With a refreshed Ambition and Enterprise Model, Ferring Pharmaceuticals US is entering a new chapter defined by agility, innovation, and a sharper focus on patient needs. President Brent Ragans explains how this vision is setting a course for continued growth in reproductive medicine and uro-oncology.
What does Ferring’s refreshed Ambition and Enterprise Model represent for the US organisation, and how is it shaping your immediate priorities?
This development represents a natural next step as we enter a new phase in Ferring’s journey. We are in the fortunate position of having both the scale to execute our priorities and the agility to move quickly. With this balance we can continue to grow while remaining responsive to the market demands. Under the leadership of our Chairman, Jean-Frédéric Paulsen, Ferring is building on more than 70 years of legacy while setting a clear direction for the future.
Our aspiration is to accelerate the pace of our organisation and embed innovation into every aspect of our work. Innovative products will always form the backbone of how we serve patients, but this ambition also reinforces our focus on local markets where needs are increasingly diverse. By empowering our teams with an entrepreneurial spirit and encouraging accountability at every level, we are positioning ourselves to adapt more swiftly to change, expand our reach, and ultimately serve more patients.
How do you view the current US healthcare environment, with its regulatory changes and pricing reforms, and what opportunities and challenges does it present for Ferring?
The US healthcare system is in a period of transition, with multiple stakeholders seeking to contain costs in different ways. For us, the essential task is to strike the right balance of maintaining the flow of innovation and the investments that support it, while ensuring that patients have reliable access both to today’s medicines and to the breakthroughs of the future.
Ferring has always been defined by a willingness to innovate and to pioneer in new areas, and our first gene therapy is a clear example of that approach. As a breakthrough product, it has the potential to become a backbone therapy and standard of care for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, and it demonstrates in a very tangible way the kind of impact we want to deliver for patients.
Although the regulatory and policy environment is shifting, innovation must remain at the centre. In my view, the greater challenge lies in organisational speed and agility; creating a structure that can make decisions quickly, adapt to new models of healthcare delivery, respond to changes in regulation, and move with flexibility as a global organisation. Building that capacity will be essential to navigating the US market successfully.
How has the US launch of Ferring’s first gene therapy product progressed, and how has the healthcare community received Ferring’s expansion beyond reproductive medicine?
The launch has been very encouraging. We have seen strong uptake from patients, clinicians, and payers, and most importantly patients are already benefiting from access to a novel therapy in an area where there had been little meaningful innovation for decades. More broadly, the momentum in cell and gene therapies is increasing, which is positive for patients as it brings a wider range of treatment options. Our key learnings have been less about the product itself and more about the pace at which people become comfortable with new therapies, and the importance of helping them navigate the healthcare system to ensure access.
Although this is our first gene therapy, we have long been active in the space of uro-oncology with treatments for prostate cancer. Therefore, I would say this is more of natural extension of our established expertise in the area. In approaching this field, we have drawn on the principles of scientific excellence, patient focus, and close collaboration with clinicians that have always guided our leadership in reproductive medicine and applied them to a new solution. Our ambition is to be recognised not only in reproductive medicine, but also in uro-oncology and in other specialised fields such as orthopaedics and the microbiome. This diversification allows us to broaden our impact while remaining true to the values that define us.
What was the strategic rationale for establishing a gene therapy manufacturing facility in Parsippany, and how does this investment strengthen your US presence and open future opportunities in the gene therapy space?
We take great pride in producing this important product in the US. Today, there not many gene therapies manufactured domestically, and it was important for us to bring this kind of advanced capability to our largest and most important market. Locating production close to where the medicine is used made clear sense, just as we already do with another leading treatment in our reproductive medicine portfolio, which is also manufactured in Parsippany for the US market. The decision was therefore primarily about proximity to patients and ensuring reliable access rather than any broader economic or industrial incentives. The site is now fully approved and operational, and over the coming years we expect to more than double – possibly even triple – the workforce dedicated to our gene therapy manufacturing.
Our approach continues to be driven first and foremost by therapeutic areas and patient needs, with the modality following from that. However, by building this capability, we do inevitably expand our options, opening the door to consider how these technologies might be applied more broadly in the future.
Fertility continues to represent a cornerstone of Ferring’s business globally and in the US. How has the market evolved since 2020, and what remains to be addressed?
The fertility landscape has changed quite significantly over the past few years. Much of the stigma that once surrounded infertility has diminished, and people are now engaging with the issue more openly and proactively. This shift has driven earlier patient engagement, consistent and strong market growth, and ongoing improvements in both quality of care and innovation. Yet the reality is that infertility continues to affect one in six people looking to build a family, and being able to address those needs has been both meaningful for patients and central to our work.
Despite this progress, the US is still widely underserved. Only three to four percent of those who would be strong candidates for assisted reproductive technology are actually receiving treatment. Expanding access is therefore a major priority, and much of our effort is directed at working with state and federal governments to create pathways for broader coverage and availability. Compared with other developed countries, the US unfortunately ranks near the bottom in terms of uptake, which underlines how much still needs to be done to ensure that more patients can benefit from the care they need and deserve.
Looking ahead, what are the key priorities and growth objectives you are setting for Ferring in the US over the coming years?
Our priorities always start with the patients we serve. Beyond that, we have set a clear ambition to more than double the size of our US business by 2030, a goal we laid out last year and one that we are on track to achieve. For a company of our scale, this represents a very strong trajectory, and most importantly, it means that many more patients will have access to the therapies they need.
Achieving this requires us to grow at a pace that outpaces the broader US market, while further strengthening our position in the therapeutic areas where we are already established. At the same time, we will remain opportunistic, continuously looking for ways to expand into areas that align with our mission. Our focus is not only on increasing scale but also on deepening our impact where we can make the greatest difference.
Finally, what kind of culture are you seeking to foster within Ferring to deliver on these ambitions, and what message would you share with the broader healthcare community?
Success ultimately depends on people. Ambitious goals can only be achieved with talented individuals who feel empowered to deliver their best. I want people to feel genuine ownership of their impact, to embrace an entrepreneurial spirit in their daily work, and to know that they are both responsible and accountable for what happens within the organisation. When that mindset is in place, engagement naturally follows, and engagement drives results. We are working every day to strengthen this culture and building on what has long defined Ferring while embedding these values even deeper. From what we see in both results and levels of engagement, people are energised by this new chapter, and that energy is just as exciting for me as it is for them.
