We Are Norstella

Benjamin Hinton

Senior Market Access Solutions Analyst & Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Board Member

Benjamin Hinton’s role at Norstella goes beyond his senior market access solutions analyst position. In just three years, he’s become a board member on the DE&I committee, served as a mentor for our interns and worked across various departments to ensure that our solutions are being communicated effectively. He brings a pharmacy background and an infectious spirit that adds to Norstella’s culture of empowerment and people-driven change in life sciences.

Tell us a little bit more about your role. What does your day-to-day usually look like?

I work on the solutions consulting team as a senior analyst. I develop samples and point of views for our clients and our sellers across most MMIT solutions. My day-to-day involves working closely with the specialty sellers to align on client needs and sharing insights I find within the market. I also serve on the diversity, equity and inclusion board, an invigorating group where we push initiatives to build out a place where employees feel like they belong and feel empowered. Additionally, I work a little bit with the business development insights team as well to help with outreach, and I’m a Norstella Navigator so I work with an intern to help them develop their skills.

I’ve expanded my role here within the past three years. I love to get involved and so my job at times is really to support anybody across the organization as best as I can. I come from a pharmacy background, so my goal has always been to use that foundation to learn more and collaborate with our amazing colleagues to really understand the industry, educate, and uplift. 

How did you join the company? What in your background brought you to pharma?

When I was in my last year of pharmacy school, I was working at CVS as an intern, and I was really trying to figure out what my next step to get into industry was going to be. The pharma industry has been of interest to me for some time, so I sought opportunities. I worked at a CRO in site feasibility/study start up, learning clinical trials and recruitment, and then this job at MMIT came across my desk. Ultimately, I really wanted to have an impact on patients from a broader lens. There was something internally that was really driving me to do more, and market access is a space I believe fulfills that calling. Norstella is a way that I can get more involved in the drug development process to really help clients and play an integral role in bringing medicines closer to patients. 

What are some of the larger projects you’re working on? 

Right now, I’m focusing on how I can support the specialty sellers team grow, learn and continue to expand in their element. I’m also working with the solutions consulting and commercial enablement teams to build a framework for sellers that aids in identifying opportunities and supporting outreach – we want to help bring more client deals across the line and streamline that process.

What are some of the common challenges of your role?

The biggest challenge is the learning curve. In solutions consulting, you must learn new products and figure out ways to also help team members learn and understand client needs in regard to the solutions themselves – how can we communicate our leverage effectively and transparently with different clients? Time management is also a challenge because as you have more opportunities, the work grows. I’m getting creative with how I build out samples and how I engage with the teams. Every client is in a different space and being able to perform outreach in a way that isn’t too targeted and making sure that it resonates with the clients is the main challenge.

Where do you see Norstella in the next year or two?

Norstella is only continuing to rise. We’ve captured a fraction of the market right now, but we’re setting the standard for what market access will be across the board in data, clinical trials, sales, and forecasting. I see us becoming a more unified group, on the forefront of the industry as a trusted partner for all the pharmaceutical companies – a “one-stop shop”. As more companies come to the realization that Norstella does it all, I think we will eventually be regarded as the golden standard for clinical trial data and real-world evidence, and I think we will be a driving force for the industry through those few years and beyond. 

What trends are you seeing across the industry right now that Norstella is in a unique position to help with?

I am excited about the real-world data impact on clinical protocol. That is really going to be that next step. Skipta being able to market directly to healthcare professionals (HCPs) has such a huge area of growth because sales reps are having a harder time getting access to HCPs. So, imagine we’re able to take clinical trial evidence and then put that back into the Skipta platform where doctors can understand what drug therapy works better and then compare that to other regimens to improve patient care.

We’re also so uniquely positioned to be able to catch all the different policy changes that are going to come out of the Inflation Reduction Act. And on the back end of that, we can perform different custom market research to help the pharma companies try to figure out how they can better position their products.

R-world data continuing to uncover new patient recruitment opportunities is another huge area in industry. It was amazing to hear about how our partnerships helped to enroll so many patients in trials. On top of that, I really do think Norstella can help manufacturers identify new drug targets. It’s exciting to learn how our data is empowering clients to transform the landscape of healthcare for our patients and their families. 

What would you tell someone just starting their career with Norstella?

Make connections. We are one of the most diverse companies and have incredibly knowledgeable individuals, so it’s one huge oasis of a learning environment. There’s a big supply of resources and leadership here, and I think everybody’s a diamond in their own way. You just need to ask the right questions to continue to push each other. As Joel said, run towards fear because fear is where your courage is. Without fear there is no courage. In order to be brave, you have to do things you have never done before.

What do you like most about working at Norstella?

The people and the growth mindset. Seeing the growth mindset and leadership style of the executive leadership team is really inspiring. When you see how passionate your colleagues are, each of them committed to working together towards a unified goal and pushing themselves….Who wouldn’t want to be at a company that is mission-driven and going to give the challenge and space to learn more? I’d like to believe we’re all dedicated and invested in the growth of this company and it’s our fellow colleagues who make this a really special place.

Which company principle resonates most with you?

There are a few that I aspire to drive toward, including mettle and perseverance. When you’re able to not only face the truth and reality and then grow through that, you’re also able to inspire other people to do the same and embrace their own failures to become improved individuals. There’s a famous quote that is something along the lines of, “Whenever we let our light shine, we subconsciously give others permission to do the same.” And so, I’m a big, big, big advocate for that. Being ourselves in an environment that fosters growth and achievement is tremendous.

What’s been your career highlight to date?

One is the first time Norstella brought everybody together under one roof at the offsite meeting a couple of years ago. Just seeing what we have built together come to life and having the opportunity to speak and share space with those commercial teams was a career highlight for sure – as well as getting those headphones from Mike G. The second highlight was seeing the internship program being established here. The things we do in our day-to-day are important, but so is what you can inspire others to do – that makes a difference. Lastly, in basketball I often play the point guard position, so I love giving assists. I’ve been blessed to be on a wonderful team and getting involved with projects of impact across business units. Knowing I lend a hand in helping other people win will always be highlight for me.

What do you like to do outside of work?

I like spending time with my lady and building communities, whether that is through church, eating with friends, sports, or the barber industry, and being a true “life-scientist”. Thanks to my girlfriend and Joel, I have more tendencies to run towards fear and explore the galaxy of new things, and really put myself out there. I just started paragliding, so I haven’t reached the stars yet. I am learning when you run towards your fear oftentimes some good things happen and you may realize that you actually enjoyed it. I encourage myself in those types of positions where I am forced to go outside my comfort zone, and I’m interested in seeking how I can translate that concept into other areas of my life.

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