Stronger industry-academia ties revealed in new ABPI report
The number of apprenticeships offered by pharmaceutical companies doubled in the last two years, according to a new report.
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) found collaboration in this area between pharma and academic institutions - along with charities and the NHS - is at an all time high.
As a consequence of this the trade body said there had been a 42% increase in undergraduate placements between December 2013 and December 2015.
Over 550 PhD students are also being supported by pharma companies, with the University of Strathclyde holding the top spot in 2015 at 75 PhD students securing industry partnerships - almost double that of runner-up University College London, with 42 collaborative students.
Loughborough University currently has the highest number of overall undergraduate industry placements, while the University of Bath has the highest number of students on R&D pharma apprenticeships.
The ABPI’s report also highlights the shift towards long-term open partnerships in the pharma industry.
These see companies share expertise, resources and insights to boost the successful development of medicines and therapies, while also supplying new graduates with the experience they need for future employment.
Malcolm Skingle, chair of the ABPI Academic Liason Expert Network, said: “Collaborations are important for industry, institutions and individuals. By working together ideas and expertise are able to flow and result in an array of benefits for all those involved.
“For companies, partnerships could support more efficient and successful drug development, reduce risk associated with investing in innovative research, or provide greater access to talented graduates.
“For academics, partnerships can increase access to specialist data and equipment, increased job prospects, and a greater understanding of real-world and industrial challenges.”
SÃO PAULO, Brazil, Jun. 28 /CSRwire/ - Astellas Farma Brasil (AFB) has placed #3 among the best companies to work for in the Brazilian pharmaceutical industry, according to the Great Place to Work® Institute’s latest rankings. The results are based on a survey of hundreds of pharmaceutical industry employees across Brazil.
In 2015, AFB was honored by the Great Place to Work Institute as the number one place to work in the pharmaceutical industry and one of the top 20 small- to medium-sized companies to work for across all industries. AFB has increased its workforce by more than 30 percent in Brazil this past year driven by a strong culture based on the “The Astellas Way” – a philosophy that emphasizes a commitment to patients, ownership, results, openness and integrity.
AFB also recognizes the importance of balance between personal and professional life, and offers a number of programs to enhance quality of life for employees, including flexible hours. Recently, AFB was named one of the top scoring healthcare companies in IMS Health’s Development Index, which recognizes ethical pharmaceutical and hospital organizations.
“At Astellas, we believe that our culture is our competitive advantage,” said Fatima Neri, director of Human Resources, AFB. “Our passion, sense of purpose and respect for each other inspires bold performance and helps us retain and recruit the best employees.”
About Astellas Farma Brasil
Astellas Farma Brasil, an affiliate of Astellas Pharma Inc located in Tokyo, Japan, is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. Astellas Farma Brasil focuses on Urology, Oncology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases as prioritized therapeutic areas. Astellas is on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. For more information on Astellas Farma Brasil, please visit: http://www.astellasfarma.com.br.
We are considered a young nations as around 5 million-plus youngsters graduate from various educational institutions annually. Most of them start looking for jobs shortly before and immediately after graduation. While only 5 per cent of graduates come from the top schools. Take a quick check on the job choices made by the other 95 per cent.
The pharma industry
The role of medical representatives is preferred in the pharma industry. When we visit clinics or hospitals, we often find people holding huge bags with samples of medicines. They are called medical representatives and are hired by pharmaceutical companies to market their products.
According to Indian regulations, most medicines (called prescription drugs) cannot be bought by a patient without a doctor’s prescriptions from a chemist shop. Medical representatives thus act like a link between pharma companies and doctors so that the company’s drugs can be prescribed. They visit healthcare professionals on a one-to-one basis and give presentations to them. They also give samples of some medicines.
The insurance industry
In the insurance industry, development officers is a very common career option for graduates — insurance agents are not employees of the insurance company and require continuous supervision, encouragement, and support. The insurance company employee who manages a group of Agents is called a development officer (by LIC, India’s largest life insurance company), or unit manager or agency manager (by private insurance companies).
Administrative Officers (AO) are assigned to specific departments like marketing, underwriting, claims, legal, depending on the requirement. They verify the risk proposal and underwrite if need be. They delegate work to assistants within the team and oversee their performance.
