CREW:

You can call him in when you’re ready. Okay, Norman. Here we go. And... rolling, rolling.

 

CREW:

Sounds speeds.

 

DAEJIN:

Hi!

 

ORIANA:

Hey! Nice to see you.

 

DAEJIN:

Great to see you.

 

ORIANA:

Finally, in person.

 

DAEJIN:

Yes, yes. So, I'm Daejin Abidoye, Senior Vice President, I work in oncology research, but it's great to see you.

 

ORIANA:

I am Oriana Wiklund, and currently, I'm the Executive Director of oncology franchise.

So, I know you were a physician previously. How do you think having that experience in your past helps you with your current role?

 

DAEJIN: 

So, I think one of the things is, the role of oncologists is more than just a physician who is coming in to provide a treatment, it's really taking that journey with the patient to help them understand their condition, to be empathic towards everything that they're experiencing. It’s a constant reminder that patients can’t wait and that what we do is really important and really critical. And so, every minute, every hour, every day that we work brings a medicine closer and closer to being available for patients.

How long have you been at Gilead right now?

 

ORIANA:

I've been at Gilead, 20 years, and eight months.

 

DAEJIN:

Wow, congratulations, that’s awesome.

 

ORIANA:

A long time. It’s been an amazing ride here. What some people don't know is I actually started in research. So, as an undergrad I got a grant to do research with the neurobiology institute professor there. And so, coming out of college, all I knew was research, and then got my MBA, with a focus on marketing and from there I was able to come to Gilead. And so, throughout my career at Gilead, I've worked within sales and marketing and commercial, global, also internationally, into now my current role in oncology.

 

DAEJIN:

Wow.

 

ORIANA:

So, you’re on one of several teams working on different ways to advance Gilead’s growing oncology pipeline. Tell me a little bit about your thoughts on that pipeline, and what gets you excited, and where we’re going.

 

DAEJIN:

There’s a lot of excitement about how Gilead is approaching oncology. Things that we’re doing in the area of immunotherapy or immuno-oncology, things that we’re doing in cytotoxic agents, small molecules, targeted therapies, oral therapies that we think will have some impact and effect on cancer.

As you mentioned you've been at Gilead, for a little over 20 years now. Gilead has not only played a role just in terms of your career development, but also demonstrated a lot of flexibility with regards to your personal life that has allowed you to continue along the path in terms of your career growth and your development.

 

ORIANA:

Yeah, I feel, Gilead has been extremely supportive because I made some, I'd say, unusual moves, early on in my career, and they allowed that to happen, and also working for an affiliate was a great experience—and, subsequently, I'd say a little further in my career, another important move, I was able to take a field-based role, and so they helped me find another role so I could stay with the organization. And I think the key was just always being open and honest in what was needed, and I've seen it evolve over the years to even be more supportive and more flexible and more inclusive and understanding as time has gone on.

 

DAEJIN:

That's great, that's great.

 

ORIANA:

So, you being a leader at Gilead, how do you feel Gilead supports and fosters a culture of inclusion and diversity?

 

DAEJIN:

I think Gilead has started on an incredible journey with regards to that and continues to grow and really lead the way, both in terms of the people that we look to bring into the company, and when we talk about diversity, really, we think about diversity of opinion, ideologies, backgrounds, experience, expertise, and what shows up as a result of that is that we get the best of everybody.

 

ORIANA:

Yeah, I completely agree with that.

 

DAEJIN:

So, given the fact that you’ve worked in a lot of different areas, what’s sort of the most memorable thing in terms of projects, roles that you’ve been in during your time at Gilead?

 

ORIANA:

There are so many memorable experiences and I feel so lucky to have been on our antifungal franchise, HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C. It was really unbelievable. And I had a personal experience where my best friend's mom had hepatitis C, and I was able to go through her journey with her and be in the room when she got the news that she was cured.

 

DAEJIN:

Wow.

 

ORIANA:

Really unbelievable to be part of that.

 

ORIANA:

Do you have any advice for someone who has a background such as yours that wants to make a transition into biopharma?

 

DAEJIN: 

My advice is really that mindset of, you know, yes, you may trade your stethoscope in for a tie, but you’re still helping patients. And it’s always really important to have that at the forefront. 

 

ORIANA:

Yeah, completely agree.

Thank you so much for doing this!

 

DAEJIN:

Thank you. Thanks for taking the time.

 

ORIANA:

It was so nice to meet in person finally.

 

DAEJIN:

Oh, this was great. This was great. Thanks again.

 

ORIANA:

Thank you.

 

DAEJIN:

All right, take care.