Lessons Learned From a Commercial Launch: Q&A with Greg Skalicky

In the second part of this two-part interview, EVERSANA president Greg Skalicky discusses the commercialization process behind Papzimeos and what lessons were learned during the launch. The first part of the interview, featuring Precigen president and CEO Helen Sabzevari, can be found here.

Pharmaceutical Executive: What core values does EVERSANA bring to companies like Precigen to help launch a product?
Greg Skalicky: At the core of what we do is our mission – create a healthier world for everyone. When we lead with a patient-first mindset, our team executes with speed, rigor, and accountability every single day. For emerging biopharma, success requires an integrated commercialization engine—one where market access, field teams, medical affairs, patient services, and more operate as a single, coordinated team.

A successful launch also depends on a team of experienced commercial leaders who know how to bring unique and complex therapies to life in the market—especially within rare disease launches. This combination of our pre-built commercialization engine and rare disease expertise is the framework through which we supported, and continue to support, Precigen.

PE: What if any challenges did your team face while building the commercialization program?
Skalicky: Rare disease launches compress time and expand complexity. Integrating medical affairs, access, field deployment, marketing, and operations under one plan requires tight orchestration and real-time decisioning. We had to connect every capability end-to-end and keep the program nimble enough to pivot as payer policies, provider adoption, and operational realities evolved. But this is exactly why Precigen turned to us because we’ve done it before.

We had less than 12 months to build every component of the commercial plan, which ultimately evolved into more than 300 integrated workstreams across all the key functions. Aligning medical affairs, market access, field deployment, marketing, and operations under a single plan required tight orchestration and real-time decision-making.

PE: What key learnings did your team learn during launch?
Skalicky: Three things come to mind. First, integration beats coordination. When the core launch capabilities operate on a single plan with shared KPIs, you gain speed and eliminate handoffs that typically slow rare-disease launches. That’s a repeatable lesson.

Second, aligned incentives matter. Structuring the partnership so success metrics are shared drives focus on what counts—patient access, prescriber activation, and payer readiness—rather than siloed tasks. From day 1, our team was a part of the Precigen launch, and we share in accountability, outcomes, and ultimately, impact.

And finally, capital efficiency and time-to-market can be improved simultaneously. From start to launch, we were able to bring the product to market faster and more efficiently than most had anticipated, proving that the right model can deliver value without trading off speed. In the end, this helps everyone, especially patients desperate for alternative treatment options.

PE: What’s your message for other companies looking to bring novel therapies to market?
Skalicky:

• Choose a commercialization model that matches your reality. If you’re navigating rare disease with limited resources, don’t default to a linear, vendor‑by‑vendor build. Consider integrated commercialization to reduce execution risk and accelerate access.
• Lead with the patient journey and plan for payer and provider momentum early. The fastest launches align clinical education, access pathways, and field deployment before approval so you can activate immediately post‑approval.
• Create a seamless patient experience and a strategy for early payer and provider momentum: Successful launches focus on early stakeholder education, creation of access pathways, and medical field teams ahead of approval to enable rapid post-approval activation

PE: How were both of your experiences at this year’s JP Morgan Bioetch Showcase event?
Sabzevari:The JP Morgan Biotech Showcase was a valuable forum to engage with industry experts, investors and partners during a period when the industry is placing renewed emphasis on execution, capital efficiency, and near-term value drivers.

We saw strong interest in our transition to a commercial-stage company, the PAPZIMEOS launch, and our disciplined approach to growth. The conversations reinforced that Precigen’s strategy, with focused assets, thoughtful partnerships, and operational rigor, resonates in the current market environment.

Skalicky: For us, it's a unique opportunity to not only share our growing value proposition with the biotech and pharma industry but also a great chance to meet with clients and prospects. The energy across San Francisco for the week is incredible, and the Biotech Showcase event was outstanding. There are so many companies on the cusp of bringing innovative new solutions to market to help patients, and this platform at JP Morgan provides an important way for in-person conversations.