30 days
Launch Readiness Diagnostic
The entry point: an independent read of your launch plan, forecast, access strategy and budget, with the risks that matter most, in order, in writing.
See what’s includedFormer Novartis VP & GM · Austin, TX
I’ve led three $1B+ brands. Let’s build yours.
Former Novartis VP & GM. I turned Kisqali from a struggling launch into the U.S. market leader, past $1B on my watch (now over $3B). I brought Kesimpta’s new patients back to growth at $2.2B, and accelerated Promacta to market leader and past $1B in its final years before patent expiry. Now I help specialty and oncology companies launch in the U.S., turn around a stalled brand or accelerate a growing one. You work with me, not a team of analysts.
- Kisqalifailed launch to market leader, $3B+
- $2.2BKesimpta, growing 50%
- $400MLatin America P&L, Sandoz
- 10licensing & distribution deals
Career: Novartis · Sandoz · U.S., Europe, Latin America
Who I help
Three stages. Pick yours.
01Pre-launch or entering the U.S.
Biotech startups and scale-ups approaching approval, and companies outside the U.S. bringing a medicine here.Start here 02Launched, and growth needs to scale
Pharma and biotech companies with a launched brand or business that is behind plan and needs turning around, or is ready to grow faster.Start here 03Investing, licensing or buying
Investors weighing a life-science asset or company, and BD teams licensing, partnering or acquiring.Start here
Offers
Three ways to work together.
Each offer has a fixed scope and a written output. The Launch Readiness Diagnostic is the usual starting point, or the Launch Sprint if a U.S. launch is close. Fees are set after a short scoping call and confirmed in a written proposal.
6 weeks
U.S. Launch Sprint
A board-ready U.S. launch plan, built with your team in six weeks.
See what’s included1–2 days a week
Fractional commercial leader
Senior commercial leadership inside your company, part time, to launch, turn around or accelerate a brand. Equity option available.
See what’s includedWhy work with me
Advice from someone who has run the business.
I have owned the P&L.
As Vice President & General Manager I owned strategy, investment, people and results. My advice comes with a sense of what a team can actually execute.
Launches, turnarounds, growth and deals.
I have prepared launches, led three $1B+ brands, turned Kisqali around and screened thousands of assets for M&A, so one plan can connect all of it.
U.S. and international.
I have led brands in Europe, and P&Ls and businesses in Latin America and the U.S., including a $400M P&L across several therapeutic areas as Commercial Head, Latin America, for Sandoz. I work in English and Spanish: useful when a company is bringing a medicine to the U.S. from abroad.
I have led growth and innovation.
As Vice President, Head of Enterprise Growth & Innovation for Novartis U.S. (Nov 2024–Feb 2026), I led growth strategy, AI initiatives and M&A to grow the U.S. business. I took two deals to the final stage and executed one under a $3B+ U.S. inorganic growth mandate.
Track record
What I’ve delivered as a commercial leader.
Career results from roles at Novartis, not Scalar Group client results.
- $1B+Kisqali, oncology: failed launch turned market leader, now $3B+ in the U.S.
- $2.2BKesimpta, neuroscience: growing 50% while gaining share
- $1B+Promacta, hematology: from $400M to market leader, patent life +2 years
- 1 deal executed$3B+ inorganic mandate
- 10licensing and distribution agreements negotiated and signed
How I work: the Scalar Formula
People × Culture × Strategy × Communication × Adoption × Execution = Results
The factors multiply. Strength in each one compounds the others, and a zero anywhere makes the result zero. Every engagement starts by finding the weakest factor.
- People
- Culture
- Strategy
- Communication
- Adoption
- Execution
Insights
Practical thinking on launches, growth and deals.
Pharma Trends · U.S. launch
U.S. launch options for ex-U.S. biotechs: partner, co-promote or build
The U.S. is usually the first and biggest market for a new medicine. How a biotech based outside the U.S. should choose between licensing, co-promotion and building its own launch.
Trends · Private equity
What PE investors miss in healthcare commercial due diligence
Healthcare private equity just had a record year. The financial model is rarely what goes wrong. Five commercial questions investors should test before they sign.
The Scalar Formula
The Scalar Formula: why results multiply, and why one zero sinks them all
People × Culture × Strategy × Communication × Adoption × Execution = Results. Why the signs matter, and how to strengthen each factor.
30-minute call with Emilio
Not sure which door is yours? Start with a 30-minute call.
Tell me where the business is and what has to happen next. No obligation, and if Scalar isn't the right fit, I'll say so.
I reply personally.