Insights on Pharmaceuticals

Mar 4, 2024 8 min read

Biopharmaceuticals

By Damon Chee

Discovery+ is a series of online industry panels which gives students the chance to interact with working professionals and learn about the careers they aspire to enter. These panels provide youths and working professionals with the opportunity to better understand industry trends, hear first-hand perspectives from industry professionals, and gain valuable advice on entering or navigating these industries.

On 18 July 2023, Advisory hosted Discover+: Pharmaceuticals, the 73rd edition of the Discovery+ series. Speakers on the panel included:

Preeti Kachiroo (Moderator), Medical Affairs, Director (Respiratory), Haleon
Evelyn Pang, General Manager, Moderna Biotech Singapore
Desmond Teo, Data Analyst, Health Sciences Authority of Singapore

Attendees included students at various levels of education with a desire to know the different career paths in the pharmaceutical industry, and how to best position themselves for such roles. Below are some key points shared during the session:

What is the difference between pharmacy and pharmaceutical science?

The difference is at the level of direct care administered to patients. For pharmacists, they provide direct patient care by managing their medicine, drug therapies, along with other ways to improve their health outcomes. Meanwhile, those who study pharmaceutical science provide indirect patient care by researching new medicines that can be used to treat patients.

What is the difference between biotech and pharmaceutical companies?

For pharmaceutical companies, it is very solution-based as it seeks to tackle identified problems. For example, the Research & Development (R&D) department in the company starts by finding a deficient molecule in our body, and then seeking out a biological agent that can cure it.

In contrast to biotech firms, technology matters more for pharmaceutical companies. For example, having an established messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology allows it to be used in different clinical trials, R&D processes and programs to seek out the areas where it can potentially be used.

What are the types of roles available, as well as the job landscape in the pharmaceutical industry?

R&D is a key element in this industry that leads to clinical developments and trials. After clinical trials show results, the dossier, or report, is submitted to the regulatory department. This step is critical in the development of new medicines and vaccines. The medical department will then be on site to educate doctors on how it can help patients. After the product is approved, the marketing department will come up with strategies and branding to sell the products.

There are also roles in pharmacovigilance, which is the science of detecting, determining, comprehending and preventing adverse effects of consuming medicine. Nowadays, the rise of data and artificial intelligence (AI) has led the AI team to look at the efficiency of medication and interpret patient data. Other teams look at health and economic functions.

What types of roles and job opportunities are there in the regulatory industry?

Regulators work closely with pharmaceutical companies to understand the work they do. There are teams in the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) that are involved in developing clinical trials, understanding trial protocols and consulting pharmaceutical companies to understand how they are developed and run. In this way, the results can be sent quickly without delay.

Another is the post-market space that focuses on the safety and effectiveness of the drug. By understanding the drug well, it allows for quick interventions to stem any adverse effects from its consumption. These departments in HSA work closely with pharmaceutical firms to better understand the safety and quality of the drug throughout its life cycle.

The third would be AI and data. Other than comprehending clinical trials, the team dives deeper into electronic medical records to understand the effects of the drug on a patient over time. The team seeks to find out whether these effects are caused by consuming the drug, or other underlying factors unknown to the team. Sometimes, these side effects could simply happen by chance that is not a result of either consuming the drug or factors unknown to the team.

What is the working environment in the regulatory space like? Are there any conditions to be fulfilled before a project takes flight?

When working at a public agency, people have this notion that it is very rigid, structured and full of red tape. However, HSA functions like a semi start-up environment, where projects are run from the ground to see if they work well. Else, they are stopped early. The aim is to try different ideas and prototypes. If it does not work well, the team will know when to cease operations and move on without wasting too much time.

On the side of data analytics, one thing that always surfaces is the notion of patient privacy and confidentiality. The team is assiduous on the boundaries they can work with using the available data. Patient centrality is key in whatever work we do.

What can you expect for the working environment and conditions in the pharmaceutical industry?

This would hinge on the level of cross-functional collaboration within the organisation. The best companies are those that can integrate as many of these functions as possible.

People management is also crucial. This is especially important when a team gets bigger and more diverse. Diversity should be celebrated and we should build a culture where everyone can be the best version of themselves.

Are there any roles to allow professionals to work remotely?

The pandemic caused companies to rethink and envision how work can be done to achieve higher productivity. This would depend on the job you hold. Working remotely is possible for backend roles like IT and human resources. Teams can be led through Microsoft Teams and Zoom meetings. However, it would be harder for those serving in a customer-facing role to work remotely. Also, if you wish to work from home, it would be of kind courtesy to ask your employers if they allow for this arrangement.

