How Menarini transformed scientific storytelling with Prezent and saved 12.5K hours

As Italy’s largest biopharmaceutical company with more than 130 years of history and a presence in 140+ countries, Menarini is known for its scientific rigor and patient-first focus. But inside its global marketing and customer engagement teams, presentations were slowing people down.

Turning a 20-page scientific paper into a training deck could take weeks. Slides were often stitched together from mismatched visuals found online, raising compliance and quality concerns. And instead of focusing on strategy, teams lost countless hours formatting slides—resulting in decks that varied widely in professionalism and brand consistency.

“I know how many hours my team and I spent just crafting slides,” says Dr. Steven Januar Kusmanto, Global Director of Digital and Customer Engagement at Menarini. “And in pharma, your credibility is tied to how you communicate. A missing timeline or poorly designed slide can undermine the entire message.”

And when new team members joined, the challenge became even more clear. 

“Imagine being new and faced with a blank canvas,” Steven explained. “You don’t know where to start. They often don’t know how to include an agenda, a timeline, and an executive summary. That’s when credibility suffers.”

The result: what Steven calls “Frankenstein slides” everywhere.

He knew there had to be a better way. 

Building a new standard for business storytelling 

When Steven first encountered Prezent two years ago, he immediately saw the potential.

“When Prezent came onto my radar, I thought: finally. Imagine freeing smart people from formatting slides so they can focus on strategy. It was obvious this could be a game-changer,” he recalled.

For Steven, four Prezent features have significantly helped his team create better presentations and save time. 

Story Builder: Built-in best practices

Instead of starting with a blank canvas, his team could begin with Prezent’s Story Builder—a guided framework that ensured every deck followed best practices: agenda, key topics, timelines, executive summary. 

This feature provides a structured framework that guides users through the storytelling process. “Even junior colleagues could now build an effective story in their presentations. It gave them confidence and credibility,” says Steven.

 “Prezent doesn’t just make slides look good—it makes sure we never miss the essentials. That’s what makes storytelling effective.”
– Dr. Steven Januar Kusmanto

Presentation Library: No more messy, off-brand slides

Before Prezent, many decks were cobbled together with mismatched visuals found online. With Prezent’s Presentation Library, every slide is branded, polished, and easy to adapt.
“The templates are tidy, professional, sleek. Even five tactics instantly become a sharp diagram,” Steven explained.

Auto Generator: From weeks to minutes

Summarizing scientific publications—once a weeks-long process—now only takes minutes.
“With Prezent, I upload the PDF, and 80% of the work is done. We use it for training too. Instead of summarizing into Word, I just generate 15 slides and highlight the five most important points. It’s transformative,” Steven said.

Overnight Services: Expert polish for high-stakes meetings

For some high-stakes, external meetings, Steven’s team turns to Prezent’s Overnight Services.

“In those meetings, the presentation has to be at the level of consulting companies like Deloitte or IQVIA. Really sleek, professional, minimalistic—perfect design.” 

Prezent’s expert services team works directly with Steven’s team to ensure the story flows and design are all on point. 

Saving 12,500 hours and $1.1M annually—while boosting productivity and professionalism

Since onboarding Prezent with his team, Steven has championed it across Menarini, running small-group workshops where colleagues bring their own PDFs and quickly turn them into presentations. “When they saw in real time that what used to take five or six hours now took minutes, the lightbulb went on,” he said.

Adoption spread quickly. Within six weeks, 40 employees were active users, with another group ready to follow.

Today, Prezent has reshaped how Menarini communicates—internally and externally. And in a company where every presentation can influence strategy, partnerships, or patient outcomes, that means real impact.

Steven’s leadership has had a ripple effect across the company, leading to:

• Increased productivity: The time saved on designing and formatting slides has freed up employees to focus on more strategic, high-value work. Preparing publication summaries now takes hours, not weeks.
• Enhanced professionalism: Presentations now have a professional, uniform look, which boosts the credibility of the presenters and the company. Every deck reflects Menarini’s brand, whether for internal updates or high-stakes partner pitches.
• Improved communication: The built-in storytelling structure has made communication more effective and concise, even for complex topics. From new joiners to senior leaders, everyone can craft a story that lands.

“Prezent saves us time, yes—but more importantly, it makes our storytelling more effective.”
– Dr. Steven Januar Kusmanto

For Menarini, that means ideas move faster, science is communicated more clearly, and teams can focus on what really matters.

“For me, 50–70% of the quality of a presentation comes from a good thought process,” says Steven. “Prezent makes sure we never miss the essentials. That’s what makes storytelling more effective.”

All in all, Menarini teams have saved more than 12,500 hours—the equivalent of over a year of work—and cut presentation costs by $1.1 million. In their US Field Medical team alone, that meant 2,700 hours freed up, giving them back weeks of time to focus on strategic work.

Data and calculation is from Prezent AI internal data based on customers usage and evaluation. 

What’s next: Scaling AI-powered communication at Menarini

Steven believes the success of Prezent within Menarini is a perfect case study on how AI-powered tools can empower biopharma professionals, improve scientific communication, and boost productivity. He is so passionate about the impact that he is considering writing a peer-reviewed publication on the subject.

With workshops, word-of-mouth, and leadership buy-in, Prezent is becoming a staple across Menarini. The tool is now used for everything from internal updates to high-stakes external pitches with partners, banks, and M&A opportunities.

“I’m not just advocating for Prezent—I use it daily. It empowers my team, saves hours, and ensures we always show up professional, credible, and impactful.” 
– Dr. Steven Januar Kusmanto

This case-study report, which includes any quotes or statements from Dr. Steven Januar Kusmanto (Global Director, Digital & Marketing Excellence), is intended for educational, scientific exchange and experience-sharing, non-promotional purposes. This interview article was developed by the Prezent-AI Team. The views, opinions, and statements expressed by Dr. Kusmanto do not necessarily reflect those of the Menarini Group.