IPhO News

National and Regional Student Officers benefit from direct access to IPhO National Leadership and the National Fellowship Council, which helps support their professional development, and provides valuable networking opportunities and comprehensive preparation for their future industry career.

As a National/Regional Student Officer, you will have a chance to:

• Lead and perform assigned organizational functions such as: chapter network operations, social media and marketing, professional affairs and development, strategic planning, scholarly activities, and regional chapter network management
• Collaborate with IPhO Leadership on the development and execution of key organizational initiatives that inform and empower students interested in an industry career
• Conduct training and onboarding presentations with new chapters and covering professional development topics
• Serve as a preceptor to our National Internship Program participants

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

Congratulations to student pharmacists at Pacific University School of Pharmacy. IPhO now connects them to a national network of over 4,000 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, click here.


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

SUMMER SESSION - JUNE 2018

The IPhO Industry Certificate Course is back by popular demand to prepare students, recent graduates, and younger professionals interested in pursuing an industry career. Entering its third year, the in-depth course curriculum explores all aspects of pharmaceutical commercialization, from drug development and regulatory approval, to marketing and sales strategies through life-cycle management. Each functional department is described and discussed with a focus on the roles and opportunities available for pharmacists to successfully contribute and achieve high levels of professional satisfaction.

Learn more about the course and register now!

HOW IT WORKS

This is a live, online course, taking place Wednesday evenings (8pm-10pm EST) for a period of 8 weeks.

Registered participants will have access to the archived lectures.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: GlaskoSmithKline (GSK) and UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy (UNC)

Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Affairs

Fellowship Years: 2017 – 2019

Alma Mater: Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), Class of 2017

My strong interest in regulatory affairs originated from my cooperative education placements, and my employment within the Federal Government. I witnessed the dynamics between policy and science and developed an understanding of regulatory affairs and drug development through various employment experiences. My positions within Health Canada, community pharmacies internationally, and industry settings at Novartis and Becton Dickinson helped me become familiar with pre-market regulatory review and post-market surveillance.

Company and Department: Genentech, Field Medical

Current Role: Senior Medical Science Liaison

Alma Mater: University of Pittsburgh, Class of 1998

I first learned about postions for pharmacists in industry while observing my faculty mentors move into Medical Science Liaison (MSL) roles. They were strong leaders and outstanding clinicians at the University of Pittsburgh, so their transition caught my attention. My residency was clinically-based in ambulatory care and managed care at the University of Maryland. I then moved into a clinical pharmacy position in managed care, where I had significant exposure to and involvement in new drug presentations from MSLs and Industry Account Managers, many of whom were recruiting me to work in the Pharmaceutical Industry. My clinical experience in managing psychiatric patients in insurance initiatives gave me insight that was helpful as I learned about open positions in industry. I decided to make the switch and interview for my first industry MSL position in neuroscience, and I was offered the job.

What's the bottom line?
Your clinical knowledge and experience gained during rotations and/or residency are valuable assets to industry employers. Utilize those skills as you network to help you break into industry in a nontraditional way.

The Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) and the Industry Pharmacists Organization (IPhO) collaborated on a professional development program entitled, Leadership and Industry Pharmacists. This live webinar was hosted by SNPhA on November 27, 2017 and is now archived on each organization's website.

Click here to access the webinar on the IPhO site.

The featured presentation on leadership was given by James Alexander, PharmD, Executive Director and CEO of the Industry Pharmacists Organization. Dr. Alexander began teaching a leadership course during his decade on faculty at Rutgers, where he served as the first Director of the prestigious Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program.

Although the webinar title infers that the content will focus on industry, Dr. Alexander states, “when you look at the title slide and it says Leadership and Industry Pharmacists, actually you can delete the word industry because it really relates to all pharmacists regardless of the practice setting.”

Dr. Alexander goes on to say how important it is for student pharmacists to explore as many of the traditional and non-traditional career pathways as possible, because it is likely that the most optimal path is one they have yet to discover.

TIPS FROM THE WEBINAR: WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW

• Join and become active in student organizations
• Lead something!
• Be a volunteer
• Present as often as possible
• Become a career services junkie
• Participate in professional programs on relevant and interesting topics

THIS WEBINAR IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY

The research poster entitled, Demographics of Professors Teaching Industry-Related Courses within Accredited United States Colleges of Pharmacy, builds upon previous IPhO research published last year describing trends among industry-related courses within US accredited colleges of pharmacy.

