ashp midyear clinical meetingandrianna guo - marketing & managed markets fellow at ayer the ma...
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The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page
ASHP MIDYEAR CLINICAL MEETING
The Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship (RPIF)
recruitment was carried out at the 2014 ASHP Midyear Clinical
Meeting, held in Anaheim, CA. Each year, the recruitment
session achieves new heights and this year was no exception.
Using a highly expedited interview sign-up process,
484 candidates were able to sign up for first round interviews
in approximately 3.5 hours. Overall, RPIF executed a smooth,
efficient, and successful recruitment of 67 new fellows.
Thank you to all of our partner companies, the Midyear
Committee, Company Lead Contacts, Technology/Website
Committees, Co-Chiefs, Dean Barone, Dr. Toscani, and to every
single fellow who made this year’s Midyear recruitment yet
another successful event.
IN THIS EDITION
The MBA Edition! - Pages 4-5
RPIF Webinar Series - Page 8
MARCH 2015 484 candidates from 86 schools of pharmacy
in 37 states interviewed with RPIF at Midyear
Midyear Highlights
Brittny Rule and Bryan Murray - Metrics Committee
484 candidates from 86 schools interviewed for 67 positions
2496 total interviews conducted
67 new fellows at 16 companies
36 schools of pharmacy represented by new the fellows
Rutgers (10); MCPHS, USC (5); UNC, USciences (4); St. John’s (3)
119 total fellows for 2015-2016
Dean Barone, Victoria Vazquez, Keith Fairall, and Dr. Toscani at the
Rutgers Reception
Fellows at the Anaheim Convention Center
Rutgers TOPRA Meeting - Page 3
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 2
NEW FELLOWSHIP HEADQUARTERS
ANNUAL SKI TRIP Fellows brave the cold for skiing and snowboarding
What was once an uninhabited laboratory filled with fossilized
containers of goo and an overwhelming amount of lifeless ladybugs is
now a bright and fresh space where many Fellowship ideas are ignited.
The RPIF Fellowship office has
relocated!
Don’t fret though, change is
positive! The new residence is
located across the hall from our
previous home, making our
official address room 407 in the
Rutgers Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Building. The space
hosts three separate rooms, including a conference area, and is
home to Janet Lupo - Program Coordinator, Melanie
Mostrowski - Marketing Coordinator and Dr. Michael Toscani -
Fellowship Director and scholarly activity enthusiast! To ensure
all our guests feel welcomed, Dr. T. will often invite visitors to try a treat from his Italian heritage, a
torrone, which is a small square-shaped almond honey nougat. We encourage all guests to stop by
and say hello, you might even be treated to a torrone!
By Melanie Mostrowski, RPIF Marketing Coordinator
Over 30 current and past fellows attended the annual
Fellowship Ski Trip this February in the Pocono Mountains of
Pennsylvania. Fellows skied, snowboarded, and snow-tubed
down Jack Frost Mountain together on one of the coldest
days of the year. Coordinated by Benjit Singh and Agnes
Hong of the Community
Development Committee,
several people also stayed
overnight at a large ski house
nearby. Fellows played
games, enjoyed music, and
barbequed, despite below-
freezing temperatures.
Dr. Toscani enjoys the sunlight in
his new office
Program Coordinator, Janet Lupo at her new desk
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 3
FULL HOUSE FOR TOPRA MEETING
Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy hosts regulatory affairs meeting at Campus Center
On January 22, 2015, the Busch Campus Center was filled to its limits for the first ever TOPRA and Ernest
Mario School of Pharmacy joint meeting. TOPRA, or The Organization for Professionals in Regulatory Affairs,
is a professional organization for individuals working in regulatory affairs, which works with its members
internationally to enable and promote excellence across the profession. This joint event was organized and
coordinated with great efforts by Caitlin Lentz, a 2nd year fellow at Celgene.
