Case Study
BRAND CURE
Pharmaceuticals | Antibiotics & Anti-Infectives
Rebuild a struggling antibiotic pharmaceutical company from the inside out by redefining culture, restoring employee engagement, and creating a credible, values-driven brand
Activate internal communications, culture, and brand experience in service of growth and turnaround strategy
Internal communications
Culture transformation
Brand strategy
Executive communications
While most major pharmaceutical companies steer clear of antibiotics, one organization made them its focus. This challenging and often overlooked area of healthcare is essential to modern medicine, yet largely off patent and unprofitable. These factors have led much of the industry to avoid investing in their development.
This company chose to lean in where others pulled back by developing new therapies and producing trusted generics to treat acute, life-threatening bacterial infections.
But prior to 2020, the road had been rocky. They faced chronic underinvestment, bounced between public and private ownership, and ultimately filed for bankruptcy. By the time private equity (PE) investors acquired the firm, morale was low, leadership unstable, and culture all but eroded.
They needed a shot in the arm and found it with their new CEO.
This seasoned pharma executive with deep expertise in life sciences and product commercialization was brought in by the new PE owners and charged with turning the company around. Her first order of business was to build a brand and culture that matched the company’s life- saving mission: to provide innovative therapies to people impacted by acute and life-threatening illnesses.
She didn’t just hire a new leadership team, she kept only those aligned with her vision, including logistics and legal leads. She followed up by building a leadership bench that was richly diverse.
The new CEO believed that a credible brand demanded an authentic culture in the workplace. So, she started from the inside.
To bring this vision to life, the CEO engaged the team at Arketi Inside to activate the internal brand and employee experience − transforming vision, values, and behaviors into daily actions. Together, we:
Launched Quarterly Town Halls
Despite being privately held and underperforming, the CEO insisted on full transparency. We developed the framework and coached executives to lead engaging, content-rich sessions. These quickly became a trusted touchpoint for employees.
Created a Monthly Employee Newsletter
Each edition of the newsletter featured a personal note from the CEO and business-wide stories to anchor communications in the humanity and mission of the organization’s people.
Revamped the Intranet as a Culture Hub
Instead of replacing their underperforming platform, we helped optimize and integrate it as the go-to source for news, tools, and recognition and tied all comms back to a central source of truth.
Activated Employee Recognition
From spotlighting top sales reps with all-expense-paid trips, to highlighting everyday heroes at town halls, we designed a recognition strategy to reinforce values and performance.
Elevated PE Presentations
We coached their leaders to deliver powerful updates to their private equity stakeholders. As a result, the company could have easily become the benchmark for all other portfolio companies thanks to its compelling story and authentic culture narrative.
The cultural transformation resonated internally while producing these
measurable business results:
PRESIDENT & CEO
Pharmaceutical Company
We implemented programs and transferred capability. As the company scaled, we worked to train internal communicators, establish repeatable processes, and eventually stepped aside so they could own the function.
This wasn’t about a vendor. It was about a partner that believed in the power of brand + culture to unlock real change.
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When you work with Arketi Group, you collaborate with expert marketers, writers, designers, and strategists to create transformative marketing programs that deliver real business value.
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