IPhO News

Not familiar with the IPhO VIP Case Competition? You should be! It's what inspired Michael to pursue the pharmaceutical industry. It opened his eyes to a whole new side of regulatory affairs.

Listen in as Michael shares some tips for maximizing your time in pharmacy school to help advance your industry career!

Are you a current pharmacy student interested in sharing a story? Click here to let us know!

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Purdue University / Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Function/Discipline: Early Clinical Operations

Fellowship Years: 2020—2022

Alma Mater: MCPHS University

Andrew Lee, a current Early Clinical Operations fellow, shares his advice for feeling confident and succeeding in your fellowship interviews. His key ingredient? Authenticity.

Have a fellowship question? Click here to ask a current fellow!

Company: Pfizer

Current Role: Medical Scientific Associate

Alma Mater: Howard University College of Pharmacy

If your talent and skills match your passion and organizational need, you will always have job satisfaction.

I decided to attend pharmacy school because I have always had an interest in healthcare and the evolving role of pharmacists—who play an integral role in patient monitoring, medical information, preventative care, and counseling.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Florida A&M University/Bristol Myers Squibb

Function/Discipline: Oncology Medical Affairs

Fellowship Years: 2020—2022

Alma Mater: UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy

Listen in as Raena shares what drew her to industry, the importance of keeping an open mind, and the one thing she wishes someone would have shared with her before she started interviewing.

Have a fellowship question? Click here to ask a current fellow!

As the 2019-20 fellowship year comes to a close, IPhO would like to recognize and thank its National Fellows Council leaders, who have dedicated time and attention to making the year's initiatives incredibly successful.

Congratulations to the following committee members, who are completing their fellowships and accepting full-time industry roles.

For Michel, a Philadelphia native, helping his parents safely take their medications and working with cancer patients in a hospital inspired him to pursue industry pharmacy. He knew from a young age that it was the career path for him.

Now, he is doing everything he can to make his dream a reality.

Listen in as Michel shares some tips for maximizing your time in pharmacy school to help advance your industry career!

Are you a current pharmacy student interested in sharing a story? Click here to let us know!

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Rutgers University/Bristol Myers Squibb

Function/Discipline: Oncology HEOR

Fellowship Years: 2020—2022

Alma Mater: University of Saint Joseph School of Pharmacy

Who are you? A loaded question undoubtedly. However, when prompted to answer this question in the context of my career interest and goals, this is the response that came to mind: communication strategist, educator, artist and scientist.

The connecting thread amongst all my identifiers is a commitment to impacting the lives of others and being an advocate for the voiceless. This continues to be my driving force and is my primary motivation for becoming a Rutgers University and Bristol Myers Squibb Oncology Health Economics Outcomes Research (HEOR) Fellow. I view this fellowship as the ideal opportunity to tap into growing pharmaceutical industry trends to drive innovative approaches to today’s global health challenges.

Growing up in a family of healthcare professionals, Allen always knew he wanted a career that positively impacted patient care. His passion for evidence-based science meant that pharmacy was a natural choice. Now, currently in his final year of pharmacy school at MCPHS University, he is looking forward to APPE rotations in medical information and drug information.

He describes his time in pharmacy school as a "roller coaster"—a long but extremely rewarding ride.

Listen in as Allen shares some tips for maximizing your time in pharmacy school to help advance your industry career!

Are you a current pharmacy student interested in sharing a story? Click here to let us know!

Company and Department: AbbVie, Sales

Role: Immunology Sales Representative in Rheumatology

Alma mater: Howard University

Since the beginning of pharmacy school, I knew I wanted to eventually work behind the scenes in a field that had the potential to improve patient health on a global scale. At the time, I hadn't yet learned that the pharmaceutical industry would provide that exact opportunity. Over the past few years, I connected with many pharmacists currently working in industry who shared their experiences and helped me realize that what I really wanted was the ability to marry my clincal knowledge with my business acumen—that's how I could truly make a difference.

Though many secure a fellowship after graduation, the landscape is growing increasingly competitive and I knew I needed to research alternative pathways to industry. After consulting my mentors, I learned more about pursuing sales full time and the doors that could open for me. I attended a sales conference where I had the opportunity to interview and apply for my future role in sales at AbbVie Pharmaceuticals. While interviewing, I felt like I was able to effectively demonstrate the value that my education and background would add to the company. Many commercial fellowship programs have rotations in sales because of its focus on product knowledge and company insight. I knew this was the right starting point for me.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Eli Lilly

Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Affairs: US and International Policy and Strategy

Fellowship Years: 2019—2020

Alma Mater: Howard University, Class of 2019

Prior to pharmacy school, I coordinated pharmacology research projects in a translational medicine lab. Intrigued by the drug development process and clinical trials, I sought a career change that would allow me to explore those areas. A doctorate in pharmacy was the perfect fit for me because of the sheer amount of fellowships available at pharmaceutical companies post-graduation. While in pharmacy school, I took a clinical pharmacology internship in South San Francisco with the intention of learning about common functional areas for pharmacists. Regulatory affairs stood out to me, due to the role's liaison nature between the company and regulatory agencies. Additionally, I’ve always been interested in global roles and held two global leadership positions for the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation (IPSF) on the Public Health Committee.

Company: Pfizer

Current Role: Territory Business Manager

Alma Mater: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University

“Delay does not mean denial.”

During my time as a pharmacy student at Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, I was President of SNPhA, APhA-ASP, and other professional organizations for four years. I worked diligently to educate my classmates and faculty about opportunities for pharmacists outside of retail and clinical—I wanted to highlight that pharmacists could do more and that pursuing a career in industry could open many doors. I was even able to secure Eli Lilly and Bristol-Myers Squibb to come and speak at my school about their industry roles.

