IPhO News

Sample Measurement of Satisfaction with a Professional Industry Coaching Service

The interest in pursuing a professional career in pharma continues to increase, as many pharmacists are not satisfied with the practice that they are currently employed in. Additionally, there is growing interest by student pharmacists who are being exposed to industry through rotations, electives, and internships. This has resulted in a significant increase in pharmacy graduates seeking to pursue industry as a career. Unfortunately, this has resulted in steep competition among candidates especially for entry- level positions and fellowships within industry. To support this growing need, IPhO launched a career coaching service for its members.

Lauren Bartolome, a University of Florida PharmD Candidate and IPhO Chapter President participated in an IPhO internship and collaborated with Jerry Silverman, VP Professional Development and Coaching to measure satisfaction among a sampling of participants utilizing this coaching service.

Methods

A ten-question survey was developed to measure overall participant’s satisfaction including: assistance in customizing their CV/resume, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, providing honest feedback and practical guidance, and participant determination of cost-effectiveness. The coaching service is available in time increments of 45 minutes each and respondents purchased on average three credits.

Results

The vast majority of candidates (73%) sought coaching to customize their CV/resume for industry. All respondents stated that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the IPhO Coaching Service. When respondents were asked whether they would be likely to recommend this coaching service to a friend or colleague; 91% responded very likely or likely.

IPhO is very pleased with the consistent feedback and ongoing demand for its coaching service to date. Based on the participant’s rating of satisfaction, referral, and cost-effectiveness, the IPhO Coaching Service looks like it is on the right track in providing this important service.

For more detailed information concerning this research study and to view the published poster, please visit IPhO Scholarly Publications

Authored by Lauren Bartolome, PharmD Candidate, Class of 2017, University of Florida

IPhO is pleased to introduce a new resource for its members, the Industry Certificate Catalog. This Certificate Catalog contains important program and contact information describing industry-focused post-graduate certificate training programs in the U.S. 

In many cases there is significant value to certificate programs – which are very practical and often underutilized credentials that can provide new graduates and experienced industry pharmacists with an appealing combination of i) rapid post-secondary achievement and ii) portable skills and knowledge. Certificate programs enable graduates to enhance their resume/CV credentials and strengthen their candidacy for their first industry position.   These programs also serve as valuable collateral to help industry pharmacists transition into disciplines outside of their existing/core department.

IPhO Members can click/tap “Read More” below to view or download the Industry Fellowship Catalog.

Click/tap here to view or download the Certificate Catalog

IPhO welcomes your assistance in keeping the Certificate Catalog as current and accurate as possible, so please email any suggested updates using our contact form.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS CATALOG IS INTENDED FOR THE INDIVIDUAL USE OF IPhO MEMBERS ONLY AND SHOULD NOT BE COPIED OR OTHERWISE REDISTRIBUTED.  Please refer to the IPhO website terms of service policy here: http://www.industrypharmacist.org/legal.php

IPhO recognizes and sincerely thanks the following IPhO Student Interns and National Fellows Council members for their work on this project; Kimberly Gittings, PharmD Candidate 2016, University of Rhode Island and Chair, IPhO National Student Chapters, Megan N. Brown, PharmD, Fellow Drug Information Purdue/Janssen/FDA, Matt Vitale, PharmD, Visiting Scientist Fellow, Eli Lilly, and Kushal Patel, PharmD Candidate 2016, Rutgers University.

The number of pharmacy schools is steadily increasing, but what about the number of pharmacy jobs? The job market is very different than it was 10 years ago; there is no longer a pharmacist shortage. Since there aren’t as many incentives to join retail pharmacy as before, students have started exploring other career paths for pharmacists. Students say they are not receiving enough information about industry, so why is there increasing interest in it?

In a recent survey, almost 50% of student pharmacists indicated that the reason they are potentially interested in the biopharmaceutical industry is to discover areas of pharmacy other than the conventional retail and hospital pharmacy they are exposed to in school. This may either be due to an interest in finding out more about something unfamiliar or a desire to explore a different career path because they do not see themselves working in a hospital or retail setting.

