The pharmaceutical industry is a cornerstone of global healthcare, dedicated to the research, development, and manufacturing of medications that improve and save lives. This sector is characterized by its commitment to innovation, rigorous regulatory standards, and the continuous pursuit of scientific advancements. Companies within this industry work tirelessly to develop new treatments and therapies, addressing a wide range of medical conditions and enhancing patient care worldwide.
Inga Siemsen, the Director of Manufacturing Technology & Science at Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ Kiel site, is a prominent leader in this field. Known for her strategic vision and passion for natural sciences, Inga excels in guiding multidisciplinary teams toward achieving common goals. Her leadership is marked by a commitment to continuous learning and adaptation, ensuring that her team remains at the forefront of technological advancements. Inga’s ability to inspire and engage her colleagues has significantly shaped the industry, driving innovation and excellence in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Ferring Pharmaceuticals has established itself as a leader in the pharmaceutical sector. The company is renowned for its cutting-edge research and development in the biopharmaceutical field, particularly in the therapeutic areas of reproductive medicine and maternal health, gastroenterology and urology. With a focus on sustainability and innovation, Ferring Pharmaceuticals continues to expand its capabilities and enhance its product offerings. The company’s dedication to improving patient outcomes and advancing medical science ensures its prominent position in the industry.
A Journey from Laboratory Head to Ferring Director
After graduating as a pharmacist and completing her PhD studies, Inga started her career as Head of Laboratory in Frankfurt. At the time, Q7A Good Manufacturing Practice Guidance for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) came into force. Here, Inga integrated the plant’s in-process control lab with the finished API release lab. The transformational change management this role required has continued to inspire Inga for her current role. In northern Germany, Inga joined a small start-up company providing lab services. Inga was initially attracted by the idea of experiencing the start-up culture of a small company, however, she quickly realized the advantages of a globally positioned organization.
When Inga found out that Ferring was looking for someone to manage the technology transfer from its Swedish site to its Kiel manufacturing site to integrate new products and processes, she seized the opportunity. The role was all about science and change management – a brilliant fit for her. Inga quickly became part of the Ferring family and appreciated its unique company culture of teamwork and the opportunity for personal development.
Inga shares, “Ferring Pharmaceuticals has an entrepreneurial spirit which provides an inspiring framework for creating impact and motivates me every day.” At Ferring, Inga has held leadership positions in the Quality organization and has been a member of the Site Leadership Team at Kiel since 2015. Inga highlights, “I continue to be driven by a desire to help shape the future of Ferring, and my current role perfectly fits my talents and interests.”
Steering Innovation and Excellence in Pharma Manufacturing
Guided by its philosophy of ‘People come first’ and a deeply anchored tradition in science, Ferring is committed to providing innovative solutions to help people live better lives while at the same time offering a stimulating and rewarding work environment.
As Director of Manufacturing Technology and Science at the sterile fill-finish manufacturing site in Kiel, Germany, Inga leads strategic realization and works with highly engaged people as they strive towards common goals. Inga and her team are responsible for product lifecycle management and ensuring robust product transfer into the site to deliver on Ferring’s growth agenda. It requires a constant focus on building, maintaining, and exploring scientific knowledge management on its products and processes.
One of the key objectives of her team is to support the global harmonization of products and systems to maintain and establish compliance with regulatory requirements and ensure effective and efficient supply to the market. Another important objective of her work is supporting manufacturing by leading investigations in partnership with Production, Quality, and other business units at the site and globally to determine the root cause for variation, implement solutions, and ensure timely and effective remediations are implemented.
Advancing Medicine with Passion and Resilience
Since early childhood, Inga has been curious about the world around her, a common trait of scientists in any field. Even today, she wants to understand the ‘why?’ behind things. Inga believes, “Nothing is more motivating than having the chance to improve people’s lives by successfully finding solutions to scientific challenges.” She enjoys working with professionals who share her passion for science and her purpose to make available medicines manufactured by Ferring Pharmaceuticals to needy people. “Having a purpose, fun at work, and seeing results materialize are incredibly motivating to me and I believe that by role modeling these ideals, I’m able to ignite this spark in my colleagues and team,” Inga quoted. Another key element is resilience, a never-give-up attitude coupled with a positive mindset. If scientists gave up too quickly, progress would be impossible.
