Building Torigen: What We Stand For
Working with Torigen is not just about your pet, it’s about making sure that you have access to all the resources you need in order to decide the treatment option you want to take. This means that we prioritize the relationships we build with veterinarians and clinics as well as pet owners. Follow along with Sean Fitzgerald, our VP of Market Development, as he describes the kinds of relationships that he and our team have been building prior to and during COVID-19 at Torigen.
“Being flexible and being innovative are two key factors in this current climate”
Having been in the veterinary industry for 17+ years, how is your experience unique working for Torigen?
Being a part of Torigen is fun, refreshing and rewarding because of the nature of our product being a cancer treatment. Cancer is one of those diseases that touches us all.
Torigen is a company that clinics like to learn about, they want to be educated on our product. One of the things that is very unique here, compared to other animal health companies, is that other companies don’t have direct relationships with pet parents. At Torigen, we have the live chat feature on our website, where people find us and ask questions about our treatment.
How has the market landscape changed for you during the COVID-19 pandemic?
It's changed for all of us. When the pandemic first began we were completely remote and trying to reach customers. Now, we have a hybrid model of doing remote and in person outreach. This outreach includes phone calls, emails, and webinars in conjunction with in clinic visits. These visits are all in a curbside model, so often we meet with members of a clinic in their parking lot.
Sometimes we are brought into a clinic to do Lunch & Learns. We have to keep being flexible and adjusting on the fly. Since different states have different infection rates and policies, no one form of outreach becomes static and normal. We just try to be very dynamic, and ultimately find ways that we can engage our customers the way that they want to be engaged which varies from clinic to clinic. Being flexible and being innovative are two key factors in this current climate.
How does Torigen typically interact with veterinary clinics?
There's going to be new norms for all industries in response to the pandemic. One thing that hasn't changed is veterinarians are used to being called by us. They value knowing who they're talking to. They want folks that they can trust and are informed. Veterinarians want to be educated ethically.
What kind of relationships do you build with veterinarians?
At Torigen, we are always available to talk about Torigen which means we work to take calls and live chats from veterinary clinics after hours. That's just how this team rolls.
We really want to bend over backwards and just give a great experience to our customers and to relay that to our pet owners, so they feel like they're getting their questions answered whenever it is convenient for them. That’s just kind of the Torigen way: we want the customer experience of doing business with us to always be a positive one.
What has your experience been like talking to veterinarians about Torigen’s product? What kinds of reactions do you get?
Torigen is unique. Immunotherapy cancer treatments are cutting edge and innovative.
So when we have a chance to talk to someone about Torigen, it’s exciting because our product is backed by tons of research. It is a new tool for veterinarians to fight cancer that they're lacking. You get a lot of interest. They want to learn about it and they want their staff to learn about it.
It's fun to represent something that is cutting edge, innovative, and is an unmet need for them. Something that helps them, gives them a new tool to fight cancer that they're currently lacking.
If a veterinarian surgically removes a tumor and suspects micro-metastasis, veterinarians are not doing anything to treat that cancer and we're offering them something for that. Veterinarians are lacking this tool today, because only 10% of veterinary patients who are diagnosed with cancer receive chemotherapy. This means that many pet parents are not going to see an oncologist when their pet has cancer. Torigen is offering a more accessible and affordable cancer treatment in the veterinary field.
Veterinarians are scientifically trained, they should be skeptical, and they are with any new product. That's why you have to give them all the information and why at Torigen, we build dynamic relationships with veterinarians to provide them with the information they need to decide if Torigen is right for them.
Torigen is committed to building dynamic relationships with veterinarians. In this current climate, that means that we are constantly flexible, taking innovative approaches to ensure that the Torigen team is there for you when you need us.