17% of students surveyed indicated that they want to help discover new medications and 16% of students want the ability to help patients in different way. In a hospital or retail setting, there is a limited radius of patients a pharmacist can impact. In industry, the potential to help patients extends to a global level. 13% of students see the industry as a source of job and financial security.

The “other” category (5%) included reponses like self-satisfaction, growth, research opportunities, and the ability to help patients on a global level while merging business and research and development into one career.

The robust PharmD curriculum prepares pharmacy graduates well for traditional pharmacy roles. But the PharmD degree is also very versatile and allows pharmacists to venture into many non traditional roles as well, including industry. Accordingly, some students appear to be eager to pursue a multidimensional career, rather than just the clinical aspects of pharmacy. This bodes will for the biopharmaceutical industry, since it is represents one of the best ways for a pharmacist to apply his/her skills and knowledge outside of the traditional pharmacy setting.

Authored by Nikole Shpilfogel, MCPHS University-Boston PharmD Class of 2017, with contributions from Professor Bernard Tyrrell, MCPHS University-Boston, and James Alexander, Executive Director of IPhO

IPhO MCPHS- Worcester and VCU Chapters Place First and Second in the Annual VIP Advocacy Challenge Program

The VIP Advocacy Challenge is an annual program IPhO Student Chapters participate in to create positive messages about the value of industry pharmacists and the value of the pharmaceutical industry.

The VIP Advocacy Challenge is targeted to providers, payers, and industry employers to highlight the critical roles of pharmacy professionals within the pharmaceutical industry. Each IPhO Student Chapter was invited to develop an outreach platform that advocates for the contributions make in supporting the role of industry in improving patients’ quality of life.

This program was designed, supervised, and evaluated by the IPhO National Fellows Council (INFC), which is comprised of current Fellows, and IPhO members that represent a significant majority of the industry fellowship programs nationwide. The INFC collaborates to establish various developmental and networking activities consistent with the mission and goals of IPhO.

Following a thorough evaluation process, the INFC is pleased to present the results of the 1st Annual VIP Advoacy Challenge!

 FIRST Place Winner

MCPHS University-Worcester IPhO Chapter Presents: The Industry Pharmacy Experience

The MCPHS-Worcester IPhO chapter collaborated with Science Café Woo and Nu Café a local cafe in Worcester, MA to host an event to promote the ongoing R&D of pharmaceutical companies to a consumer audience. The event was also able to showcase how a pharmacist in the industry could impact patient health.

The event included 3 guest speakers: Professor Bernard Tyrrell, Director of the MCPHS University Biopharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program; Lee Anne Filosa, a Translational Medicine Fellow at Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research; and Carrie Cammarano, a Clinical Supplies Fellow at Genzyme.

An IRB-approved six-question survey assessed audience impact. 27 of 80 consumer participants completed pre- and post-program surveys to evaluate changes in attitude and knowledge. The evaluations showed a marked 19.2% increase in consumer’s perception of the impact of industry pharmacists.  

This event was a remarkable success and drove several outreach opportunities and partnerships in the local community.

Second Place Winner

Virginia Commonwealth University IPhO Chapter: Professional Advocacy Series Highlighting the Importance of Pharmacists in Industry

Pharmacists are consistently recognized for being the most trusted healthcare professionals. This respect is earned mainly from their contributions in traditional community and hospital roles. However, the scope of pharmacy practice also extends to the pharmaceutical industry, where pharmacists work in many diverse areas.

To highlight the impact of pharmacists in these roles, the VCU-IPhO Advocacy Challenge Committee created and produced a short film. This video provides an overview of a drug product’s life cycle and the contributions that pharmacists make throughout the process. The committee collected the opinions of VCU School of Pharmacy students and faculty via on camera interviews, and produced a video featuring both live interviews and animations. The final product provided student and faculty insights in combination with key information about the pharmaceutical industry.

