Ramon Kelly, PharmD, RPh, BCMAS
Pharmacovigilance Analyst
Kowa Pharmaceuticals America, Inc.

Sometimes, taking a longer path better prepares you for the journey ahead.

After graduation, I started to map out my career trajectory. I quickly realized that I wasn't satisfied with my role as a community pharmacist. After revisiting my didactic and rotational experiences, I narrowed down my preferred career path choices and decided to pursue an industry position.

With only limited knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry, I decided to network with my colleagues to better understand how to start. I received great feedback from fellows and other pharmacists who had made this transition. Exploring and reading all the different career possibilities for PharmDs in the pharmaceutical industry was exciting. I gravitated to courses offered by my program such as Pharmacokinetics, Toxicology, and Drugs of Abuse. I learned about many of the significant incidents that prompted the regulations enacted to monitor marketed drug products' benefits and risk profiles. That's how my fascination with Pharmacovigilance began. After learning more about the role, I knew it could help me build a robust therapeutic area foundation while allowing me to sharpen and utilize my clinical skills to help champion patient safety.