Monday, February 28, 2011

5 ways to learn about careers in the pharmaceutical industry

Last night, we spoke with Dr. Steven Peskin about physician careers in the pharmaceutical industry. On March 13, we're going to continue that conversation, so I hope you'll join us (more details here).

If you don't currently work in the pharmaceutical industry, how do you get more familiar with the business issues that surround the pharma industry? Here are a few basic things you can do to get started:

1. Get familiar with the PhRMA Code.

2. Read business articles that are about the pharmaceutical industry. I would recommend the following trade journals and magazines:
3. Subscribe to pharmaceutical newsletters and stay current on the issues that surround drug development, clinical research, marketing, CROs, drug safety, managed markets, reimbursement, patient education, etc. This way, you'll be familiar with the key issues that are impacting the pharma industry.


4. Get familiar with the laws and the federal regulatory guidelines that affect the pharmaceutical industry. Need some examples? ICH guidelines, Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising, and Communications (DDMAC), Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, and more. 

5. Finally, it may be helpful to focus on specific therapeutic areas. You don't have to be a specialist or a subspecialist to focus on a specific area. For instance, some people who have a background in family or internal medicine may choose to focus on oncology, cardiology, or rheumatology.

Make sure to join us on March 13 as we continue our conversation about physician careers in the pharmaceutical industry (more details here).

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