The intended audience for this film was the student and faculty community of VCU School of Pharmacy. To increase outreach within the VCU School of Pharmacy, the video was shared on several social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook. Video viewership was promoted via in-class announcements and school-associated social media outlets, which enabled the film to reach students and faculty who were less familiar with the diverse roles that pharmacists hold within industry. The impact of the film was measured by viewership, which has already exceeded 300 views.

Awards and Recognition

• First place winner MCPHS University-Worcester received $250
• Second place winner Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) received $150
• Other IPhO Chapters participating in the Challenge received $75 each (Northeastern University, Rutgers University, and Temple University) 
• Recognition of the 1^st and 2^nd place winners will reach all 2,500 IPhO student and fellow registrants/members via email and the IPhO website

IPhO will also identify and evaluate elements from all chapter submissions that may be suitable for inclusion in future national programs and chapters will be recognized accordingly.

INFC and IPhO Leadership thank all chapters for their participation and commitment in creating and implementing advocacy programs that promote the Value of Industry Pharmacists to all of the many stakeholders who influence our professional success.

Best,

Bhavini Parikh, PharmD

Chair, IPhO National Fellows Council

Fellow, Eli Lilly & Company, FDA, Purdue University

Jerry Silverman, RPh

VP, Professional Development and Coaching, IPhO

The biopharmaceutical industry is gaining more student attention. However, the question is how are student pharmacists finding out about this pathway? In a survey conducted over the summer 2014 and early part of the 2014-15 school year, this question was asked of 193 student pharmacists. The majority of students answered that they either knew someone who works in the industry or were exposed to the industry through guest speakers. The “other” section included methods such as previous internship and rotational experiences, independent research, and exposure at professional organizations such as IPhO meetings and the APhA-ASP conference.

There are relatively few specific classes or exposure to the biopharmaceutical industry in conventional pharmacy curricula. As a result, industry career choices are often much harder for students to explore. Self-aware students that find their niche in the industry start organizations such as IPhO and organize events like MCPHS University’s annual “The Emerging World of the Industry Pharmacist.” Events like these are a great opportunity to network and find out about the different opportunities within industry.

Although there are now 19 IPhO chapters distributing significant amounts of information, there is a need for changes to curricula in pharmacy schools to include other opportunities in pharmacy beyond hospital, clinical, or community pharmacy. Guest speakers from industry are a good way to reach a large audience, and this should be continued. In addition to existing general classes such as Introduction to Pharmacy Management, pharmacy school faculty and administration should consider offering more elective courses about industry and providing more information about how students can get involved.

Authored by Nikole Shpilfogel, MCPHS University-Boston PharmD Class of 2017, with contributions from Professor Bernard Tyrrell, MCPHS University-Boston, and James Alexander, Executive Director of IPhO

On April 15, 2015 the MCPHS University-Boston IPhO Chapter hosted the 2nd Annual “Emerging World of the Industry Pharmacist” at the MCPHS-Boston campus.

200 Industry Pharmacists, Fellows, and Students came together to network and celebrate the industry pharmacists’ emerging role and future growth opportunities. The event focused on industry pharmacists’ role in assisting, adapting, and responding to help meet the current nationwide and global demands of healthcare within their companies and organizations.  The event featured a keynote address from Pritesh Gandhi, PharmD, Vice President of Medical Affairs at Alnylam and a panel discussion about challenges and opportunities for growth and success of industry pharmacists moderated by IPhO Executive Director James Alexander. The panel was comprised of a number of accomplished industry pharmacists from Boston-area biopharmaceutical companies, including:

- Brian Fulling, Senior Manager, Clinical Research, Pfizer
- Kristy Grimm, Senior Director, Global Medical Affairs, Vertex
- Stephanie Melillo Fradette , Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Biogen
- Chris Robertson, Associate Director, Medical Training, Biogen
- Professor Bernard Tyrrell, Associate Dean, MCPHS University

MCPHS University Vice President Peg Johnson, on behalf of President Charles Monahan, delivered the welcoming address, and closing remarks were provided by Bridget Cloonan, IPhO Student Chapter President.

