203 - Drug Delivery, Platforms, IP Battles, Supply Chain Risks with Jim Collins

Let's Combinate - Drugs + Devices

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.