Editor's note: In recent years, major industries have flourished, with more and more female researchers and business managers participating, becoming the vanguard force in promoting innovation and technological progress in the industrial ecosystem. Especially in high-tech fields with scientific and technological innovation attributes such as biomedicine, female workers are using their extraordinary courage and wisdom to change the marginalized position of women in these fields, bringing diverse perspectives to industrial development and offering different possibilities. On International Women's Day on March 8th, 2024, Time Media launched a special planning report on "Women · We", inviting multiple female role models from the biopharmaceutical and science and technology industries to share with us how to become and achieve oneself.
From a physician to the head of China, the most valuable listed company in Europe, Zhou Xiaping, Senior Vice President of Novo Nordisk Global and President of Greater China, has been driving change throughout her more than 30 years of career, from personal development to corporate innovation, and then to sustainable development in the industry.
In April 2018, Zhou Xiaping joined Novo Nordisk, becoming the first Chinese senior manager born and raised in the century long development history of this Danish pharmaceutical giant. Prior to this, she had worked at Lilly for 20 years, rising all the way to Senior Vice President and Head of Anti Tumor and Transbiological Products in China. She was one of Lilly's core leaders in the early stages of development in the Chinese market.
During the six years since joining Novo Nordisk, Zhou Xiaping led a team to introduce 10 innovative drugs and injection devices, and the company's total investment in China exceeded 3.6 billion yuan.
In 2021, Smeaglutide injection (trade name: Novotel) was approved in China to treat type 2 diabetes; In 2022, the world's first basic insulin GLP-1RA injection (trade name: Novoyi) was approved to help patients with type 2 diabetes achieve high-quality glucose management; In the same year, China's first connected and transmissible intelligent insulin pen, "Novo Pen® 6", was officially launched in China, helping diabetes patients start the journey of "intelligent sugar control". In January this year, Smeaglutide Tablets (trade name: Novosi) was also approved by the State Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adult type 2 diabetes.
In terms of investment in China, Novo Nordisk has achieved an upgrade of its entire industrial chain layout, forming a strategic layout of "dual centers, three engines". Its legal entities in Tianjin and Shanghai have been recognized by the government as regional headquarters, forming a "dual center". The production engine is located in Tianjin, the research and development engine is located in Beijing, and the innovation and trade engine is located in Shanghai.
Starting from 2021, Zhou Xiaping has been on Forbes China's Outstanding Business Women's List for four consecutive years, ranking 74th, 71st, 57th, and 58th respectively.
Zhou Xiaping, who has been in the industry for many years and has rich overseas work experience, has a unique methodology. In her opinion, female leadership should not be seen as a specialized label. The first step is to become a qualified leader, rather than focusing on gender differences. An excellent leader can achieve mission driven goals, lead by example, unite the team or organization to achieve common goals, and create sustainable high performance.
"Starting from self-awareness, discover as early as possible what your 'comfort zone' is and where the boundaries are. When your 'boundaries' are broken, what is your natural reaction and what you have learned from it? This is the first step in breaking through the' endogenous boundaries', but consistent values and unchanged original intentions are very important." Zhou Xiaping told Time Finance.
From a practitioner to a practitioner in the pharmaceutical industry, Zhou Xiaping has always had only one original intention, to benefit patients with innovation.
"Don't view female leadership as a specialized label"
Time Finance: More and more women in the pharmaceutical industry are being seen. How do you view this phenomenon? Have you observed any changes in the working environment for women in the industry after years of experience?
Zhou Xiaping: Women are playing an increasingly important role in the pharmaceutical industry. The integration of talents from different backgrounds and genders stimulates a continuous stream of innovation. In recent years, the employment environment for women has changed, but compared to everyone's expectations, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Of course, we should also see that there seem to be some differences between different industries, such as in the pharmaceutical industry, where the proportion of women in senior positions is relatively higher. For executives, the demands brought about by changes in the economic environment and pressure are becoming increasingly high. The same applies to both male and female executives. Under the premise of continuously leveraging their advantages and improving their abilities, women may have more and more opportunities to choose, which will definitely become better and better.
Time Finance: What do you understand as the power of women?
Zhou Xiaping: It's difficult to summarize this in one word or sentence. Women demonstrate an undeniable power in social life, delicate, resilient, sensitive, and tolerant, using their own power to drive change in various fields.
For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, we are pleased to see that women are playing an increasingly important role. The mission of the medical industry is to safeguard human health. Women's delicate and sensitive perception and empathy can better contribute to this cause.
Time Finance: Currently, women's leadership is on the rise, and in high-tech industries such as biopharmaceuticals, does achieving success for women also mean more obstacles? How did you break through these barriers and gender boundaries?
Zhou Xiaping: Don't view female leadership as a specialized label. The first thing is to become a qualified leader, rather than focusing on gender differences. An excellent leader can achieve mission driven goals, lead by example, unite the team or organization to achieve common goals, and create sustainable high performance. Listening and empathy are essential leadership skills for effective leaders, which can greatly help to unite teams and build more resilient organizations.
For me, in the early 1930s, my heart remained unchanged. I hope to gather like-minded and outstanding leaders and professional managers through my efforts to drive change, accelerate innovation, and benefit more patients; Simultaneously developing talents, contributing to society, and promoting sustainable development of the industry.
"The prevention and treatment of serious chronic diseases is a long and arduous task."
