Tony Zook runs AstraZeneca’s US operations and gave a lecture the other day to 120 students, faculty and guests at the University of Delaware’s Lerner Hall, which is near the company’s offices. His talk was called ‘Prescription for Success - What Pharma Can Do For You.”

There was no discussion about what pharma can do for Mike Zubillaga, sales managers who compare doctors’ offices to ‘big buckets of money,’ or employees who complain about alleged illegal off-label marketing. But he spoke with passion and authority.

Here are most of his remarks:

“It’s my belief that every interaction counts. So I always am interested in hearing from people what some of their negative and some of their positive impressions are about the pharmaceutical industry. Cynics may say (to drugmakers) that ‘You put profits before patients,’ but I don’t believe that at all. I believe that if you do the right thing, you will have a thriving business.

“To my mind. if you do the right thing in the marketplace and do the right thing with innovation and do the right thing with organizational development strategies, you will be rewarded as a company.

“I fell in love with the (pharmaceutical industry), and I was lucky enough to get hired 25 years ago, when it was difficult to get into the industry. My place in pharmaceuticals has influenced my view on organizational development.

“My lesson on career is that you need to find a company that is going to teach you something, and also that you need to learn a lot, because you’ll need it to grow. It’s also critical that you be true to yourself, true to your family, and know what you are willing to trade.”

Zook mentioned the importance of creating forums and small-scale think tanks within large companies so that all employees feel valued and connected to the larger cause of the company’s overall progress and mission. “That is to only way to create a solid company.”

“I am very, very proud of this industry. We are saving lives, and we are extending lives.”

And some are collecting big buckets of money from cancer docs, too.

Source: The University of Delaware Daily[tags]AstraZeneca, Gang of Seven, Mike Zubillaga, Tony Zook[/tags]