[/caption]Hugo Peris was born in Barcelona in 1983 and has a degree in International Business. So far, he has had a professional career happening mostly on the pharmaceutical industry, something that has led him to establish in Shanghai. Because of his training and his professional activity, his opinions and insights may be highly valuable for those willing to work in East Asia, and because of his origins they are worth being published in Sinalunya. We thank him for taking the time to answer these questions for our blog.
Q: Hailing from Catalonia, you are now working actively in East Asia, developing new markets for a pharmaceutical company. How did such a thing happen and what is your experience so far living in such a different society?
R: I've always been related to the pharmaceutical industry as a family thing, since my family owns a pharmaceutical company in Spain. I remember that often at home my dad and my grandmother were talking about about pharmaceutical compounds and R&D projects for their company. I first tried to get a degree in Pharmacy, but soon I realized I wasn't born to wear a white coat and to spend hours looking through a microscope so I decided to try International Business studies. Traveling and doing business abroad always seemed interesting to me and during my school years I had the chance to do an internship at Novartis in Australia and New Zealand. Right after that 6-month internship I realized that my future would be linked to this sector and that I wanted my life to happen internationally. After I graduated, my family gave me the opportunity to go work for our partners in the United States so I ended up in Chicago working as a sales representative to expand the business of this Mississippi based pharmaceutical company in the Midwest. After a year and a half in sales, I met Robert Braithwaite, a British entrepreneur that after six years living in China, was starting up LUQA, an Asian specialty pharmaceutical company. Three months later I was in Shanghai, learning from Robert’s experience and working together to grow LUQA’s business in China and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
I think I adapted quite rapidly to this new environment: I've been lucky to find a great job opportunity (fast growth, lots of learning, lots of traveling and lots of fun working with Robert) and I would say that Shanghai is the easiest place on Earth to start a new life. The expat community here is huge; there is a great variety of local and international bars and restaurants, and both the mix of cultures and the booming economy transmit so much energy and vitality that it is impossible for almost anyone not to love this city. I like to say, and most of my friends agree, that Shanghai is the new New York City.
Q: You are Business Development Manager at LUQA. What is company’s activity and aim?
LUQA is a novel, China-based, specialty pharmaceutical company. We are engaged in acquiring, developing, and commercializing innovative products for China and for Southeast Asia. To date, we have obtained the exclusive distribution rights for four drugs from some international pharmaceutical manufacturers and we are currently finishing the negotiations for two additional products. We are building a China-tailored strategy to ensure optimal access to the vast opportunities in the country’s healthcare market. In parallel, we leverage opportunities in Southeast Asia to market our products through our strong regional network.
I would say that the key elements to LUQA’s current growth and future success are the knowledge of the Asian pharmaceutical markets, the confidence that we convey to our European partners compared to other local and very opaque organizations, and our vast network of contacts that gives us access to unique sourcing opportunities and, at the same time, allows us to find the best distribution partner for each product in each market.
Q: Why the development of this entrepreneurial project in East Asia and not in Europe? What does East Asian markets offer that may be lacking now in Europe? What are the difficulties that they offer?
R: Well… I guess the main reason to this is that Robert decided to settle down in Shanghai. His past experience with another Spanish pharmaceutical firm helped him envision the opportunity of offering a gateway to Asia to mid to small-sized European companies, but from Asia itself. Entry barriers to China are huge for those unfamiliar with the local market and the local culture, especially in the very regulated pharmaceutical industry. Needless to remember how many great companies have failed to succeed in the Chinese market.
Nowadays East Asian markets are the candy that all European companies are chasing. The growth of the pharmaceutical industry in this side of the world contrasts with the increased regulation, the pressure in prices and the lack of trust of traditional markets. Asia offers huge growth in untapped markets with underdeveloped therapeutic areas to companies that have traditionally operated locally and are now struggling to maintain their past local growth.
Doing business in Asia is difficult because of the cultural barriers and due to the singularities of each market in the region. Being able to find the right local partner for each product and understanding how every different market in the region works are key to succeed. But this is not available to everyone and most of the times it requires a strong local presence.
Q: In the recent years there is a growing trend of internationalization of Catalan economy and companies are doing great efforts to reach new markets, including those in East Asia. What is your impression of this trend? Can Catalan companies be successful in such environment? What would be your advice to businessmen willing to take this path?
R: It is clear to everyone that the last crisis has changed the rules of the game. China is now at the center of the global economy. What used to be a cheap supermarket for every developed economy is now a very attractive market with the fastest growing economy in the world and a handful of opportunities. I think there are two facts that exemplify this in the particular Catalan case. Since a couple of years ago, we are seeing many young professionals coming to Asia in search of job opportunities and expecting for a brighter future. More and more people can’t stand the pessimism and the increasing lack of hope emanating from the economic and social reality of our region. Another fact that catches my attention is that over the last year most Catalan newspapers have published many news of different kinds about China, when before you would only see maybe one or two articles a year talking about the Middle Kingdom. Honestly, I believe that China is not the future anymore, but it is the present. A huge, unknown but very promising present.
Catalan companies have traditionally been very open to foreign markets and there are many very successful firms present in China. It has never been easy to arrive to these markets and I believe that key to success is to have well trained people with great push and adaptability managing the business locally. Beyond that, Catalonia has great companies already offering nice products and services. I believe that the very tight current economic situation will push these companies to thrive and succeed in this side of the World.
Q: You are also developing your own project, breakPHARMA. What is breakPHARMA and what is its aim? How did you come with such idea and what are your achievements so far?
breakPHARMA started as a side project while I was in Chicago. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and I guess I am kind of a computer geek. A few years ago I learned to develop websites and I started working on side projects –good pocket money at that time. At first it was only for friends and family. Then I partnered with a friend to start up an equestrian website. I also did a couple of projects on my own and breakPHARMA is the last idea I came up with: an automatic aggregator of news and job offers of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry.
It first started as a website but I recently moved to Twitter where I aim to interact with other people who are interested in the pharmaceutical industry and generate some buzz. Now I am thinking of replicating this for Asia with the idea of offering a single point where people will be able to find information about the Asian pharmaceutical industry. We’ll see how it goes… But I know I won’t be able to put too much time on it because LUQA is consuming most of my time and, to be honest, that is the real entrepreneur project!
Q: Finally, please let us know a little bit more about yourself by telling us your tastes:
A book: Invisible, by Paul Auster (the last book I have read)
A movie: Pulp Fiction
An actor or actress: George Clooney
A song or musical piece: Sky and Sand, by Paul Kalkbrenner
A singer or performer: the Phoenix concert last year at Lollapalooza is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen
A landscape: the view of the city of Barcelona from the sea
A dish from Chinese cuisine: I prefer the Taiwanese xiao long bao (小笼包, you can taste them at the restaurant chain Din Tai Fung!)
A dish from Catalan cuisine: I don’t think I can choose one! But first thing I’d like to eat when I get to Barcelona is fuet and pa amb tomàquet!
A wish: Happiness
[caption id="attachment_1156" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Hugo Peris"]
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