Time Finance: Since the second half of 2022, the capital winter has gradually enveloped the entire biopharmaceutical industry ecosystem. What understanding of your own work has been changed or promoted by the cold winter of capital? How should pharmaceutical companies handle themselves in the cold winter?
Zhou Xiaping: For the biopharmaceutical industry, challenges and opportunities coexist, just like two sides of a coin. This reminds us to seize opportunities, see challenges while growing our business, be proactive, and plan for the future. Most of the changes are positive: innovative drugs can be quickly reviewed and approved, and medical insurance is dynamically admitted; At the national level, expand the coverage of medical insurance and encourage provincial and municipal medical insurance. These all bring opportunities for pharmaceutical companies to enable patients to benefit from innovative drugs as soon as possible.
At Novo Nordisk, innovation originates from our mission, and innovation is our core contribution. At the level of product research and development, we hope to seize opportunities, expand cooperation, and gradually realize our "three wishes" in the field of research and innovation.
The first is to accelerate the introduction of innovative drugs, hoping to accelerate the entry of innovative drugs into the Chinese market and new disease fields through continuous research and development investment and innovation cooperation;
The second is to promote the synchronous approval of innovative drugs in China and globally, and through the "China Co Creation" project, enable Chinese patients and global patients to benefit from our innovative achievements simultaneously. Last year, we officially submitted our application for the weekly injection of insulin icodec for marketing. This is the first time that Novo Nordisk has completed clinical trials in China, the European Union, and the United States simultaneously, and submitted new drug marketing applications simultaneously;
The third is to fulfill the innovation commitment of "in China, for China; in China, for the world" and strengthen China's contribution to global innovation and research and development.
Meanwhile, the operational model continues to innovate. Today's patients have become more independent and hope to participate in disease diagnosis and treatment, and better manage their illnesses. We also hope to empower them in all aspects through digital innovation and other means. In addition, we will further expand cooperation, expand the "circle of friends", advocate the whole society to pay attention to health issues such as diabetes and obesity, and work with relevant parties to help patients better manage diseases and prevent diseases.
Time Finance: What is the question you have been persistently thinking about? In recent years, the global rise of China's biopharmaceutical industry has led to some new questions and reflections behind its glory?
Zhou Xiaping: There is still a huge unmet medical demand in China, which is both an opportunity and a responsibility for pharmaceutical companies. At present, the number of diabetes patients in China is about 140 million, the proportion of obese adults in China accounts for 16.4%, and the number of rare disease patients in China has exceeded 20 million. However, the current status of diagnosis and treatment is not optimistic, and only a small number of patients have been effectively controlled. These serious chronic diseases and their complications bring a heavy burden to patients and society.
Therefore, under the premise of putting patients at the center, I have been thinking about how to provide more innovative drugs and medical plans for Chinese patients through continuous innovation, expand drug accessibility, and effectively treat and control diseases. At the same time, the prevention and treatment of serious chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity has a long way to go. There is still a huge unmet demand in multiple aspects such as health education, screening, diagnosis, treatment, long-term management, and grassroots diagnosis and treatment. This requires joint efforts from the whole society, especially to strengthen cooperation between the country, industry, patients, and medical fields, explore solutions together, and help more patients achieve "early diagnosis, early treatment, and early benefits".
For the biopharmaceutical industry in China, thanks to the continuous deepening of China's medical and health reform, the speed of new drug review and approval has greatly accelerated, and the speed of drug access is constantly improving. The government encourages global synchronous research and development, which is a good opportunity for innovative pharmaceutical enterprises. As a Danish biopharmaceutical company with over a century of innovation history and 30 years of roots in China, we do our best to support the improvement of China's sustainable pharmaceutical innovation capabilities and help China enter the top tier of global pharmaceutical innovation.
"Learn to keep up with the times"
Time Finance: What are the possibilities for your company in 2024 that are worth looking forward to by the outside world?
Zhou Xiaping: 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Novo Nordisk China. In the past few years, we have continuously upgraded the entire industry chain and formed a new strategic layout of "dual centers, three engines" in China. The new strategic layout will more effectively promote the synergy and mutual promotion of the entire industry chain, and fully implement the commitment of "in China, for China; in China, for the world".
We will continue to focus on patients and make continuous efforts: to realize the synchronization of innovation between China and the world, and to enter more disease fields while basing ourselves on the field of diabetes treatment; Support the relevant Chinese government departments and institutions, increase the screening of diabetes, improve the diagnosis and treatment ability of grass-roots doctors, and help patients achieve "early diagnosis, early treatment, early benefit"; Through digital innovation, assist doctors, empower patients, and help patients better manage diseases; By means of prevention, reverse the rising curve of the prevalence of diabetes, for example, the exploration of obesity; Under the long-term strategic guidance of "Win+2030", we are committed to becoming a trustworthy partner, accelerating innovation, and enabling more Chinese patients to benefit from Novo Nordisk's innovative products.
Time Finance: Faced with increasing uncertainty in life, how can young women gain strength from reality? What are your messages to the younger generation of women?
Zhou Xiaping: Not only for young women, but also for all young people, it is normal to feel uncertainty because they are at the age of exploration. Growth goes through many stages, and at different stages of life, it is necessary to regularly reflect and learn, and then see if one still maintains their initial enthusiasm.
Life depends on how you spend it, you must know what you want and what kind of person you want to become. Persist in learning. In this era full of changes, learning allows people to keep up with the times, understand their own characteristics and build confidence, face praise and criticism more calmly, maintain curiosity, continue learning, and make continuous progress, becoming excellent talents that cannot be replaced.