Christelle Huguet, Executive Vice President, Head of R&D at Ipsen, challenges the outdated belief that bigger means better in biopharma, arguing that agility – not size – drives breakthrough innovation. With precision, swift decision-making, and an unwavering focus on patient needs, agile innovators like Ipsen are poised to deliver real-world impact.
The future of biopharma will be shaped not by the biggest players, but by the most agile ones. That is why I believe our operating model at Ipsen gives us a real advantage in today’s fast-moving landscape.
We’re a global biopharmaceutical company with the mindset of a biotech. This unique position allows us to combine the scale and reach of a large organization with the focus and flexibility of a biotech. That means faster decisions, specialist expertise across the pathway, and the agility to adapt as new data and insights emerge – all helping us move promising medicines through development at speed.
At the heart of our approach is a science-driven R&D model, focused on what matters most: patients. We follow a clear strategy to build a pipeline where options are limited and patient needs are high. These are the avenues that remain elusive or where few others tread, but where we are taking compelling science to address barriers to new treatments and in new disease areas. What remains key to this approach is flexibility; coming together as a team and pivoting when the data tells us to. While we start with a clear roadmap, as new evidence emerges, particularly in early research, it can reveal greater possibilities for patients. It’s a clear example of what it means to follow the science in practice, and how that approach helps us unlock the full potential of our medicines for patients.
Being cross-functional in our approach also results in swifter decision-making. This means involving our medical and regulatory teams from the very beginning of development. By doing so, we enhance efficiencies, leverage end-to-end expertise, and ensure we make the right calls.
Above all, it shows that being agile is essential – to follow the science, make meaningful decisions, and ultimately meet patient needs.
What is This is My PBC?
Getting to know your PBC is the first step to take charge of your PBC journey
This is My PBC is a disease awareness initiative developed and funded by Ipsen, that seeks to raise awareness of the need for people living with PBC to know more about their disease and understand that everyone’s experience is different – and valid. By taking a personalized approach to your PBC management, you can empower yourself with the knowledge to have meaningful conversations with your healthcare professional, and play a more active role in your PBC management and care. You may be unique, but you are not alone.
Meet Jo, Gill and Wendy, living with PBC
Although they share the same disease, their journey of living with, and managing PBC, has been personal. Hear their individual experiences and take charge of your own PBC journey by learning more about the condition and talking openly with your doctor.
Meet Gill
Gill is a devoted mother and grandmother who loves spending time with her grandchildren and gardening. She also has a real passion for her volunteering work. She has lived for over 20 years with PBC.
Jo’s journey to diagnosis began about 10 years ago, when she contacted her GP feeling tired and run down, but it wasn’t until four years ago following some routine blood tests and a liver biopsy, that she received a diagnosis. Support groups, like the PBC Foundation, have been a gamechanger for Jo, providing support, education and a like-minded community.
Wendy has been living with PBC for over 13 years, and it took five years of GP and specialist appointments to receive her diagnosis. Her advice to other people living with PBC is to go to your doctor prepared to ask lots of questions, manage your condition as well as you can and be kind to yourself.
This guide provides an overview to help understand and manage PBC. It covers 3 key areas: understanding what PBC is and who it affects, recognizing and coping with its symptoms, and learning about treatment options, lifestyle support, and the importance of ongoing monitoring.
You can paint a clearer picture of what it is like to live with PBC and with your doctor help make choices that are right for you, such as:
Know how your symptoms make you feel. Keep an eye on your symptoms between your doctor’s appointments and keep a list of topics to discuss with your doctor the next time you see them.
Know your alkaline phosphorate (ALP) numbers and what they mean for you. Ask your doctor questions about your ALP and bilirubin levels, and what they mean for your liver health.
Jo’s journey to diagnosis began about 10 years ago, when she contacted her GP feeling tired and run down, but it wasn’t until 4 years ago following some routine blood tests and a liver biopsy, that she received a diagnosis. Support groups, like the PBC Foundation, have been a gamechanger for Jo, providing support, education and a like-minded community.
The impact of fatigue: Jo’s Story
Fatigue is more than just tiredness. From her social life to her work life, Jo describes how her fatigue symptoms have impacted both.
Lifestyle adjustments to manage fatigue: Jo’s Story
From diary organization to diet management, Jo explains her individual lifestyle adjustments to manage fatigue.
Knowing liver function: Jo’s Story
PBC affects the bile ducts that run through your liver. Liver blood tests that show high levels of ALP (alkaline phosphatase) are a marker of PBC disease progression. Jo explains why understanding what impacts your liver function is an important part of taking charge of your PBC journey.
Finding a community: Jo’s Story
Jo describes the importance of community in PBC management.
Advice to her past self: Jo’s Story
Jo shares the PBC advice she would give to her past self.