Authors: Andy Szeto (pictured at left), University of the Pacific; Tayyeb Din, Long Island University; Marine Schmitt, Oregon State University; Rosemary Boshar, PharmD, Sanofi Genzyme/MCPHS Fellow (pictured at right); and Jerry Silverman, BS Pharm, Industry Pharmacists Organization, describe professor experience among industry-related courses within US accredited colleges of pharmacy.

This research shows a large variation in instructor experience ranging from 1 year to 40 years, with a mode of just one year of industry pharmacy experience. The authors hope that as student interest in industry continues to escalate, ACPE will revise their curriculum requirements to include industry topics, and in time this will facilitate a need for full-time industry-experienced professors.

To review this research poster, please click here to visit the IPhO Scholarly Publications section of our website.

The second research poster presented at Midyear 2017, Demographics of Current First- and Second-year Industry Fellows, reports upon changes in current fellows’ academic and experiential backgrounds to better prepare and guide applicants toward obtaining an industry fellowship.

Company and Department: Prometic, Field Medical

Current Role: Medical Science Liaison

Alma Mater: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Class of 2017

I have always wanted to impact patient lives and health care on a global scale, and I ultimately discovered that the best way for me to do that was through the pharmaceutical industry, although the road to getting there was not a straightforward one.

Throughout pharmacy school I worked as a pharmacy technician in retail pharmacy and also at a psychiatric hospital. I developed a strong skillset in both hospital and retail pharmacy and until my P4 year, I was sure that I would take one of the more traditional routes of either hospital or retail upon graduation. This changed in my final year of pharmacy school, after taking a medical writing class. My professor, an industry pharmacist, honed my medical writing skills in addition to exposing me to the various functional areas of the pharmaceutical industry. Medical Affairs, and particularly the role of Medical Science Liaison, caught my eye and I knew I had to pursue this. Initially I was hesitant – up to this point in my young pharmacy career, I had no industry experience and limited industry connections. My alma mater, Fairleigh Dickinson University School of Pharmacy, is a newer pharmacy school with only a small industry network. I took advantage of networking opportunities whenever I could, applied for any available industry rotations, and began research projects that I believed would catch the eye of a Medical Affairs team.

The 2017-18 IPhO Industry Fellowship Analysis has been published!

The report highlights key characteristics of all current fellowship programs, such as functional area, academic affiliation and alma mater of the fellow, and 4-year trends of these data.

There are 442 PharmDs currently participating in US-based, industry-focused postgraduate fellowships, representing +17% growth versus last year.

Below is a sneak peak into just some of the findings in the publication.

Click here to view the full report and explore additional scholarly publications, presentations, industry posters, and more.

During the recent Midyear Meeting in Orlando, IPhO and its National Fellows Council hosted an exciting event for Fellows of all Fellowship Programs to network and to learn more about how to get a full time position post-fellowship. Moderated by IPhO Executive Director Jim Alexander, the program featured a series of roundtable discussions with successful fellowship alumni/industry executives who shared their insights and guidance on how to pursue a full-time position within industry.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: DDB Health (Omnicom Health Group)

Function/Discipline: Pharmaceutical Advertising and Marketing

Fellowship Years: 2017-2019

Alma Mater: Rutgers University, Class of 2017

I never imagined that one day I would use my pharmaceutical background to assist with virtual reality experiences, video shoots, and podcasts. I knew early on in pharmacy school that I was interested in a somewhat non-traditional path. Before applying to pharmacy school, I was only aware of community and hospital pharmacy. After taking a class about the pharmaceutical industry at Rutgers, I learned that pharmacists have the potential to impact patients and healthcare on a national or even global level. I decided to explore that path further and took an Pharmaceutical Advertising and Marketing elective course. I was intrigued by the fact that this career path would allow me to use my scientific knowledge while incorporating creative elements. I was fortunate to intern at two pharmaceutical advertising agencies, RevHealth and Harrison and Star, which solidified my interest in this career path.

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

Congratulations to student pharmacists at The University of Texas - Austin College of Pharmacy. IPhO now connects them to a national network of 4,000 student pharmacists with similar interests, as well as a national network of 440 industry fellows and 10,000 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, visit here.