Many thanks to the MCPHS-Boston IPhO Student Chapter, including student leaders Bridget Cloonan, Sreenadh Mallavalli, Pooja Patel, Mary Salatino, Joseph Naggar, Sujal Shah, Sandeep Singh, Herjas Kalra, and Mia James.

Stay tuned as we will be featuring a video series from the “Emerging World” event on the IPhO website in the near future!

Authored by Bridget Cloonan, President, MCPHS-Boston IPhO Chapter

On March 29, more than 50 student pharmacists gathered at APhA 2015 in San Diego for IPhO's 2nd Annual National Student Event, entitled "Industry Careers: Building a Health Future for Student Pharmacists," hosted by the IPhO National Student Leadership Group. In addition to providing information for students to prepare themselves for an industry career/fellowship, the presentation highlighted the work of the National Student Chapter Network (now at 16 approved chapters!) as well as an overview of the IPhO National Fellows Council.

The agenda included:

    Student Chapter Network Update - Alex Wei (RU 2015), IPhO National Student President, incoming Alnylam Pharmaceuticals/Northeastern Fellow
    The "Perfect" Fellowship Candidate - Matthew Schmidt (Northeastern 2015), Northeastern Chapter founder, incoming Genentech/Rutgers Fellow
    IPhO National Fellows Council Overview - Joseph Fiore, PharmD, current Merck/Rutgers Fellow
    IPhO Student Services, Benefits, and Opportunities - Jim Alexander, PharmD, IPhO Executive Director and Founder

We would like to thank all of the IPhO student leaders and attendees across the country who helped in making this event another success! If you would like to start a student chapter at your school or are interested in supporting an existing student chapter at your alma mater, please contact support@industrypharmacist.org!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015 (5:45pm Registration, 7-9 pm event)

Please Register here: http://www.industrypharmacist.org//rsvp/MCPHSPharmD2015

The IPhO MCPHS University Boston Student Chapter is pleased to present The Second Annual:
Emerging World of the Industry Pharmacist.  This is an opportunity for you to connect with other
industry pharmacists, fellows, and students in the Boston area.

In addition to offering some terrific networking opportunities, the event will feature a keynote
address from Pritesh Gandhi, PharmD, VP Medical Affairs for Alnylam and a panel discussion
moderated by IPhO Executive Director James Alexander.  The panel features a diverse group of
industry pharmacists and academic faculty in the greater Boston area, including:

•    Brian Fulling, Senior Manager, Clinical Research, Pfizer
•    Kristy Grimm, Senior Director, Global Medical Affairs, Vertex
•    Stephanie Melillo, Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Biogen Idec
•    Chris Robertson, Associate Director, Medical Training, Biogen Idec
•    Professor Bernard Tyrrell, Associate Dean, MCPHS University

Panelists will be discussing the critical challenges and opportunities for industry pharmacists in
today’s biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical industry.

Attendance is free!  Space is limited and pre-registration is required, so reserve your spot today!

By Arthur Graber, PharmD, Post-Doctoral Fellow at Bayer HealthCare

Have you been seeing more in the news recently about pharma mergers and tax-inversion deals?  This article will de-mystify and explain some of the background and rationale behind this recent phenomenon. 

Like most U.S. corporations, over the last 30 years many pharmaceutical companies have employed various strategies to reduce their tax burden to increase overall profitability and deliver earnings that are in line with shareholder expectations.  One of these tax strategies is known as “corporate tax inversion.”

A corporate inversion is a method that has been employed by U.S. based multinational companies to restructure operations in a manner that allows them to avoid or minimize certain U.S. taxes. Essentially, the corporation relocates its headquarters to a lower-tax nation, while still retaining its material operations in its higher-tax country of origin.  U.S.-based companies typically pay tax rate percentages in the mid-20s, while an inversion deal can reduce tax rate percentages to the teens or even lower.