Wendy has been living with PBC for over 13 years, and it took 5 years of GP and specialist appointments to receive her diagnosis. Her advice to other people living with PBC is to go to your doctor prepared to ask lots of questions, manage your condition as well as you can and be kind to yourself.
Fatigue and brain fog: Wendy’s Story
Fatigue and brain fog can impact everyone differently. Wendy explains what her symptoms can feel like.
Knowing your PBC: Wendy’s Story
Everyone’s PBC is different, and knowledge of your PBC is power. Wendy shares her hopes for her own disease management.
Gill is a devoted mother and grandmother who loves spending time with her grandchildren and gardening. She also has a real passion for her volunteering work. She has lived for over 20 years with PBC.
Navigating the diagnosis journey: Gill’s Story
Gill explains the impact that her doctor’s guidance and patient community support had on her diagnosis journey.
PBC symptoms: Gill’s Story
The ‘PBC itch’ is a common and often debilitating symptom of PBC. Gill describes how fatigue and the ‘PBC itch’ have affected her life.
Lifestyle adjustments: Gill’s Story
Just like you are a unique individual, the lifestyle adjustments you make to manage PBC must be specific for you. Gill describes the steps that she takes.
Knowing what to ask your doctor: Gill’s Story
Coming to your PBC appointment prepared with a list of questions can help you get the most out of your PBC care. Gill recounts what she would advise herself when she was first diagnosed.
Her hope for PBC management: Gill’s Story
Gill shares her hope for PBC management.
“My role is to ensure that every product we develop meets the highest standards of quality, safety, efficacy, and compliance.” Robustness is not a box to check—it’s the foundation of every decision. As a Senior Director in the Pharmaceutical Development function in Ipsen’s drug product development team, Prince Korah focuses on driving the pharmaceutical development strategy by overseeing the end-to-end life cycle of drug products with his team—from early development through manufacturing and clinical delivery—ensuring each stage meets rigorous quality, regulatory, and performance standards. His goal is clear: design for stability, simplify where possible, and always center the science.
In development of drug products, the pressure is real. Timelines are short, stakes are high, and there is little room for error. Prince responds by defining and controlling the key variables that influence stability. “We design with the end in mind,” he says. “The patient, the dose, the shelf life—it all has to hold together.”
That mindset requires discipline. Every formulation choice ties back to rigorous quality and regulatory performance standards. Platform strategies help, but only if they serve the product. “If you can build a platform approach, you gain consistency,” he explains. “It allows you to apply lessons across programs.” But he cautions against rigid thinking. “Even within a platform, we ask: can we make it simpler, safer, and more robust?”
Process design is where his work becomes most visible. He collaborates cross-functionally across chemists, formulators, analytics, manufacturing experts, quality, and regulatory experts to define how the drug product is produced, filled, and finished. It is not just about technical accuracy—it is about reliability. If a process fails in production, speed means nothing. “You have to build it to endure,” he says.
Prince looks ahead to a future shaped by continuous manufacturing and AI-driven control systems. He sees the shift toward personalized medicine as a scientific challenge worth solving. “It will change everything we know about production,” he says. “We need to prepare for the scientific rigor now.”
His work remains grounded in one goal: predictability. A well-built product does not call attention to itself. It works every time. “If we do our job right,” he says, “no one should ever notice. It just works.”
We’re proud to share that Ipsen has been certified as a Great Place to Work in 16 countries in 2025, bringing our total to 30 countries worldwide recognized as employers of choice. This achievement is a strong testament to our efforts to build a workplace where everyone can be their true selves, grow and thrive.
A global culture of Collaboration, Excellence and Impact
At Ipsen, boosting a culture of collaboration, excellence and impact is a cornerstone of our strategy. Grounded in Collaboration, Excellence, and Impact, it brings our teams together around a shared purpose — to deliver real impact for patients and society. We collaborate, strive for continuous improvement, and celebrate the passion that drives our progress.
We are dedicated to fostering a safe, supportive and inclusive workplace, where our people have the means, trust, and care they need to perform at their best.
This recognition is a reflection of our culture and our people. It celebrates our progress and inspires us to go further, pursuing our sustainable growth journey, growing together and aiming for greatness. Thank you to all Ipsen employees for your engagement and for making this achievement possible.
*Accredited countries in 2025: Canada, USA, Mexico, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy, Algeria, Tunisia, Colombia, Brazil, Sweden, Lithuania, Poland, Greece, UAE, Saudi Arabia
At Ipsen, we go beyond environmental responsibility to place societal impact at the heart of our actions. Through a range of Giving-Back Programs, the company aims to make a positive difference in the communities where we operate.