Regulatory professionals from
over a dozen companies
gathered for presentations by
Kristie Ota (Bayer) and Rob
Kowalski (Novartis) on key
topics including regulating
safety biomarkers and
managing the regulation of
innovative therapies. This was
followed by an interactive
panel discussion featuring:
Rob Kowalski, SVP, Global Head, Regulatory Affairs and US Head of Development - Novartis
Carlos Langezaal, Director, Regulatory Affairs - Eisai Pharmaceuticals
Andrea Masciale, VP, Global Regulatory Policy & Intelligence - Janssen
Darshan Wariabharaj, Deputy Director, Global Regulatory Strategist - Bayer Healthcare
The panel and audience attendees weighed in on topics including the differing EU and US regulatory
perspectives, the future outlook of the regulatory landscape, and the changing role of the regulatory
professional. This event also included an RPIF poster session that allowed attendees to network while
examining research posters created by fellows. This well-attended evening was closed with words from Dean
Barone and Caitlin Lentz.
From left: Andrea Masciale, Chris Griffett, Darshan Wariabharaj, Kristie Ota,
Caitlin Lentz, Carlos Langezaal, and Rob Kowalski
The panel of regulatory experts drove an interactive discussion at the Busch Campus Center
For more information about TOPRA: ◊ To view RPIF research posters:
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 4
THE MBA EDITION By Joe Fiore, Pharm.D., 1st Year Clinical Development Fellow at Merck
Why did you pursue an MBA?
How valuable is an MBA in the pharmaceutical industry? Below, current and past fellows with PharmDs and
MBAs give their perspectives on how they have used their dual degrees during their careers and how they
plan to use them moving forward. Thank you to all of the featured contributors, as well as Alex Schepart,
Ashley Brower, Preston Noon, Shivani Gandhi, and Upasana Marwah for their support.
How have you used your dual degrees in your current role?
Continues on Page 5
I pursued my MBA in order to gain a better understanding of the global market dynamics
and their impact on business decisions. I do believe the knowledge gained while pursing my
MBA has assisted me with this objective.
I started exploring obtaining business acumen to understand molecule filing decision-making
and making more effective advocate R&D/regulatory recommendations. Through exploration
of various part-time and full-time programs, I came across one most suitable for myself. This was a
full-time executive MBA program that focused on obtaining working business knowledge,
advancing decision-making skills, and learning from other seasoned professionals.
Kinnari Patel – Global Regulatory Affairs at AstraZeneca
Pfizer/J&J Fellow 2005-2007
My role as the early stage development representative for various clinical programs requires me to use both my scientific background and business knowledge on a daily basis. I rely heavily on my PharmD training for the design, implementation and interpretation of clinical studies, and my
MBA training for strategic decision making and communication/collaboration in a multidisciplinary team environment.
My MBA degree has enhanced my understanding of how important it is to have all line functions working
together in achieving our business goals amidst environmental and internal changes. My training has enhanced
my presentation skills and the ability to present complex ideas to large and diverse audiences and to drive
cross-functional teams towards achieving a common goal.
The business education not only helps with presentation skills and stronger business acumen,
but it also permits greater understanding and communication with diverse business partners.
With the MBA, I am better able to recognize critical business insights and strategies that will
drive brand growth in the years to come.
Justin Dennie – Experimental Medicine at Daiichi Sankyo
Merck Fellow 2009-2011
Lincy Thomas – Regulatory Affairs at Novartis
Novartis Fellow 2003-2005
Keith Fairall – Business Analytics Fellow at Janssen
Todd Parorello - Vice President, Head US Regulatory Affairs at Bayer
Roche Fellow 1999-2001
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 5
A project in which your MBA was
especially helpful?
Would you recommend fellows in your functional area pursue an MBA?
Gowri Murthy
Associate Director, Early
Stage Development at Merck
Merck Fellow 2009-2011
I was selected for the Merck Fellowship for
Global Health, allowing me to work with an
NGO based in Delhi, India focused on last
mile service delivery of TB treatment and
utilizing an eCompliance technology to track
medication adherence. The project involved
market research to provide a strategy and
business plan on how they can scale the
treatment model using the adherence
technology in additional
areas in India and potentially
in other non-TB settings.