Several U.S. pharmaceutical companies have been trying to acquire or merge with foreign pharma companies in so-called inversion deals designed to take advantage of lower tax rates in other countries.  A  Wall Street Journal article recently listed the following four examples:

• Shire PLC was in discussion with U.S. drug maker AbbVie Inc. about a potential $53.6 billion takeover.
• Mylan Inc. agreed to buy pharmaceutical assets from AbbVie's former parent, Abbott Laboratories, in a $5.3 billion deal that would create a new entity organized in the Netherlands.
• Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Raleigh, N.C., said it was buying the Cosmo Technologies unit of an Italian company and would domicile the combined company in Ireland.
• Medtronic Inc. agreed to pay $42.9 billion to buy Irish medical-device maker Covidien PLC.

Although there is a tax advantage for corporate inversion, an inverted company is subject to potential adverse tax consequences if, after the transaction they do not meet specific conditions. On September 22, 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department enacted several regulations that have made inversion abroad more difficult and reduce benefits to companies who have already done so. Specifically, the notice eliminated certain strategies that inverted companies currently use to access the overseas earnings of foreign subsidiaries of the U.S. company that inverts without paying U.S. tax.  

These changes are intended to:

• Prevent inverted companies from accessing a foreign subsidiary’s earnings while deferring U.S. tax through the use of creative loans, which are known as “hopscotch” loans
• Prevent inverted companies from restructuring a foreign subsidiary in order to access the subsidiary’s earnings tax-free Close a loophole to prevent an inverted companies from transferring cash or property from a CFC to the new parent to completely avoid U.S. tax
• Make it more difficult for U.S. entities to invert by strengthening the requirement that the former owners of the U.S. entity own less than 80 percent of the new combined entity.

Cross-border mergers can make the U.S. economy stronger and encourage foreign investment to flow into the United States; however the U.S. government feels that these transactions should be driven by genuine business strategies, not a desire to avoid U.S. taxes.

For more information on the specific changes and their effects, see: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/09/22/treasury-fact-sheet-the-new-rules-on-tax-inversions/

FellowMatch powered by IPhO, a new tool for Fellowship sponsors to engage interested candidates, is available NOW!

Please visit here to learn more: http://www.industrypharmacist.org/fm_landing.php Several companies have already posted positions to be considered by the IPhO Student Network of over 1,000 students.

IPhO already has 12 very active student IPhO Chapters. Free to participating Felowship sponsors this year, FellowMatch is designed to match Fellowship Sponsors with Fellowship Candidates.

Sponsors can post open Fellowship positions through FellowMatch on the IPhO website, and any IPhO Student National Member will be able to submit requested materials describing their candidacy. FellowMatch serves as an advanced candidate screening tool for participating entities, helps students identify career opportunities of interest, and should help make existing interviewing and selection processes even more productive.

Questions? Email us using our contact form here or visit FAQs for FellowMatch, powered by IPhO here: http://www.industrypharmacist.org/fm_landing.php

Please spread the word to anyone who you think could benefit from this new service. Good luck to all who are "Matching!"

Consumer research has consistently shown that pharmacists are one of the most trusted healthcare professionals. This applies to the traditional professional practices known to consumers and to other healthcare professionals such as community, hospital, and consultant pharmacy. However, the supply and demand of pharmacists in these traditional settings has fluctuated greatly in recent years, and lately it has been more difficult to find the right position upon graduation.

This is one of the reasons pharmacists are increasingly looking towards opportunities outside traditional pharmacy practice, such as those offered within the pharmaceutical industry. The newly licensed PharmD is considered a medication expert, having extensively studied pharmacology, pharmaceutics, and biochemistry in addition to rotating through clinical and community settings to provide direct patient care services and perform drug utilization and drug information reviews. Pharmacists can also apply their skills in the pharmaceutical industry setting, especially as companies gravitate towards more complex specialty medicines that require a higher level of sophistication from their professional employees. Just as other industries have turned toward professionals with a high level of technical expertise, the pharmaceutical sector may significantly benefit if they turn to pharmacy graduates to handle many departmental responsibilities.

In addition, the opportunity exists for pharmacy graduates to benefit pharmaceutical industry employers in other ways, including the opportunity to elevate their corporate image with consumers, healthcare providers, and health insurers.