One standout initiative is Ipsen in Motion, a program that brings employees together around a shared cause through physical activity. Whether walking, running, or cycling, every effort is tracked via a dedicated app that collects points. Once the collective goal is reached, Ipsen unlocks a donation to a health-focused organization.
More than just a fitness challenge, Ipsen in Motion fosters team spirit, raises awareness, and promotes empathy and acts. Each year, local challenges take place across the globe to support local associations and spotlight issues that matter to our industry.
This momentum is made possible thanks to a strong network of Ipsen employee ambassadors, who meet monthly to exchange ideas, share local initiatives, and raise awareness on key sustainability topics. Their energy and commitment help bring Giving-Back Programs to life across sites and teams.
This commitment to giving back takes many forms throughout the year, thanks to the dedication of our employees, that makes it all possible. Their commitment brings this initiative to life and helps build a culture of care and impact.
A great example of this spirit was the Ipsen in Motion North America Challenge, which took place across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The initiative supported the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), a U.S.-based organization that advocates for family caregivers and promotes recognition of their essential role in society. Each region organized its own activities:
In the U.S., the challenge was launched with a roundtable on caregiving, featuring the National Alliance for Caregiving, which shared key data and insights about caregivers in the country. The initiative concluded with employees coming together for the Half Marathon on November 2nd.
In Canada, on October 14th, teams gathered for a group walk around Mississauga. A book exchange was also organized, and to ensure the initiative continues, a small library was set up in the kitchen – a great reminder that caring for your health means nurturing both body and mind!
In Mexico, some employees took part in a Día de los Muertos run on Thursday, October 30th, further strengthening the collective spirit across borders and creating a meaningful moment to come together around a cultural event with colleagues.
Thanks to the incredible energy and commitment of employees across North America and across Ipsen, who collectively reached 600,000 points, NAC received a donation of €15,000. A powerful testament to what we can achieve together.
Through Ipsen in Motion and the broader Giving Back Programs, Ipsen reaffirms that sustainability is also about empowering individuals and strengthening communities.
This Movember, Ipsen once again champions men’s health through our “Get Men Talking” podcast series — a heartfelt initiative encouraging open conversations about prostate cancer and wellbeing.
In this year’s episode, Ipsen’s own Tim Batchelor, now 10 years clear of prostate cancer, sits down with Errol McKeller, fellow survivor and men’s health advocate, and Olympic legend Colin Jackson. Together, they share powerful personal stories, break down stigma, and inspire men everywhere to take charge of their health — because talking can save lives.
The “Get Men Talking” campaign is part of Ipsen’s continued commitment to raising awareness around early screening, prevention, and support for men affected by prostate cancer. Through authentic voices and real experiences, we’re driving an open dialogue that empowers men — and their loved ones — to act early.
👉 Listen to the podcast, share it with your network, and join us in keeping the conversation going. Together, we can make a difference — one conversation at a time.
Episode 1
Episode 2
Targeting what cannot be seen: Lindsey Rodrigues on the complexity of epigenetics or mutated in a particular cancer. We have to ask, ‘do we have an understanding of how this gene works? Can we design a medicine to treat it or to target it?”’
Lindsey Rodrigues works in the early research space—well before molecules reach the clinic. Her focus is epigenetics, an area where cancer cells are reprogrammed at the level of gene expression, not genetic mutation. “You have these proteins that are responsible for reading, writing, and erasing epigenetic marks,” she says. “And that controls whether a gene is turned on or off. You can’t see it with traditional tools. That’s what makes it so interesting.”
At Ipsen, she leads the biology strategy for early-stage research programs and supports external innovation teams as they evaluate potential assets to add to Ipsen’s pipeline. “You might have two molecules with similar data,” she says, “but very different mechanisms. We’re asking: is this selective? Does it hit the right target? Do we understand the patient population?”
Her background in academic oncology helps guide that analysis. She trained in microfluidics, RNA biology, and CRISPR screening—which is used to run large-scale experiments that show how genes affect a certain trait, disease, or cell behavior. “I try to find something real in the data,” she says. “Especially something robust.”
Lindsey sees epigenetics as a space where good ideas often fail to translate. “It’s a moving goal,” she says. “They are context-dependent. They may work in a cell line, but not in a patient, and the patient population may be narrower than the sponsor originally believed.”
For her, this makes the science more urgent, not less. “There are so many failures,” she says. “But if something works, it’s powerful.”
Her team works cross-functionally from the beginning, engaging with chemistry, clinical, and pharmaceutical development functions to assess what a compound would need to succeed. “We’re not working in isolation,” she says. “We need input across the board.” That collaborative pressure keeps her focused. “We ask: is this a project that we would all be proud to work on? Is this a treatment we would want our families to receive?” Those questions drive her and her team to the finish line of discovery, playing a part in the larger role of medicinal development.
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