Adapting to New Technologies in Pharmaceuticals
To build a team that works to stay ahead of changes in the industry, fostering a culture of learning and encouraging empowerment and a sense of ownership is vital. Inga empowers her talented team and encourages them to develop their skills, which leads the team towards work efficiency.
In Ferring, Inga has found a community of like-minded colleagues. Ferring is part of a globally networked community, and its mission is supported by global functions, primarily global Manufacturing Technology and Science and Quality. Inga actively engages in the fruitful exchange of ideas and encourages cross-functional and cross-site collaboration. Current examples include best practice sharing on aseptic processes, harmonization and optimization of primary packaging presentations, and data science approaches.
Lifelong Learning as a Leadership Strategy
Inga shares, “Commitment to life-long learning is a must, especially since the pace of change is accelerating and the accessibility to knowledge becomes more and more overwhelming.” Trusting in subject matter experts becomes critical to making well-informed decisions. She believes that encouraging a culture of empowerment, developing leaders, and encouraging an entrepreneur’s mindset, in line with Ferring’s Leadership Principles, is a game changer. She recognizes that people who take pride in their work and are self-motivated to complete their tasks are more likely to solve problems creatively and imaginatively if their work environment supports it. Knowing that a good leader looks and listens more than he speaks, Inga is committed to creating an environment with space for open dialogue. It sounds easy – but it requires continuous self-reflection and dedication.
Harnessing Self-Awareness for Professional Advancement
As commonly acknowledged, training on the job can be more effective than classroom training or external courses. Inga believes, “Self-awareness is the most needed attribute, along with a willingness and inner motivation to request feedback and develop oneself.” She has experienced some good results with coaching. In terms of developing subject matter expertise, Inga finds that consciously making the time for at least a small amount of daily research on priority topics is helpful to her. As she mentioned before, at Ferring, ‘People come first.’ Ferring’s commitment to developing its people through an annual Individual Development Plan tool is essential to ensuring employees stay engaged and continue to grow and develop their skills and capabilities.
Leading Teams with Transparency and Trust
At Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Inga and her team practice open communication to achieve continuous improvement. They transparently share and discuss the results of Engagement Surveys and focus on constructive actions with clear roles, responsibilities, and timelines. Encouraging individuals and teams to take ownership is one of the strongest levers of their success. Inga recognizes that there are numerous truths in modern, agile project management approaches, focusing on the delivery of the objective and striving largely for self-organizing teams around motivated individuals who are trusted to get the work done.
In a business environment of ambiguity and frequently changing circumstances, hybrid approaches combining agile and predictive project management tools seem quite promising to her. Inga shares, “I see my role as a leader in two ways – as a servant providing my team with the necessary support and environment, and as a coach supporting them.”
Proactive Learning and Personal Development in the Workplace
Inga makes the practice of networking, continuous learning, and tracking and assessing industry trends part of the personal objective setting in her team. She ensures measurable and relevant results by defining SMART objectives for developing technical and personal skills in its performance management tools. Inga always tries to take personal preferences into account while at the same time driving the business, resulting in a win-win for Ferring and the individual employees. A helpful tool, supported by Ferring, is the Clifton Strengths Assessment, designed to help individuals reach their full potential by turning personal attributes into strengths.
Inga recognizes that exploring the unique talents of her team is important for ensuring the proper fit of task assignments with strengths and interests. Once topics are aligned, the objectives for an individual can be achieved through learning on the job, mentorship, joining projects with a special focus or participating in conferences and courses. Every individual is obliged to apply the knowledge acquired and present lessons learned to the team. She includes these lessons learned presentations in her weekly routine.
Innovating for a Healthier Future
“Ferring has an incredible and bright future ahead,” Inga asserted. Recently, a brand-new facility has been built at the Kiel manufacturing site, including a state-of-the-art cartridge line for aseptic fill-finish operations. Inga and her team are accountable for transferring new products, such as solutions in cartridges, into the site in support of the Reproductive Medicine and Maternal Health product portfolio, one of the core businesses of Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Inga shares that a major project over the upcoming years is the realization of a flexible and dedicated Pilot Plant for small-scale trials to accelerate the continuous improvement of Ferring’s products and their manufacturing processes and to facilitate the scouting for innovative aseptic solutions so that she can fulfill Ferring’s mission of building families worldwide and helping people live better lives.