My MBA program provided me exposure to working with people with extremely diverse
professional backgrounds, which has helped me smoothly transition to US Medical at Pfizer, as medical affairs requires you to work with many different functional areas.
Bryan Murray
Medical Affairs Fellow at Pfizer
Matthew Klimek – Regulatory Program Director at Roche
Schering-Plough Fellow 2008-2010
Rather than recommending that you pursue an MBA, I’d tell a fellow that’s considering a
different degree to stay curious and pursue areas that are interesting to them- whether it’s
a certificate or degree in regulatory, public health, project management, or even in business-
If you’re willing to learn something new that will enhance and complement your pharmacy
background, you’re well on your way to defining your career success!
Nancy Nair – Associate Director, Global Regulatory Affairs at Janssen
Johnson & Johnson Fellow 2002-2003
If the fellow is only interested in pursuing a career within Regulatory Affairs, then I would not
recommend a MBA. However, I would recommend a MBA if the fellow is interested in pursuing
future opportunities in commercial or business development in order to round out the necessary
technical skills and to build that complementary business perspective which is generally
not obtained through Pharmacy school.
Degrees in Progress With a focus on group work, MBA classes have allowed me to refine my interpersonal skills. Dan Kim – Drug Safety/Pharmacovigilance Fellow at Bayer My MBA courses have helped me better understand what drives a business and better gauge the types of decision making skills necessary. For example, we are currently playing the “MarkStrat” game, which will teach students how to launch a new product and manage the life cycle of a consumer good – principles that can be applied directly to the pharmaceutical industry. Andrianna Guo - Marketing & Managed Markets Fellow at Bayer The MBA also opens up doors in ancillary industries such as banking, consulting, and vendor services. These less talked-about ancillary industries play an important role in the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, all successful executives have a strong background in finance which is the cornerstone of the MBA degree. Abel Zhu – Business Analytics Fellow at Janssen
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 6
The scholarly activities season is in full swing! See what our fellows will be presenting this Spring.
SCHOLARY ACTIVITIES UPDATES
By Caitlin Lentz, Pharm.D., Ronak Savla, Pharm.D., PhD, &
Sonie Lama, Pharm.D. - Scholarly Activities Liaisons
DIA Medical & Scientific Communications 2015 Annual Forum
Glendale, AZ — March 16-18, 2015
Poster Title Authors
The Use of Tablet Computers Among Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs): Trends Over 3 Consecutive Years (2012-2014)
Chrissie Chew, Jacob Reichert, Poonam Shah, Ruth Haile-Meskale, Eric Zhao, Michael Toscani
Emerging key opinion leader identification through bibliometric data analysis Arthur Graber
Analysis of Medical Information Standard Response Structure across Pharmaceutical Companies
Kristina Bundra, Evelyn Hermes- DeSantis
Assessment of PharmD Post-Doctoral Fellows Presentation Skills Emily Prince, Priya Ramachandran, Karen Chen, Evelyn Hermes- DeSantis, Michael Toscani
Comparative analysis of patient drug information resources and the trends seen in standardization of information on the internet
Vani Kumaran, Ronak Patel, Michael Toscani
Pharmacists' perspective of industry payments since implementation of the Sunshine Act
Vani Kumaran, Agnes Hong, Unicel-Anne Flores
Evaluation of the impact of pharmaceutical industry fellowship training on obtaining a field-based medical role
Nick Bires, Stuart Rhodes, Michael Toscani
The Role of Pharmaceutical Companies within the Adherence Landscape Nikolas Borodin, Prianka Singh, Michael Toscani
Evaluating Medical Information’s Potential Advancement of Clinical Trial Data Sharing through Lay Summaries of Results
Mindy Chen, Caitlin Lentz
