Industry Research for PharmD?

[yungnaira]

Hello all,

I am attempting to break into clinical, specifically clinical development/research in the pharmaceutical industry. Does anyone have any suggestions as to career trajectory? What should I be looking for in terms of opportunities?

The Regulatory/Medical Affairs pathway seems very defined and this is not the same for Clinical. Any advice would be appreciated.

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[BeiBei90]

I have spoken with a handful of people who are now in clinical development areas of industry. It seems that they either have done a fellowship; or they were clinical pharmacists who worked in a clinical setting with experience working in the investigational drugs area of their hospital. They all said that once you are in a company a lateral move to a different area is doable, most I spoke with had different roles within the same company over a span of several years. Not sure if that is what you were asking, but it does seem like there are many routes.

 

[yungnaira]

I have spoken with a handful of people who are now in clinical development areas of industry. It seems that they either have done a fellowship; or they were clinical pharmacists who worked in a clinical setting with experience working in the investigational drugs area of their hospital. They all said that once you are in a company a lateral move to a different area is doable, most I spoke with had different roles within the same company over a span of several years. Not sure if that is what you were asking, but it does seem like there are many routes.

Thank you for the response. You are right, there are many ways to achieve this. Luckily, I landed at a reputable academic institution with ties to clinical development. I am hoping to use this thread as a possible source for future PharmDs who aspire to do clinical research.

 

[biotechrx]

In what ways is clinical development/research less defined than Regulatory Affairs or Medical Affairs? I do not agree with that assumption but would like to hear your thoughts

One method of breaking into Clin Dev is to work at a Contract Research Organization (CRO) - Parexel, Quintiles, PPD.

 

[OxToCA]

Doing a clinical pharmacology fellowship and/or industry-based MSc would allow you to get into clinical development. However, you should know that not all MSc's in clinical research are the same; for example, at UCSF their MSc students mostly go into academia TICR Students (ref. the 2 and 5 year follow ups on students career paths, attached) as opposed to mine where many go into industry. You'll also be competing with doctors for the most part and need an academic affiliation at the University you're applying to where you want to do an MSc/fellowship, although there are exceptions.