LEAP supported me through a week and a half long work shadowing experience at Roche. I didn’t know much about the pharma industry but saw it as a viable but somewhat mysterious career option for me – being a Natsci. Not only has this experience given me a greater appreciation for the workings of the pharmaceutical industry, but it has inspired me to apply for a graduate position there.
Support from LEAP began with getting me in contact with Kath, the lead of the medical information team at Roche. After telling her a little bit about me and what my plans were for the future (a very short conversation then!) she explained that Roche would be happy to offer me a work shadowing experience for a week and a half. We then had a couple of further meetings ironing out what this experience would entail – asking me if there were any particular fields I wanted to learn more about – before then going into the Roche office in Welwyn Garden City to begin my time there.
From the moment I arrived, the work culture was apparent: friendly and professional. Security pointed me in the right direction and I headed to reception where I was greeted by warm welcomes. I checked in and soon was greeted by Kath. We spoke about expectations of me for the experience – from confidentiality agreements to dress code – before introducing me to members of her team. This kind of support was one of the most valuable things I gained from the experience as I was able to form some meaningful connections which helped me to learn about the industry from a personal perspective. Kath then led me to meet a member of the marketing team involved in a specific lung cancer product.
Attending a lung cycle meeting – a meeting occurring perhaps once of twice a year – for 3 days, to see the types of discussions and strategies employed by marketing, sales and medical teams in order to increase product uptake was intriguing. I realised that NHS services are a huge factor in determining drug uptake – a fact that seems obvious now – when listening to talks from healthcare professionals. These were effectively lectures that took a look behind the curtain of the UK healthcare system, as well as explaining how consultants determine what treatment options to pursue. I found this aspect of working at Roche appealing because I noticed that everyone in the room was learning something – this was a career that is consistently about learning and development.
The timing of this lung cycle meeting, being at the beginning of my experience, was perfect as it gave me a real overview of what goes on behind the scenes for a product post-marketing. I learnt more about the work culture during these meetings too, which I think will be invaluable knowledge when applying for roles in the future.
Days 3 and 4 of my experience were arguably the most rewarding. I shadowed the ever-supportive medical information team as they taught me what they did in the day-to-day. This followed on perfectly from the lung cycle meeting as I first learnt strategies used to get the product used by health care professionals, and now I was learning about the enquiries said professionals have about the product. Team members gave me practice cases to do, and I really felt like I was part of the team. Another reason why this experience was so brilliant was that there was a new starter in this team, so I was able to shadow her and see the type of support offered to new recruits – both pastoral support and support to perform in the role effectively. This spoke once again to the work culture at Roche.
Days 5 and 6 were spent in various meetings with members of the Quality team. First, an overview of what Quality does from the section lead, and then meetings with the majority of the team members about what their specific function was. This followed on logically from medical information. One specific query in medical information was about temperature excursions and whether a product can be used if it has been stored outside its designated temperature range; in quality I learnt how we track the temperature of products on a supply chain level. I realised how tightly regulated each stage of production is and equally how many people it requires to keep systems functioning.
Days 7 and 8 were more varied, as I met with members of the medical clinical operations section. I learnt about their role in coordinating clinical trials (pre-marketing) as well as obtaining real world evidence in the post-marketing phase. This linked to Early Access to Medicine schemes which I learnt about too, and I realised how rewarding certain roles in the pharmaceutical industry can be – you have the opportunity to grant access on an individual basis to patients who have no other options. You get to be close to your work and see first-hand how you are making a difference.
I rounded off the experience by meeting with Kath. We spoke about the experience overall – the positives and negatives – and I made it clear that my time spent at Roche was more than worthwhile. It struck me how closely a career in this industry would align with values I hold, such as the need to be constantly learning, to have varied work day-to-day, and to do something that makes an impact. Without LEAP, this experience would not have been possible as I simply did not have the network to make this happen by myself. I am now more certain than ever about what I want to do next.