Government jobs Right on the top of the list are the government jobs. As per a recent report by Digital Classifieds in India 2020, there is a 48 per cent rise from last year in the number of people seeking government jobs.
The civil service of the Central Government is organised into four groups, viz. Group `A’ (which includes all-India Service) Group `B’, Group `C’ and Group `D’. Such classification broadly corresponds to the rank, status and the degree of the level of responsibility attached to the posts.
Group `A’ posts carry higher administrative and executive responsibilities and include senior management positions in the ministries/departments and field organisations. The middle and junior levels of Group `A’ alongwith Group `B’ constitute middle management.
Group `C’ posts perform supervisory as well as operative tasks and render clerical assistances in ministries and field organisations. Group `D’ posts are meant for carrying out routine duties.
The first job in the government category is the State Service Commission (SSC) jobs. The second in the list is Public Sector Bank (PSU) Probationary Officer jobs. The third preference will be a job in the railways. The private sector – IT Industry
In the private sector, the number one job preferred by graduates is in the IT industry. Today, the dream of every graduate is to get a job in the IT industry because of the excellent pay and global HR practices. India is the world’s largest sourcing destination for the IT industry, accounting for approximately 67 per cent of the $124–130-billion market. The industry employs about a 10-million workforce.
Testing jobs are the most attractive career option for a B Sc graduates. A quality assurance testing engineer is responsible for effective testing of software systems to identify any issues and bugs that need to be rectified. Your work will involve mostly testing for functionality. ‘Functionality testing’ in the software industry, means testing the behaviour of a software feature under various situations (called ‘use cases’). You will need to help the programmer debug software by sharing your test results. It is a highly technical and important role.
If you are a BCA or someone with BSc Computer Science degree, there is also an interesting role in Remote Infrastructure Engineer. The remote infrastructure engineer/executive is responsible for efficient handling of all remote access systems of a particular company, as well as planning and designing remote access infrastructure. A good example is the bank ATM which is monitored remotely.
WuXi AppTec, a leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device technology platform company, has unveiled new 150,000 square foot biomanufacturing facility in an event attended by Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Mike Stack and WuXi AppTec chairman and chief executive officer, Dr. Ge Li.
The new facility is WuXi AppTec’s third facility in the Philadelphia Navy Yard. When fully configured, the facility could employ an additional 200 manufacturing and support staff.
“The expansion by WuXi AppTec continues the growth of the Philadelphia Navy Yard as a hub for biotechnology and cell and gene therapy. It means workers in STEM fields will have more employment opportunities here. The commitment shown by a global pharmaceutical and biomanufacturing firms such as WuXi also demonstrates that Philadelphia and Pennsylvania are good places for science and technology firms to do business. We look forward to working with WuXi on future expansions.” said Lieutenant Governor Mike Stack. how to be a pharmaceutical sales rep
This facility is designed for cell therapy products that utilize viral vectors such as chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CAR T cell) therapies. In addition, the facility will permit expansion of viral vector manufacturing to support gene therapy clinical and commercial programs and will permit large scale production in 2,000L single-use bioreactors. The new facility will supplement WuXi's existing 20,000-square-foot cGMP cell therapy manufacturing facility, as well as a 50,000-square-foot facility for the commercial manufacturing of allogeneic and autologous cell-based therapeutics. WuXi's 220,000 square feet of total manufacturing capacity in the US expands its ability to be a single-source for process development, clinical and commercial cGMP manufacturing, and analytical testing to support the rapidly growing cellular therapeutic and gene therapy industry's unique requirements.
"Advanced therapies like CAR T-cells and gene therapy vectors offer significant new therapeutic options for cancer patients and those suffering from crippling genetic diseases.
We are pleased to be the forefront of this field, providing our partners with cutting-edge cGMP manufacturing capabilities and capacities," said Dr. Ge Li, Chairman and CEO of WuXi AppTec.
“We are proud to be an integral part of the biotech hub in the Navy Yard and an important center for the manufacturing of cell and gene therapies here in Philadelphia. With the capacity and capabilities we now have available, we can provide the integrated clinical and commercial manufacturing solutions needed by our cell and gene therapy customers,” said Felix Hsu, senior vice president of WuXi AppTec’s US Business Unit.