Chart Your Path: Insight from an Accomplished Drug Development Expert

Gil Price – a physician who has worked with some of the largest pharmaceutical companies and has built two companies himself – has critical guidance for individuals charting their career path:

"The best advice I can give to anyone starting out in the life sciences industry, or any industry, is that you must be able to communicate effectively across multiple lines of management. You have to be able to speak to the CEO as well as the janitor. You need to be able to motivate individuals who have zero stake in your success, and get them to perform on your behalf. If you can’t do that, you will not be successful in any line of work."

While education, technical expertise and work style are all vital in a career path, the lack of ability to communicate with co-workers, management, patients, personnel, and/or the public, can leave your career growth unexpectedly stunted.

When involved in clinical trials, a number of critical people are involved on the path to drug development. Not only might there be communication issues, but another major challenge is drug supply, specifically if the drug is hard to manufacture. This means you will need the manufacturing group to collaborate with you on the way to getting the drug produced.

Background and Training Shapes Your Career’s Success

Communication is key, and so is training. Price received training in Big Pharma early in his career. When he was starting out, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) presented him with an enticing offer to come on board. At GSK, the executive who hired Gil was also a magnificent mentor. Price was placed into a variety of positions that covered all aspects of drug development, manufacturing, basic sciences and regulatory, a type of training that may be difficult to find in a smaller biotech company, often only existing in large pharmaceutical companies. He calls this time of his career "an 11-½ year internship."

After leaving GSK, Price went to work at Quintiles as executive vice president, with an assurance from the CEO to work more with public markets. He worked with clinical trials for four years and, during this time, Quintiles expanded and acquired several companies in Europe. A former colleague from GSK then called him about an opportunity at MedImmune.

Due to his experience at GSK, Price was given the tremendous opportunity to work on multiple product launches and new invitations for old products. He worked on medical affairs in an umbrella department that was largely responsible for all post-marketing activities involved in commercial drug development, post-marketing pharmacovigilance, post-marketing clinical studies, drug information and publication responsibilities.

After MedImmune is when Price carved out his entrepreneurial career. First, he started his own biotechnology company. He pulled a team together and raised money, then 26 months later, sold the company to a private group on the west coast. Next, he started Drug Safety Solutions, for which he is currently owner, providing services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies for all aspects of pharmacovigilance.

Insight and Advice to Further Your Career Path

Price has advice for future entrepreneurs: "If you ever want to be entrepreneurial, being part of a small biotechnology company is an important experience to have."

Although barriers are in every career, they are expected, and will vary with each position. A major barrier in this industry, says Price, may be that the world can throw you a curveball: "All of a sudden, you are basing decisions on the idea that a drug is going to work. Sometimes a drug just doesn't work, even if you perform everything appropriately. Of course you try to discover this as early as possible so you can 'kill' a failing drug quickly. By that time, however, you’ve spent millions of dollars, only to see it go up in flames."

What does Price recommend to someone trying to figure out what next steps to take to chart his/her path?

"It is important to reach out to colleagues who have been successful. Communicate with others who fall under your umbrella of interest so that you can understand what a proper path looks like."

There are many individuals, he says, who have limited interaction with the broader community in conferences, such as Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) meetings. Many focus on meetings in their particular therapeutic area, such as a cardiology conference. However, staying so narrowly focused eliminates the individual from networking with other drug development physicians and professionals.

While you can never over-expand your network, working in the life sciences industry has significant benefits over many other career paths:

"What this path allows you to do is to potentially impact the health of millions. Your career path has the aspect of being intellectually stimulating and cutting edge where you can affect the lives and well being of thousands of patients."

Let Advanced Clinical keep you on track: advance your path to a rewarding career.

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