Novartis pharmaceuticals exchange program success

Novartis ANZ Chief Scientific Officer Dr Simon Fisher,
Novartis ANZ Clinical Research Medical Advisor Dr Mathew Cox,
Novartis ANZ National Commercial Manager Mr Brett Roberts,
Ms Paris Papagiannis, Mr Lachlan McMillan, Ms Kim O'Sullivan,
Dr Genevieve Pepin, Professor Eric Morand

Three PhD students and an early career researcher from the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health (SCS) and the Hudson Institute were competitively selected to participate in an exchange program at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in Sydney last month.

Supported by the Department of Medicine, the second annual researcher exchange program provided an opportunity for participants to gain insight into possible career options in the pharmaceutical industry after completing a PhD.

Professor Peter Ebeling AO, Head, Department of Medicine, SCS, said that the researcher exchange program is an example of the Monash University-Monash Health-Hudson Institute and Novartis memorandum of understanding in action.

“The program is highly competitive and uniformly popular with our research stars of the future, who greatly value the experience obtained from their detailed insights into the pharmaceutical industry,” Professor Ebeling said.

Dr Genevieve Pepin, Lachlan McMillan, Paris Papagianis and Kim O’Sullivan spent a week at Novartis in Sydney learning about their operations and becoming immersed in the Novartis culture to learn what drives a global leader in developing improved health care.

Dr Pepin, a research fellow in the Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases at the Hudson Institute is currently working at understanding the mechanism leading to inflammation in the context of autoimmune diseases such as Lupus erythematosus.

“I was thrilled to have been selected, and having completed an MBA, I was very excited to experience a snapshot of what it’s like working in a company like Novartis,” Dr Pepin said.

Bone and Muscle Research Group PhD student Lachlan McMillan, who is investigating the role that various forms of exercise play as a potential therapy for osteoporosis, was ‘absolutely ecstatic’ to have been selected. 

Lachlan said the program provided him with a much greater understanding of just how the pharmaceutical industry operates.

“I gained an insight into how research really becomes commercialised, moving from the bench-to-bedside and was also really excited to get a greater understanding of the business development pipeline, large scale commercial operations, and how market leaders such as Novartis liaise with clinicians to gain insight into addressable unmet clinical needs,” Lachlan said. 

Paris Papagianis is a PhD student in the Perinatal Inflammation Research Group, in the Ritchie Centre, focusing on infection before birth and how this can impact postnatal life, in particular the lungs.

“I felt very fortunate to have been selected and enjoyed exploring the commercial aspect of transdisciplinary research,” Paris said.

“I now better understand the potential for collaboration between basic science research and pharmaceutical drug development.”

Centre for Inflammatory Diseases staff member Kim O’Sullivan, who recently submitted her PhD  investigating potential therapeutic targets in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis (AAV), said she felt very grateful to have been offered the exchange program opportunity.

“It’s a rare opportunity to see inside the pharmaceutical industry, and as my own research involves the development of new treatment strategies, it was invaluable being able to observe how a pharmaceutical company develops a new drug from the research and development stage through the product pipeline to the eventual launch of a new treatment,” Kim said.

Mr Brett Roberts MoU project lead at Novartis said the bidirectional learning through the exchange provides accelerated learning opportunities for both organisations.

“We are pleased to be able to share with the students the genuine passion, rigour and determination Novartis associates have to re-imagine medicine and improve the lives of patients,” Mr Roberts said.