4th Annual Biopharmaceutical Case Competition

On Friday, November 20, the 4th Annual Biopharmaceutical Case Competition took place at Rutgers Business School, Newark. The event was sponsored by the Rutgers Pharmaceutical Management Program and teams from nine different schools competed in the case competition. Students spent a week preparing a biosimilar defense plan for the drug Humira, and then presented their strategies to judges from gold level sponsoring companies Bayer, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Herspiegel Consulting and Campbell Alliance.  In addition to participating in the case competition, students were able to attend a panel discussion, moderated by Dean Sharon Lydon, about careers in the Pharmaceutical Industry. The event concluded with a cocktail session where students, guests and sponsors were able to network and celebrate the competition. 

2015 Case Competition Participants!

Panel Discussion

Panel Moderator Sharon Lydon

Judges from Herspiegel Consulting, Bayer and Campbell Alliance

The event was extra special for Rutgers Business School as the Rutgers Team composed of Priya Kar, James Ma, Irene Mac, Kinshuk Saxena and Aneesh Vase placed 2nd!!!! 

The team also learned a lot from the experience and team member Irene Mac states "Participating in the case competition was a great experience. It made me realize how much I have learned as a second year MBA student, especially from the pharmaceutical management curriculum. Because of how current and applicable the subject matter of the case was, I will be able to use the strategies we developed in my future endeavors working in the pharmaceutical industry.”

Congrats to the Rutgers team and all the other participating teams:

Eli Broad College of Business: Michigan State University

Duke University Fuqua School of Business

MIT Sloan School of Management

Boston University Questrom School of Business

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School 

The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania  

Yale School of Management 

Georgetown McDonough School of Business

The judges recognized the following:

1st Place - Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business

2nd Place - Rutgers Business School 

3rd Place - Yale School of Management

Honorable Mention - Georgetown McDonough School of Business

Best Presenter - Brent Schneider, Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business

A special thanks goes out to Professor Hassan, Program Manager Anabel Damacela, and Student Organizers Mike Koskulics and Jen Abalajon!!

Novartis Panel Discussion

In business, Procurement is the act of buying the goods and services necessary to keep a company operational. While it may seem simple in theory, it’s a complex field that requires strategic and analytical thinking in conjunction with softer skills such as emotional intelligence and communication.

Rupa Banerjee delivering introductory remarks

On Thursday, November 5^th, Rutgers Business School hosted a panel discussion where executives from Novartis shared stories from their careers in Procurement. Michael Brueckner (US Head of Procurement), Michael McKenna (US Head of Corporate Services Procurement), AnnMarieMoran (US Head, Marketing and Sales Procurement), Thomas Michaels (US Head, Real Estate and Facilities Procurement), Caitlin Mosco (Sourcing Manager, Global Procurement), and Todd Bittiger (Global Supplier Performance and Innovation Manager) were all in attendance. Rupa Banerjee, Co-President of the Management Consulting Club, kicked off the event by welcoming all the panelists and attendees. Professor Eric Larson then spoke about how the RBS Supply ChainManagement program has grown, and that Rutgers is now one of the top schools in the country for students interested in Supply Chain. Next, Shakun Wattal, Co-President of the Supply Chain Student Initiative, introduced each of the panelists and gave a brief description of their role at Novartis.

Novartis Panel Discussion

The panel then kicked off with a video where the Novartis CEO, Joseph Jimenez, talks about the mission of Novartis and the patients they serve. It was very clear that all of the work Novartis does is centered on allowing patients to overcome their respective diseases and live a normal life. Mr. Jimenez  explained, “I have arrived at a very simple concept: normal is extraordinary. There is nothing more extraordinary than a normal life." Mike Koskulics, Co-President of the Pharmaceutical Management Club, served as the panel moderator and segued into the discussion by asking the panelists what inspired them to get to the point in their careers they are at today. All of the panelists came from different backgrounds, but it was clear they all have a passion for Procurement and the effect it can have on an organization like Novartis. Mr. Brueckner talked about how he wanted to work in Procurement because it gives you a broad view of the company and the business. Mr. McKenna comes from an academic background and described how the world of academia shaped his professional career in Procurement. Mr. Michaels noted that Procurement is all about saving money and at Novartis, every dollar he is able to save can go developing new drugs or helping patients pay for their medication. Mr. Bittiger explained how procurement also affects the top line in a business and that is what inspires him. If he is able to do his job well and form strategic partnerships with top suppliers, he can make Novartis their client of choice and this ensures that Novartis’s products are brought to market in the most efficient and successful way possible.

