In this episode of Let’s Combinate, Subhi Saadeh sits down with Jim Collins, a leader in drug delivery with over 30 years of experience at Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and now as an advisor and board member.
Jim shares the history of combination products before the term even existed, from insulin pens in the 1990s to modern platforms and on-body injectors. We cover IP battles that reshaped the industry, supply chain risks that pharma still underestimates, and why platform strategy is one of the most important decisions a company can make today.
Timestamps
- 00:00 Introduction & Guest Welcome
- 02:00 Building Lilly’s device organization and launching insulin pens
- 06:00 Early “wild west” days of drug delivery vs. today’s structure
- 07:00 Intellectual property as a competitive weapon
- 10:30 How Lilly, Novo, and Sanofi shaped the IP landscape
- 13:00 Device differentiation in the generic space
- 17:00 Portfolio vs. molecule decisions in platform strategy
- 20:00 Three reasons to develop your own platform
- 23:00 Supply chain risk and geopolitical considerations
- 26:00 Black Swan risks and lessons for pharma companies
- 28:00 Strategic suppliers vs. transactional vendors
- 33:00 Drug-device integration inside companies
- 37:00 Building organizational capability and governance
- 38:00 Future trends: large volume autoinjectors and connected devices
- 43:00 Impact of tariffs and supply chain positioning
- 45:00 Where to find Jim Collins
Guest Bio:
Jim Collins is a veteran of the drug delivery field with more than 30 years of leadership experience. At Eli Lilly, he built and led the device organization, overseeing the launch of insulin pens, the Forteo Pen, and the Trulicity platform. Later, at Sanofi, he led drug delivery innovation and platform development, including devices for Dupixent. Today, Jim serves as a board member for Enable Injections and advises startups, helping the next generation of innovators navigate IP, supply chain, and platform strategy.
Subhi Bio:
Subhi Saadeh is a Quality Professional and host of Let’s Combinate. With a background in Quality, Manufacturing Operations, and R&D, he has worked in large medical device and pharma organizations to support the development and launch of hardware devices, disposable devices, and combination products for vaccines, generics, and biologics. Subhi serves as International Committee Chair for the Combination Products Coalition (CPC), as a member of ASTM Committee E55, and previously on AAMI’s Combination Products Committee. For questions, inquiries, or suggestions, visit letscombinate.com or connect on LinkedIn.