Analysis of Medical Information Services Offered by Pharmaceutical Companies to Consumers
Tope Osiyemi, Kristina Bundra, Sonie Lama
An Analysis of Major Pharmaceutical Companies’ Twitter Interactions Pre- and Post-FDA Guidance on Social Media Platforms with Character Space Limitations
Sonie Lama, Tope Osiyemi, Khushbu Shah, Nikolas Borodin, Patrick Brooks, Kelsy Snyder
Identifying Best Practices to Improve the Advertising and Promotional Review Process
Alice Kim, Tara Pummer, Mark Rametta, Juan C. Nadal, Michael Toscani
Providing Feedback to Residents and Fellows (Oral Presentation, Tuesday 8:30am – 10:00am)
Evelyn Hermes-DeSantis, Emily Prince
Benchmarking the Use of Competency Based Knowledge Assessments in On Boarding Training for Medical Information Specialists
Sheena Gurai, Evelyn Hermes-Desantis
The PharmD/MD Program and the Value of a Dual Degree in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Khushbu Shah, Upasana Marwah, Kristina Bundra, John Colaizzi, Michael Toscani, Joseph Barone
Continues on Page 7
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 7
SCHOLARY ACTIVITIES (CONT’D)
APhA 2015 Annual Meeting & Exposition
San Diego, CA
March 27-30, 2015
Poster Title Authors
Evaluating the Correlation Between Insurer Provided Patient Support Programs (PSPs) and HEDIS Ratings
Meerat Oza, Mariam Abouhossein, Kyle Flannery, Michael Toscani
The Economic Viability of Orphan Drug Development: Strategies and Trends
Robert Klepacki, David Dalton, Ashley Brower, Michael Toscani
Identifying Trends in Enforcement Actions According to the FDA Office of Prescription Drug Promotion’s Risk Based Approach
Diane Javier, Jonathan Nguyen Diep, Michael Toscani
International Forum on Quality & Safety in Healthcare
London, England
April 21-24, 2014
Poster Title Authors
Patient Medication Education using Wikipedia (Med-WIKI Trial) Victoria Vazquez, William Jackson, Danielle Candelario
DI-WIKI William Jackson, Kelsy Snyder, Victoria Vazquez, Timothy Reilly
The Journey to Optimizing Outcomes:
Advances in Drug Delivery & Design
Cambridge, MA
March 12, 2015
Oral Presentation Title Authors
Pharmacokinetic considerations for nanoparticle-based therapy Ronak Savla
To view RPIF scholarly activities, click here:
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 8
The RPIF Teaching Committee, in partnership with Dr. Toscani and Dean Barone, are piloting a new
webinar series geared towards teaching the fundamentals of the pharmaceutical industry. This 13
part series will be hosted on the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Website in the Resource
Center: http://pharmafellows.rutgers.edu/resource_webinars.php. Thirteen of our Rutgers Fellows will
be presenting on individual topics ranging from “Early Stage Clinical Research” to “Leveraging
Business Analytics.” The webinar series will be a great resource for students or any person looking to
expand their knowledge of the pharmaceutical industry.
Click here to view the newly launched Webinar Series:
THE RPIF WEBINAR SERIES: INTRO TO PHARMA
Some of the “Webinar’s Stars” at last month’s PDD
Also - Check out our newly
launched Instagram
@RutgersFellow
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 9
The Roche-Genentech fellowship group is excited to
have finished recruiting for the 2015-2016 Fellowship
class. Next year, we will be welcoming 8 new fellows
between our South San Francisco, CA and New York, NY
sites. With this recent expansion, the Roche-Genentech
Fellowship program now consists of six functional
areas including Drug Regulatory Affairs, Clinical Science
(Roche), Clinical Operations, Drug Safety & Risk
Management, Medical Communications, and Medical
Affairs.
We look forward to hosting the 2nd Annual Spring
RPIF West Coast Alumni Networking Session on
Thursday, May 21, 2015 in San Francisco, CA. This
event serves to foster our fellowship family connections
and is open to all alumni and fellows. Details will be
communicated at a future date. The Rutgers Fellowship is
soaring ever higher, coast-to-coast!
