Caligor Rx has evolved from a pharmacy started in 1919 in New York City to a global pharmaceutical wholesaler and a global distributor of clinical trial supplies. The business is challenging, especially in view of a pharmaceutical and healthcare industry experiencing major changes ranging from new government regulations to drug shortages. Willing to accept the challenges is Tammy Bishop, managing director and part owner of this leading woman-owned pharmaceutical supplier firm. Since she joined the company two-and-a-half years ago, Caligor Rx has earned certification as a woman-owned business enterprise by the Women Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).

With 20 years of experience in corporate communications and investor relations in publicly traded biotechnology companies, Ms. Bishop was a natural partner for Caligor Rx. She became involved in companies that source comparator drugs for clinical trials about eight years ago. Her knowledge and authority on strategies for supplying comparator drugs for global clinical trials created the career path to her current position.

Diversity on More Than One Level

Caligor Rx embraces diversity on multiple levels as essential to success. On the first level is the globalization of products and services. The company procures drugs in more than 80 countries and can distribute them to clinical trial sites virtually anywhere in the world.

Bishop notes, “Our team speaks a total of nine languages. There is an acute awareness of the importance of diversity for bringing innovative solutions to problem solving efforts.” Another important success factor is Caligor Rx’s unparalleled buying power, which emanates from its access to a globalized product market. The company’s ability to source the lowest cost products by getting superior prices in the marketplace has enabled Caligor Rx to become a leading authority on supplying comparator drugs for clinical trials.

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry has been experiencing difficult challenges. One of those challenges is the tremendous shortages of certain classes of drugs in the marketplace.

“We must make sure we can ethically source and supply oncology drugs for clinical trials. Some issues are unfortunately out of our control, but the ability to access drugs on a global basis keeps those instances to a minimum,” Bishop stated.

In addition, many businesses in the United States healthcare and pharmaceutical industries are concerned about the impact of the Affordable Care Act. The new act is not expected to affect Caligor Rx, because it provides medicines to customers for clinical research, not directly to patients. In fact, in an interesting twist, Bishop pointed out, “The new law may lead to the need for more comparator clinical drug studies, and that will benefit our company. Based on health care cost trends, comparator studies are likely to become even more prevalent to help determine the potential benefits of innovator drugs as being more effective or having fewer side effects compared to drugs currently on the market.”

Ms. Bishop also deals with the challenge of manufacturers changing their formulations. If a Caligor Rx customer has been doing a head-to-head comparator study with an injectable drug, and the drug formulation is changed to tablet form, the study parameters also change.

“We must make sure that when we are procuring for a clinical trial that we can supply the drug in the same form for the duration of the trial. There must be a continuity of drug supply in all the various countries where we are procuring the drug,” she added.

With just 31 employees, Caligor Rx is even more remarkable in that such a relatively small company can source global products and supply drugs to global clinical trials with amazing efficiency. Based in Secaucus, NJ, the privately held company attributes much of its success to a firm commitment to providing superior customer service. With no outside funding, Caligor Rx doesn’t have the pressure on its drug profit margins that other companies may have. Caligor Rx is also in the process of getting ISO certified.

Mentoring Program Success

One of the ways Caligor Rx has honed its competitive skills is by participating in the International Supply Management (ISM) Pharmaceutical Forum mentoring program. The program matches a large successful pharmaceutical or biotechnology drug company with a smaller company like Caligor Rx. Caligor Rx is a mentoring program success. Ms. Bishop said, “We have been through the mentorship program and exceeded our goal of four new clients in a year. That is a major accomplishment in such a complex and competitive industry.”

The ISM Pharmaceutical Forum mentorship program gives access to small businesses that want guidance and feedback from successful companies in the industry in areas like marketing and customer service. The mentorship program has advanced Caligor Rx’s ability to work successfully with companies like Genentech, considered by many to be the founder of the biotechnology industry. For example, Caligor Rx has learned how to improve presentational skills, and to work with customers like Genentech to ensure customer needs are being met.

Bishop makes it clear that small business involvement in mentorship programs is a successful strategy for gaining a better understanding of your own business. For Caligor Rx, the mentorship program was particularly beneficial in helping Bishop understand how to ensure that messaging was on par with customer needs. The company learned how to enhance its presentation skills and used critical feedback to refine its marketing. Bishop also gained important knowledge about making sure the messaging was effective for supply chain management.

The important question that she learned to ask herself is, “Do the benefits we provide to customers come through in our messaging?” The answer to this seemingly simple question can determine whether a company gains new customers or becomes stagnant. Caligor Rx, under leadership like that of Tammy Bishop, is a company that understands the importance of partnerships and is willing to learn from experienced companies. Caligor Rx is a success story in which mentoring has played an important role in its growth. That should not be surprising because, as the Chief Executive Officer Joan Safdie message says on the Caligor Rx website, “We value strong, trusted relationships with the people and organizations we serve.” Since the mentorship program is all about working relationships, it makes sense that Ms. Bishop took advantage of the ISM Pharmaceutical Forum program.

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