A paradigm shift beneath the skin.

Over decades, the company had built a strong position in the dermatology market. Topical products, complemented by an OTC-adjacent range in skincare, formed the backbone of a stable portfolio. Relationships with office-based dermatologists were maintained through the field force, and scientific communication was limited to regional training events and product training.

Yet the dermatological treatment landscape had changed fundamentally. Since the introduction of the first biologics in 2004, a paradigm shift had been under way that accelerated with every new approval. The updated S3 guideline of the German Dermatological Society (DDG) now recommends biologics such as dupilumab and tralokinumab as well as JAK inhibitors such as upadacitinib and abrocitinib with the highest level of recommendation for the systemic therapy of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. The DDG rates both therapy classes as equivalent. For chronic inflammatory indications, prescribers were increasingly migrating to these new options. The consequence: the existing core business stagnated, and pipeline investments in the company's own systemic-therapy projects required a Medical Affairs competence that did not exist internally.

The previous Medical Advisor had left the company. He was an experienced expert for the existing portfolio, but had neither experience with innovative systemic therapies nor with the specific requirements of AMNOG benefit assessment in dermatology. ANDRIS Consulting was mandated as a specialised pharma recruitment firm to find a Medical Advisor who could take responsibility for this strategic transition.

The company had invested a double-digit million sum. Without a Medical Advisor who built the scientific positioning against the existing competition, designed advisory boards with the right KOLs and gave the launch communication a medical foundation, this investment was at risk of running dry.

The problem was not abstract. In dermatology, more than 6,000 specialists treat around 21 million patients per year. At the same time, the German association of dermatologists (BVDD) warns of growing undersupply in entire regions, which further intensifies the competition for the attention of the remaining prescribers. The market for innovative systemic therapies, from biologics through JAK inhibitors to TYK2 inhibitors such as deucravacitinib, is becoming increasingly competitive. KOL relationships in the pharmaceutical industry are strongly tied to individuals; building them requires at least 12 months before first results become visible. Two lost congress seasons without scientific presence at DDG meetings or EADV congresses would have marginalised the company in the perception of the dermatological expert community.

For this mandate, ANDRIS Consulting deliberately pursued a search strategy that went beyond the direct competitive field. The number of Medical Advisors with specific dermatology experience and simultaneous systemic-therapy competence in the region is limited.

Instead, ANDRIS Consulting widened the search radius to Medical Advisors from adjacent immunological indication areas such as rheumatology, pulmonology or allergology who already brought experience with systemic-therapy launches and systematic KOL build-up. The rationale: molecules such as dupilumab are approved across indications, from dermatitis through asthma to chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. Anyone who has scientifically supported a systemic-therapy launch in one of these areas, whether with a biologic or a small molecule, brings exactly the process competence that is in demand in dermatology. The indication-specific expertise, for example in scores such as EASI or DLQI and in the dermatological care landscape, can be built within a few months. The ability to do scientific network building and strategic positioning in a market with several established therapy classes, by contrast, cannot.

Beyond the professional review, the aptitude diagnostics included a structured cultural-fit assessment. The candidate had to fit a mid-sized corporate culture in which short decision paths and scientific depth were demanded at once. For this, ANDRIS Consulting used a Big-Five-based personality profile that assessed openness to change, scientific conscientiousness and the ability to collaborate cross-functionally with field force, market access and management.

Within eight weeks, ANDRIS Consulting filled the role with a candidate holding a doctorate in immunology and seven years of Medical Affairs experience, the last three of them at a pharma company specialised in systemic therapies in an immunological indication.

Within the first twelve months after joining, the new Medical Advisor built an advisory board with six dermatological opinion leaders, established a publication strategy for real-world data from the existing dermatology portfolio and developed the medical communication plan for the planned systemic-therapy launch. The AMNOG strategy was aligned early with health-technology-assessment advisors in order to avoid the competitors' mistakes in choosing the comparator therapy.

For the first time, the field force received scientifically grounded argumentation aids that positioned the value of the existing portfolio in the context of the new systemic therapies rather than treating them as competition. Through this appointment, the company regained not only scientific credibility but also a strategic perspective for the next decade. With this mandate, ANDRIS Consulting had shown that executive search in the pharmaceutical industry requires more than database research: it demands transfer thinking, industry understanding and the ability to make the right connections in a narrow candidate market.