A Visit to Celgene, A Biopharmaceutical Company: Student Perspectives and Takeaways
- Peter S. Lee
- Mar 20, 2018
- 3 min read
A Visit to Celgene, A Biopharmaceutical Company: Student Perspectives and Takeaways
March 19th, 2018
20 students from the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers University visited Celgene to learn more about the roles pharmacists play in industry. The visit began with a nice lunch provided by Celgene to give students a taste of corporate life.
The Rutgers Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) chapter diplomat, Dr. Alison Handler gave opening remarks and explained that the agenda would follow a Q&A format to maximize student participation. This was then followed by a presentation by Mr. Michael McCarthy (Director, Channel Marketing) who gave an overview of his role in channel marketing and left students with a positive impression of Celgene’s culture. McCarthy said that in his many years of working in the industry that no other company had put such an emphasis on culture than Celgene had, which revolves around the patient and delivering innovative medicines to address high unmet needs.
Subsequently, there was a panel discussion that focused on explaining various roles in market access. The panelists included: Dr. Donna Florio (Director, North Market Access), Dr. Will Kim (Associate Director, Channel Marketing), Dr. Christina Baeta (Associate Director, Field HEOR), Dr. Scott Lukasek (National Account Executive), and Dr. Alison Handler (Senior Market Access Executive). Dr. Christina Baeta talked about how she got into the pharmaceutical industry having started out in retail at Walgreens. She said that what ultimately led her into the industry was her curiosity and passion for a dynamic work environment to positively impact patient lives with innovative medicines. Dr. Christina Baeta also stressed the importance of leveraging professional networks to seek out opportunities: “All your professors from school, your fellow classmates, your rotation preceptors are part of your network. And it’s important to keep in touch”. Students learned that the current pharmaceutical industry standard for networking is LinkedIn.
The agenda then transitioned to the Celgene fellowships offered by the largest pharmaceutical fellowship organization in the U.S, the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Industry Fellowship (RPIF). This section was covered by Dr. Brian Ung (Fellow, Health Economics and Outcomes Research). Dr. Ung stressed that despite the increasingly competitive nature of the fellowship, three factors were decisive in successive applicants: internships, research, and leadership experiences. Dr. Ung also praised the company culture as he claimed that all Celgene Fellows are offered a full-time position upon completion of the fellowship to show that Celgene really values the breadth of expertise of the pharmacist. Furthermore, dr. Ung said that he was treated as an equal member of the team rather than as an intern.
The next topic was on the Celgene Patient Services led by Dr. Josephine Young (Senior Specialist/Patient Support). She explained that one of her main responsibility was to speak with patients who needed financial assistance to afford Celgene medications. The Celgene site visit was concluded with a talk led by Mr. Dan VanHorn (Director, Field Reimbursement Team). He highlighted the importance of having a Pharm.D. and its advantage in the pharmaceutical industry, but warned that it’s how one takes advantage of the degree that truly matters.
Altogether, students remarked that it was the most informative site visit thus far. The reason students felt that the Celgene site visit was unique was its focus on market access and managed care, areas that were particularly relevant to AMCP.
Peter S. Lee is a student at Rutgers University, and is anticipated to graduate with a doctorate in Pharmacy in 2021. Peter is the Director of Site Visits & Membership for Rutgers AMCP Student Chapter.
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