Building relationships and trust is also key to achieving higher productivity while working remotely. By understanding the other party better, there is a reduced need to meet in the office. You can communicate with each other through the computer screen instead. Doctors and clinicians are most appreciative of this as it saves them a lot of time.

What inspired you to pursue a career in the pharmaceutical industry?

It stemmed from the decision to give it a try. This idea came from friends who have worked in the industry previously. My first project was about developing a vaccine that could prevent young women from getting cancer later in life. Being in this role has changed my mindset of how we treat patients conventionally, and how the public gets access to medication. To me, this is much more fulfilling as compared to dispensing medicine at the pharmacy.

Meanwhile, I have always been fascinated with technology and data. During my previous role, I took the opportunity to learn as much as I can on how to harness hospital and clinical information to influence and change treatment options. I subsequently found an opening in the public sector where I could extend my reach to even more people. With all of this data, you start to question yourself whether the existing ways to treat patients are the most effective and efficient. For the past few years, the rise of technologies such as ChatGPT and language models has allowed greater potential for companies and regulators to collaborate and sell medicines to improve patient care and lives.

How did you progress to your current role in the organisation?

Taking on roles that stretch you will push you to be a better version of yourself. For example, assuming cross-functional roles allows one to see how each function helps the company run as a ‘whole’. It will not be easy as you may need to start from scratch and be thrusted into unfamiliar environments, but that is how you get to grow. You may fail more, but without failing, there is limited room to learn as hard, or build stronger personal and group leadership capabilities.

What are the key values and character traits that you need to succeed in this industry?

One, to be ever curious about changes and then keeping up with them as things can change rapidly. Especially for those who just joined the industry, it is important that you are hungry to gain knowledge. Two, pick yourself up and continue moving forward, even as you fail and make mistakes. Lastly, it is also important to unlearn at times. This entails keeping an open mind and having a willingness to discard your preconceived notions on certain issues.

What are some courses that can increase my chance of employment in the pharmaceutical industry?

One way is to just apply for them. Some companies state that they must have doctors in their job descriptions. However, they may be open to pharmacists and even life science students as well. Then again, it is important to manage expectations as those with technical and domain knowledge are preferred. Nonetheless, one must be receptive to learning, and most importantly, be able to accept that they may have to start from scratch at times.

If opportunities present themselves, you can go for job shadowing opportunities at your preferred department to understand its workings before you commit to switching over.

How did you manage to move from a healthcare professional to a role in data?

There would be some level of difficulty to switch to jobs that require you to handle data due to the skill sets required. You can start by taking online courses to have a better understanding on how to leverage data analytics tools. This will show employers that you are indeed interested in making the switch and are prepared for these roles. In this industry, paper qualifications are not the most important as other projects you are working on can be relevant too. Employers want to know how their prospective employees clean, analyse and gain insights from data, and successful ones show that they are capable of doing the tasks assigned to them.

What are some internship opportunities available in the industry?

For data analytics roles in HSA, there are jobs at the graduate level on specific projects which require you to understand the safety and quality profile of drugs and vaccines. There are also graduate programs that give you exposure to many industries at the different public agencies. Platforms such as LinkedIn are also important for networking with others who have walked the path you envision yourself taking in the future. You can also find potential internship opportunities there.

What are the key differences in functions and skills between medical affairs and marketing?

For medical affairs, you should be able to digest basic clinical data and articulate the key mechanisms of the drug and the effect it has on human bodies to key stakeholders. Secondly, you will need to translate the science so that both the prescribers and sales teams can understand how the drug works. If they cannot appreciate the benefits, the company would not be able to sell their product well. Targeted and tailored communication is therefore needed. Thirdly, medical affairs allows one to bring clinical trials to Singapore. Locals can get access to innovative drugs for treatment which can potentially transform their lives as it may now be possible to treat conditions previously deemed untreatable.

The marketing department is the ‘voice’ to the consumers as they communicate the science to them. Using different channels to reach out to more people, and having a clear message of the product to convince consumers of its usefulness is therefore crucial. Therefore, the communication strategies and messaging to reach out to them requires different skill sets than the ones in medical affairs.

How is career progression like in the health sciences?

There are many different roles in HSA such as pre and post market evaluators, enforcement, etc. When you have developed expertise in one area, there are opportunities for you to move within different departments in the organisation and follow through the processes of drug development.

There are also emerging opportunities in the space of medical devices, particularly regulation. This is a result of the rise of AI-assisted medical devices, mobile applications and other digital health tools.

Take whatever you have learnt from here and see it as a primer for the future
Do not be afraid to fail. Be bold and peerless
Do not fear change, ask your peers when in doubt and network with other professionals
Do your best and find your purpose. Remember, it is all about how you can deliver better patient care to those in need