Based upon this opportunity for pharmacy graduates and the pharmaceutical industry, the IPhO National Fellows Council is sponsoring the VIP Advocacy Challenge. This challenge goes out to all of the IPhO Student Chapters nationally, as an opportunity to increase the awareness and recognition among healthcare consumers, providers, payers, and industry employers of the critical contributions that pharmacy graduates are making within the pharmaceutical industry. Each IPhO chapter is being invited to develop an outreach platform that advocates for the contributions and benefits that industry pharmacists have in supporting the role of industry in improving patients’ quality of life.

The invitation of the VIP Advocacy Challenge has just recently been sent out to all IPhO Student Chapters and applications are to be completed by October 10, 2014. After application submission, feedback and support will be provided to chapters by the INFC, in order to ensure the success of student chapters’ projects and align challenge ideas with the goals of this advocacy challenge and the IPhO mission. Chapters will then have the opportunity to execute the project by March 15, 2015.

Student chapters will be eligible for recognition from the INFC and IPhO leadership team with participation in this challenge. One of the many benefits of this initiative will be the close collaboration between the INFC and each of the IPhO Student Chapters.

Authored By: Jonathan Douek, IPhO Student Pharmacist Intern and Temple PharmD Candidate 2017

Mary Alice Dwyer, PharmD, Vice President, Global Medical Excellence & Medical Affairs, AstraZeneca, Michael Toscani, PharmD, Rutgers Institute for Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowships, and Jack Bradley, PharmD, JD, Medical Director North America, Sobi, Inc., discuss the topic, "The impact of changing companies after a brief period of time."

Jill DeSimone, RPh, Head, US Oncology Commercial Unit, Merck, and Jack Bradley, PharmD, JD, Medical Director North America, Sobi, Inc., discuss "How can IPhO work with its constituents to advance the careers of industry pharmacists?"

Leadership Opportunities For Industry Pharmacists: Irene Laurora, PharmD, VP Global Medical Affairs, Bayer Healthcare, Katie MacFarlane, PharmD, Managing Partner, SmartPharma LLC., and Jill DeSimone, RPh, Head, US Oncology Commercial Unit, Merck, share their views on how to seize opportunities.

Mentoring and Leadership for Industry Pharmacists: Irene Laurora, PharmD, VP, Global Medical Affairs, Bayer Healthcare, and Jill DeSimone, RPh, Head, US Oncology Commercial Unit, Merck share their views on Mentoring and Leadership.

Although few industry pharmacists are engaged in direct patient care that requires a pharmacy license, many still maintain their license because i) they may need it some day, and/or ii) they worked so hard to get it.

As a student pharmacist intern at IPhO, I am working on developing an ongoing service for our members to help them identify continuing education (CE) that is relevant to their professional careers in the pharmaceutical industry.

I am currently contributing to the IPhO Employment Research ("ER") Study as a Student Investigator. The study is designed to document industry pharmacist career paths, and to date it has been a terrific opportunity.

During the past twelve months, IPhO has been conducting an industry pharmacist employment study to collect data for reporting on the employment trends and career paths of industry pharmacists. The IPhO Employment Research (ER) Study involves collection of self-reported public domain information from LinkedIn profiles. The study goal of collecting 1500 industry pharmacist profiles was met and career trends and pathways are expected to begin being reported in the fall of this year.

IPhO Expresses its Gratitude and Recognition to INFC Upon Completion of a Very Successful Inaugural Year!

After a very successful first year, IPhO Leadership wants to thank our National Fellows Council for their outstanding accomplishments during the past 12 months. Several of our INFC members are finishing up their post-doctoral work and have already accepted their first position in industry; congratulations and we look forward to your continued contributions to IPhO and accomplishments as an industry pharmacist.

The mission of INFC is to connect fellows of all programs nationally and to advocate for their career development. A list of the INFC's recent accomplishments is provided below.

I am pleased to announce that Tina Chang, PharmD has joined the IPhO Leadership Team as VP, Marketing & Strategy! She will be working on the Advocacy for Industry Pharmacist platform and other exciting initiatives.

To learn more about Tina and other members of the IPhO Leadership Team, please visit here: industrypharmacist.org/leadership