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

Fellowship Sponsor Company: GlaxoSmithKline (UNC)

Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Affairs

Fellowship Years: 2017-2019

Alma Mater: Rutgers University, Class of 2017

Industry is full of new and exciting innovations that drew me in from early in my pharmacy school career. I knew from my involvement in the Rutgers student chapter of DIA and my experiences within industry that I wanted to be a part of this dynamic environment and continue to grow as a life-long learner. I have always been passionate about wanting to help patients on a macro scale, and the pharmaceutical industry provides an ideal outlet for these ambitions.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Merck (Rutgers)

Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Affairs

Fellowship Years: 2017-2019

Alma Mater: Howard University, Class of 2017

Throughout pharmacy school, I gained work experience in both the retail and hospital settings, and I knew that the “traditional roles” of pharmacy practice were not the best fit for me. I wanted to position myself to do more. During my second year in pharmacy school, I was given the opportunity to work with a team of colleagues to develop a multidisciplinary initiative that targeted the homeless population of Washington, DC. As I worked on the project, I recognized how much I enjoyed working with individuals with unique areas of expertise in order to create something innovative that provided a major positive impact to underserved communities. This experience inspired me to pursue post-doctoral opportunities that would allow me to work in a similar environment. Soon after the initiative, a Howard University alumnus and Rutgers Fellow came to speak to us regarding the various roles for pharmacists within the pharmaceutical industry. As he discussed the details of the various positions within several functional areas, I was reminded of the role I played in the homeless outreach initiative. After his presentation, I decided that I was going to pursue a position in the pharmaceutical industry.

Check out this new book about how to be an entrepreneur and start a business, and also how to become a leader in healthcare starting with a pharmacy degree.

The book features a series of chapters written by successful pharmacists who have become enterpreneurs and leaders in healthcare, including IPhO CEO James Alexander.

Order your copy HERE.

Company: Halozyme Therapeutics
Current Role: CMC Specialist, Regulatory Affairs
Alma Mater: Touro University, California, Class of 2016

In 2011, my 12-year career as a microbiologist for the largest brewing company in the Pacific Northwest unknowingly came to an abrupt end. Changes in the small company I joined in 1999 that had a top 10 national ranking in 2016, manifested in layoffs. As the layoffs gathered momentum, it was my signal to leave and begin a year long process looking at alternative career options where I could leverage my 12-years of service in aseptic manufacturing. I had spent my career focused in the life sciences after graduating from the University of California Santa Cruz. I was 42 years old and married for 8 years to a PhD scientist who had been employed as a MSL in the pharmaceutical industry since 2003. My sister-in-law, a PhD clinician, was also employed as a MSL. After numerous discussions with family members, I began to explore the application process to pharmacy school in the fall of 2011 and fully consider the prospect of earning a PharmD degree. Ultimately, I considered a doctoral degree in pharmacy as the best opportunity to leverage my 20-years of experience in healthcare and aseptic manufacturing. I believed the best fit for my unconventional background was the School of Pharmacy at Touro University California.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Takeda Oncology (MCPHS)

Function/Discipline: Global Medical Affairs, Medical Science Liaison

Fellowship Years: 2017-2018

Alma Mater: Fairleigh Dickinson University, Class of 2017

I am eager to learn, develop, and implement healthcare strategies and educational tools to improve peoples’ health and their quality of life. Prior to pharmacy school I earned a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Food Science from Southern Utah University. Upon graduation, I had the opportunity to teach low-income families and individuals the basics of food budgeting, safety and preparation. Later, I worked as a pharmaceutical compounder, using my food science skills to develop individualized medicine. In both of these roles, I greatly enjoyed being able to make a difference in peoples’ lives. I decided that I wanted to be part of a team that truly makes a difference in the lives of patients’ and their families on a global level. I returned to school to obtain a PharmD degree and pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry.

Fellowship Sponsor Company: Takeda Pharmaceuticals (Purdue)

Function/Discipline: Global Regulatory Affairs – Strategy

Fellowship Years: 2016-2018

Alma Mater: Purdue University, Class of 2016

I had every intention of becoming a community pharmacist in my small hometown of Francesville, Indiana. However, after spending 4 years in the retail setting, I realized I did not feel as challenged or fulfilled as I hoped. Thus, I began to look at other opportunities outside of traditional hospital and community pharmacy. My curiosity led me to many presentations and discussions at Purdue with pharmacists and leaders in the pharmaceutical industry. It was here I learned that an industry pharmacist can be highly involved in developing and promoting access to new medications for patients all over the world. This was the challenging career that I was looking for.