The Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO) and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN) are pleased to announce a collaboration on the development of the 2022-2023 Value of Industry Pharmacists (VIP) Case Competition.
The VIP Case Competition is an IPhO signature professional development program that challenges pharmacy students from a national network of 100 schools to design a cohesive development and commercialization plan for a theoretical new drug entity. This year, teams will be focused on bringing “metafitinib” to market for the treatment of bladder cancer (metastatic Urothelial Cancer, mUC).
Elizabeth Wilks, PharmD Hospital Business Unit, Global Medical Affairs Pfizer/Rutgers Second Year Fellow
Tell us about your current day-to-day responsibilities.
My role is very project focused. I work across four different portfolios in the Hospital Business Unit (anti-infectives, surgical hemostats, immunoglobulins, and sterile injectables) which allows me to work on products across all life cycles. Recently, I have been working on a launch which has led me to help create several medical education materials for healthcare providers. I have also been supporting several educational lectures regarding a product and disease state for our field medical colleagues.
Fellowship application season is upon us! And we've been receiving great questions from students looking to optimize their CV and letter of intent (LOI) for industry employers. Our National Fellows Council (NFC) Social Media and Marketing Committee is here to help, with tips and tricks for standing out on "paper" with a top-notch CV and LOI.
And if you're looking for more assistance, you don't want to miss our on-demand CV seminar. It will help you build a customized industry CV to make your experiences translate to industry employers in an impactful way. Learn more here!
Brian Arana-Madriz, PharmD Global Regulatory Affairs Fellow Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease
Tell us about your current day-to-day responsibilities.
The beauty about Regulatory Affairs and pharma in general, is that no day is the same. You have to adapt as timelines tend to be fluid and objectives often change along with them. This is why adaptability is highly sought after in candidates pursuing a fellowship.
Ten years ago today, IPhO excitedly announced its launch to the pharmacist community. So much has changed over the last decade, but one thing remains exactly the same as it was on October 8, 2012: our commitment to our members.
We invite you to watch this special video, which was created to celebrate the success that you helped make possible. On behalf of the IPhO leadership team, thank you for being here with us these past ten years—we can't wait for what's to come.
As part of your IPhO National membership, you receive complimentary Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) membership. The Medical Affairs-focused professional development content that MAPS offers is unparalleled, and IPhO Members can now access this exclusive content as well as a global network of Medical Affairs professionals free of charge.
Watch the video above to learn more about the extensive benefits offered by MAPS and why you should activate your membership today!
Not an IPhO Member? Signing up is fast and cost effective. Learn more and join here.
Kyle Noonan, PharmD Health Outcomes and Market Access Fellow AmerisourceBergen Xcenda
Can you give a brief overview of your functional area and its structure and value within your company?
Briefly, Health Outcomes centers around how a drug impacts patient outcomes, such as hospitalization or mortality. Market Access often uses these outcomes in addition to clinical data to tell the value story of a certain medication. Each of these takes many forms, but both are important aspects of the late development and commercialization phase of a drug, when speaking with a payer audience.
Within Xcenda, this places me under the Value and Access Strategy team.
We are pleased to announce that University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy has joined our growing 100-chapter network!
Congratulations to the student pharmacists at University of South Carolina! IPhO now connects them to nearly 6,000 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.
We are pleased to announce that Samford University McWhorter School of Pharmacy has joined our growing 100-chapter network!
Congratulations to the student pharmacists at Samford University! IPhO now connects them to nearly 6,000 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.
Alexander Fletcher, PharmD, RPh, MBA US Cardiovascular Medical Science Liaison (MSL) Fellow Bristol Myers Squibb
Can you give a brief overview of your functional area and its structure and value within your company?
The Cardiovascular MSL team helps to execute upon the medical strategy created by the Home Office Medical team. The MSLs engage with thought leaders to provide educational value to the provider, support the commercial sales team, and to generate medical product related insights.
We are pleased to announce that Manchester University College of Pharmacy has joined our growing 100-chapter network!
Congratulations to the student pharmacists at Manchester University! IPhO now connects them to 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.
Cassie Goodman, PharmD First-year US Public Affairs & Patient Advocacy Fellow Sanofi/MCPHS
Tell us about your current day-to-day responsibilities in your fellowship role.
My current day-to-day routine is meeting with patient advocacy groups and internal team members to bridge the conversations from the patient perspective to the industry teams.
Throughout my day, I also work on innovative projects to work with patient advocacy groups, deliver scientific exchange, and report the work happening externally to our internal teams.
The Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO) and the Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) are pleased to announce an important new strategic collaboration to help advance the careers of student pharmacists interested in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as Fellows and early-stage Industry Pharmacist professionals.
We are pleased to announce that UC San Diego Skaggs School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences has joined our growing 100-chapter network!
Congratulations to the student pharmacists at UCSD! IPhO now connects them to 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.
Nardeen Perko, PharmD Alma Mater: Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences (ACPHS) Scientific Communications Fellow, Medical Affairs Edwards Lifesciences / Keck Graduate Institute (KGI)
What interested you in industry and how did you prepare for your interviews?
I wanted a position that offered diverse responsibilities. I did not have the predilection for a static, one-track career and instead, I wanted the fluidity of having different tasks and intertwined problems for me to solve. I knew that a fellowship would propel my professional development at the pace I wanted to grow.
For the past two years, IPhO has partnered with organizations that are committed to the professional development and advancement of underrepresented PharmD students.
As part of this important initiative in 2022, scholarships were provided to 39 Black, Hispanic, and Native American student pharmacists, who now have access to a year of IPhO Membership, Annual Meeting Registration, and a suite of Fellowship preparation resources.
Congratulations to this year's scholarship recipients, and thank you to the generous scholarship supporters below:
We are pleased to announce that Wingate University School of Pharmacy, Appalachian College of Pharmacy, and Texas A&M Irma Lerma Rangel School of Pharmacy have joined our growing 100 chapter network!
Congratulations to the student pharmacists at these three schools! IPhO now connects them to 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.
Kevin Darko, PharmD Alma Mater: The University of Tennessee Fellowship Sponsor Company/Affiliation: UCB/IPhO Fellowship Duration: 2 Years (2022—2024) UCB Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Affairs IPhO Function/Discipline: Fellow Co-Lead, Diversity & Representation National Initiative
Why did you choose Regulatory Affairs as your functional area?
When I started pharmacy school, I knew that my goal was to pursue a career within the pharmaceutical industry, due to my experience working in a drug synthesis lab for two years during my undergraduate education at Bowie State University. However, my decision to pursue a career in Regulatory Affairs was made during my third year of pharmacy school when I enrolled in the Duke Office of Regulatory Affairs training program. I gained an in-depth look into the drug development process, FDA meetings, and how FDA drug regulation impacts drug development strategy applied in clinical studies. Seeing firsthand how collaborative Regulatory Affairs was as a functional area, and how Regulatory Affairs professionals were involved during every step of the drug development process, truly solidified my decision as I’m an individual who must see how all the pieces come together to lead to great results. Regulatory is also an enriching career path because it’s our job to ensure we can stay compliant with regulations and provide safe and effective products for patient use worldwide. One of my top priorities in life is to do impactful work, and Regulatory is a career field filled with impact!