After realizing that my path did not include a fellowship or residency, I applied for business school at Florida State College (FSU). While attending FSU and studying for my boards to become licensed, I began the search for a role in industry. I wasn’t sure about which role was best for me. I knew most about becoming a Medical Science Liaison, since that’s where most PharmDs I knew navigated to, but continued to explore other options that would also allow me to leverage my MBA.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: UCB / IPhO

Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Affairs

Fellowship Years: 2019—2021

Alma Mater: Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) School of Pharmacy, Class of 2019

Upon entering pharmacy school, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in industry. During my P1 year I was given the opportunity to participate in a 2-week shadowing experience at Baxalta, which helped further solidify my decision. Shortly after, I enrolled in the Healthcare Management Biopharmaceutical Industries Certificate Program offered at KGI, where I was able to learn more about the various roles available to PharmDs in industry.

Interested in impacting the drug development process and advancing patient care, I sought out a fellowship in a functional area that complemented my interests and skills. After speaking with individuals in a variety of functional areas, and receiving guidance from personal mentors, I discovered my passion for regulatory affairs.

To me, regulatory affairs is a "catch all" functional area, offering many opportunities to explore innovative approaches to meet an agency’s requirements for drug approval in order to efficiently deliver therapies to patients. My favorite aspect of regulatory affairs is that it allows me to utilize my creativity, strategic thinking, and scientific knowledge, all while addressing the needs of patients across the globe—does it get any better than that? Ultimately, the role of a PharmD in industry is valued—irrespective of the functional area you choose to pursue. Industry provides pharmacists with the opportunity to explore nontraditional roles and make a large impact on the lives of patients.

Have a fellowship question? Click here to ask a current fellow!

IPhO is excited to announce that its 2020 Annual Meeting will be taking place virtually. On September 11, 12, and 13, you'll be able to join in on one of the most important professional development events of the year from the comfort of home (or wherever you are)!

Because the event is virtual, we will be able to deliver significantly more content over three half-day sessions—featuring a variety of industry keynote speakers—with no space limitations. Plus, you'll save on travel and hotel expenses.

You will still have an opportunity to engage with industry experts, members of our National Fellows Council, and leading sponsor fellowship companies through interactive Q&A sessions.

Healthcare CEO and Entrepreneur George Zorich offers an insightful three-part video series for pharmacists—including students—and anyone else interested in learning what it takes to be an entrepreneur and build a business. This is excellent content delivered by an industry expert.

The series begins with an introduction to entrepreneurship that explains why it is so important to pharmacists and industry. You'll then move on to cover tips on building a business from the ground up—critical information for every entrepreneur. Finally, the series provides examples of current entrepreneurs in pharmacy, so you can learn from their success stories.

IPhO is pleased to announce the addition of two new student chapters to our growing national network!

Congratulations to student pharmacists at ETSU Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy and University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacy. IPhO now connects them to a national network of 88 chapters and more than 5,000 student pharmacists with similar interests, as well as a national network of hundreds of industry fellows and thousands of industry pharmacists.

Several more schools are in the late stages of filing their chapter applications and will soon join the growing national network.

To start a chapter at your school, contact us here.

For the student benefits of joining IPhO, view the National Student Brochure here!

Company: Genentech

Current Role: Clinical Specialist

Alma Mater: University of Southern California

When I first started pharmacy school, I thought for sure that I wanted to become a clinical pharmacist and do a PGY1 in acute care. In my first year, our school promoted some of the dual degrees they offered and I decided to apply for the MBA. To be honest, I didn’t have a good reason for applying except for the thought that the extra business degree might come in handy if I ever decided to go into hospital administration later in my career. My second year when I started business school, I discovered a hidden passion for marketing, which led me to completely reimagine how I wanted to build out the rest of my career.

Business school really opened my eyes to all the possibilities outside of traditional pharmacy and I never looked back. From there, I focused on talking to as many people as I could across pharma and consulting companies to learn how to best marry my two degrees and set myself up for long term success in the business world. The Commercial Rotation Development Program (CRDP) program at Genentech stood out to me the most because it was a rotational program that would allow me to build a strong foundation in marketing and sales within a company that aligned with my background in science and pharmacy.

IPhO is pleased to announce the addition of another new student chapter to our growing national network!

Congratulations to student pharmacists at University of Maryland Eastern Shore. IPhO now connects them to a national network of 86 chapters and more than 5,000 student pharmacists with similar interests, as well as a national network of hundreds of industry fellows and thousands of industry pharmacists.

Several more schools are in the late stages of filing their chapter applications and will soon join the growing national network.

To start a chapter at your school, contact us here.

For the student benefits of joining IPhO, view the National Student Brochure here!

As the 2019-2020 school year winds down, IPhO is pleased to announce the 2020-21 National and Regional Student Officers! They will continue the beneficial work being done by this year's group and IPhO is looking forward to kicking off the new year with them in the coming months. We are starting the year with 85 IPhO student chapters (and counting)—more than 60% of U.S. pharmacy schools now have established chapters!

Congratulations and welcome to the following officers! Click here to view their schools and IPhO roles.

Megan Larison, PharmD

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Merck

Function/Discipline: Oncology Global Medical Affairs Post-Doctoral Fellow

Alma Mater: University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, Class of 2020

Are you going into your first rotation at a pharmaceutical company? If so, you are probably feeling a little nervous leading up to your first day stepping into a non-traditional pharmacy rotation.

Don’t let that discourage you. You just need to know these few things to help set yourself up for success!

Before your rotation begins: Research the company and their pipeline. Become familiar with the different functional areas within the pharmaceutical industry but don’t get caught up on people’s individual titles, as they vary at every company.