As it works to send opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment Sublocade back into its prior growth territory, Indivior is switching up its commercial team.
The Virginia-based pharma has appointed Patrick Barry as its new chief commercial officer, according to a Tuesday announcement. Barry will step into the CCO role on June 2, replacing Richard Simkin, who’s led Indivior’s commercial organization for the last decade.
Barry joins the OUD-focused pharma after more than eight years at Endo, a tenure that included roles as chief commercial officer of Endo's branded pharmaceuticals and, for the last five years, as president of the company's global commercial operations. Before that, he logged 24 years at Sanofi, culminating in a stint as senior commercial leader and general manager of the pharma giant's North American general medicines business unit.
“I am honored to join Indivior at such a pivotal time for the company,” Barry said in a statement. “Indivior has built a strong foundation and is well-positioned to broaden its leadership position in opioid use disorder. I look forward to working with the team to grow Sublocade and maximize the potential of the Indivior portfolio.”
Barry isn’t the only new face in Indivior’s C-suite: Earlier this year, the company announced that CEO Mark Crossley would be stepping down “by mutual agreement,” to be replaced by Joe Ciaffoni, who previously held leadership roles at Biogen, Endo, Collegium Pharmaceutical and more. The transition was completed this month.
Barry is taking the commercial reins as the company ramps up marketing spending to boost Sublocade sales.
In its first-quarter earnings report (PDF) last month, Indivior reported a 2% year-over-year drop in net revenues for Sublocade. The drop came as sales in the organized health system channel grew, but were “more than offset” by a decline in the justice system channel “due to near-term funding gaps among certain customers.”
The company has also faced competition from other opioid addiction treatments like Camurus’ Brixadi—a situation that, in part, led investment fund Oaktree Capital Management to call for a management shake-up at Indivior last fall.
Indivior is planning to turn that drop around in the second half of the year, however, thanks to increased marketing investments as well as recent FDA-approved changes to Sublocade’s label that expand the drug’s possible injection sites and speed up the timing of its first and second doses in treating patients with OUD.
In a call with investors about the first-quarter earnings, Crossley said the marketing push—targeting both healthcare workers and patients—is already making an impact in terms of digital impressions and brand searches.