OUTREACH COMMITTEES COMING TO A CONFERENCE OR UNIVERSITY NEAR YOU
Organizational Outreach
Committee Chairs: Nicholas Bires and
Mike Stamatis
SNPhA Regions I & II
2015 Conference February 20-22, 2015
SNPhA Regions III, IV,
and V 2015 Conference March 13-15, 2015
APhA 2015 Annual
Conference March 27-30, 2015
California Pharmacy
Exchange (CPhA) April 9-12, 2015
Texas Society of Health
System Pharmacists -
Annual Meeting
April 24-26, 2015
The Rutgers Fellowship Program will be
visiting the following conferences and
universities this Spring.
University Outreach - Spring Visits
Committee Chairs: Jennifer Chiu and Chris Isibor
Auburn University
MCPHS Rutgers
University University of
Houston
California Northstate University
Mercer University
Texas Southern University
University of Kentucky
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Notre Dame of Maryland University
Touro College University of
Missouri
Florida A&M University
Nova Southeastern
University UC San Diego
University of the Sciences
(Philadelphia)
Hampton University
Ohio State University
UNC - Chapel Hill
University of Washington
LECOM -Bradenton
Oregon State University
University at Buffalo
Western University
Fellows visited the Golden Gate Bridge
in San Francisco, CA
WEST COAST UPDATE By Jennifer Chiu, Pharm.D., 2nd year Regulatory Fellow at Genentech
The Fellowship Chronicles | March 2015 Page 10
Stuart Rhodes Newsletter Co-Chair [email protected]
Joe Fiore Newsletter Co-Chair
Stay Connected!
http://pharmafellows.rutgers.edu/
Phone: 848-445-6498
Institute for Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowships Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy Rutgers, The State University of NJ William Levine Hall 160 Frelinghuysen Road Piscataway, NJ 08854-8020
C O N T A C T T H E N E W S L E T T E R C O M M I T T E E
Want to get involved?
Contact us to write in the next edition of the
Fellowship Chronicles!
The RPIF website is one of the main communication
tools for many stakeholders, including fellows,
preceptors, partner companies, and pharmacy
students. The site has over 2,000 active users, of
which approximately 600 were 2014 fellowship
applicants.
T h e W e b s i t e
C o m m i t t e e i s
constantly making
updates and working
on collaborations with
other committees to
provide a seamless and interactive experience for
users by adding new functionalities to the site.
Together with the Teaching Committee, we’re excited
to launch the RPIF Webinar Series: Introduction to
Pharma.
Through this webinar, we hope to stimulate curiosity
amongst students and provide them with an
overview of what the pharmaceutical industry has to
offer for pharmacists. We are also looking forward
to continue developing an Alumni Portal along with
the Alumni Committee this year. Thanks to our
colleagues, there are many more ideas and
prospective projects we hope to get started on in
2015. Stay tuned!
WEBSITE COMMITTEE Max Nestor, Pharm.D. & Erikah Tran, Pharm.D.
Together with the
Teaching Committee,
we’re excited to launch
the RPIF Webinar Series:
Intro to Pharma.
TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE Patrick Lui, Pharm.D. & Jacob Reichert, Pharm.D.
The Technology Committee worked to assemble the
interview sign-up system at ASHP Midyear
At the 2014 Midyear Meeting, a record 484
candidates interviewed for fellowships. This was
made possible by a complete overhaul of the first-
round interview computer system from previous
years by the Technology Committee.
The new system is user friendly, fast, and easily
expandable to support additional laptops. The
Technology Committee also provided laptops for
each partner company to use, allowing companies
to see a constantly updating list of first round
interviews. These system upgrades, along with the
help of volunteer fellows, resulted in the completion
of first round signups in approximately 3 hours.
Additional projects for the committee for the rest of
the year will include the improvement of the west
coast PDD experience through innovative
technologies and further tweaks to the Midyear
system based on valuable feedback received.