that you have?

In our  sector, it is primary to have very high quality standards and proper internal  organisation that allow for the efficient management of the costs and terms of  projects. If these elements are not consolidated, it is better to not start and  avoid any negative surprises. With those in place, there is only one formula:  work hard, travel a lot and invest in a commercial structure that allows you to  grow.

The Catalan biomedical ecosystem stands out in...

Its  diversity and its interconnection. In Catalonia, there are many good analytical  CROs like ours, but there are also good clinical and regulatory CROs, CDMOs,  technology centres, prestigious universities, first rate research hospitals,  etc. Practically all of them maintain relationships of close collaboration with  us and that means that we are able to offer integrated solutions. So, any  company can find solutions to practically any technological challenge in a  relatively limited geographical area.

We have a rich and innovative entrepreneurial network. Is it competitive?

The  quality/price relationship that our country offers is one of the best in the  world. We have quality that is equals any country in central or northern Europe  with costs that are lower. It is clear that there are developing countries with  even lower costs, but companies often encounter problems in quality, as well as  barriers due to culture, language or distance, which have become more  noticeable recently in these times of Covid when it has been difficult to  travel.

Do you think that Covid has been useful for highlighting the effort and work of the companies in the sector?

There is  still much to do to increase the healthcare sector’s prestige, but it is clear  that Covid has shown to the general society what the industry as a whole is  capable by responding to the challenges presented by the pandemic in record  time. And I am not only talking about research into vaccines, but also their  quick production in enormous volumes, development of treatments, the supplying  of hospital materials, the availability of diagnostic devices and hospital and  social/healthcare attention.

You come from a family of entrepreneurs and investors. To what extent did that affect your professional path?

Clearly  those who are closest will influence a person when their personality is forged.  At home, I was always enveloped in an environment focused on the company, hard  work, social values, and so many other things that have since been key in my  career.

What do you see for Kymos in 2030?

On the horizon, we see Kymos as one of the top CROs in  Europe and hope to be able to have broken ground on another continent, we have  our eye on Asia. In particular, we believe Asia will be a very important step  for us considering the growth the industry is seeing there and the weight of  the clients that we currently have in that region.