The next topic of discussion focused on how students can be successful in Novartis without a strong Pharmaceutical background. Ms. Moran assured students that it’s OK to come to Novartis without a Pharmaceutical background. Instead of having broad knowledge about the industry, having skills essential to the function of Procurement is more important. Ms. Mosco elaborated by saying skills like being able to develop relationships and effectively communicate are the most important to her career.

Mike then opened up the panel to a general Q&A and the panelists covered topics such as innovation and the changing landscape of Procurement.  The event concluded with closing remarks from the Chair of the Supply Chain Management Program, Professor Rosa Oppenheim. It was an informative and engaging event that the students benefited from and enjoyed. Thank you to Rupa, Shakun, Michael and the countless other people involved who made this event such a success! And a special thanks to the panelists for taking time out of their busy schedules to come to RBS. We hope you’ll return again soon!

Now Accepting Applications for the 4th Annual Rutgers Biopharmaceutical Case Competition

The Rutgers Pharmaceutical Management Club is now accepting applications for the 4th Annual Biopharmaceutical Case Competition!!

The Biopharma MBA Case Competition takes place each November and is organized by the Blanche and Irwin Lerner Center for the Study of Pharmaceutical Management Issues. Please join us as teams from top MBA programs from around the country compete to solve real world pharmaceutical industry challenges.

Admitted teams will gain an opportunity to network with industry executives from up to eight prominent companies. The competition also allows students to demonstrate subject matter competencies in front of executives. Finally, resumes along with competitor photos will be distributed to sponsoring companies (pending approval from company representatives). Don't miss out on this unique opportunity!

Click here to register and read more about competition. The application deadline is October 10th! 

Any questions or concerns can be sent to rutgers.pharmaclub@gmail.com. 

Summer Internship Series: Vanessa, Joseph and Swathi

CPG, IT, Pharma - we've got it all this week! Thank you Vanessa Duvert, Joseph Jao and Swathi Rangan for sharing your internship experiences with us! 

Vanessa, concentrating in Marketing and Marketing Research Insights & Analytics, is working at Campbell Soup Company this summer...

"I was super excited to find out that I was assigned to the Chunky Soup brand this summer. It's a beloved brand that has a unique position in the enterprise. As an Associate Brand Manager Intern, it's a particularly exciting time to be on board. This year, the marketing internship program was revamped to provide a more robust experience. During the first two weeks of the internship we were spilt into two groups of five. One group worked on a recommendation plan to advise the company on corporate transparency efforts. My group worked on advising the company on how to capture millennial consumers. After presenting to the marketing leadership team We each moved on to our brand assignments. My project is to develop a marketing strategy for Chunky to create value and differentiation in the market. To do this I'm considering positioning and promotional tactics to drive demand. It's been a great experience and I look forward to presenting in the next 2 weeks. 

Although the office is in Camden, I've been living in Philadelphia. There's been so many fun activities planned for the intern class like Phillies games, consumer test kitchens, and bowling downtown. What I've enjoyed most are the weekly coffee chats with senior leaders including our president, CMO and several VPs. The level of exposure is outstanding and it's made for a great summer."

Joseph is a Supply Chain Management student spending his summer working in Boise, ID...

"This summer I am interning at Micron Technology, which is the last and only memory chip maker in the US. Micron provides comprehensive memory solutions in four major applications which are PC, mobile device, enterprise storage, and automotive. The company, founded in 1978, is based in Boise, ID and has global operations with manufacturing sites in the US and Asia.

I am working in the mobile business unit, which is the fastest growing segment in the company, as a Product Line Management Intern. One month before starting my internship, my supervisor took on a new role called Program Manager, and is responsible for executing and facilitating cross-functional team efforts to ensure smooth delivery of projects through a product life cycle. It is a new function area in the new organization. The selected projects are critical to the company’s growth and security of market share. So far, I have been working with my manager to get the alignment with all the stakeholders that are responsible for different function areas like marketing, R&D, manufacturing, supply chain management, etc. My job requires me to hold strong product knowledge, process familiarity and good communication skills to succeed. Since Micron has been expanding its operations through acquisition, we need to work with different geographical locations like Asia and Europe. I find it challenging, but very exciting to participate in the process as the program manager plays a key role in the success of the projects. The work culture in the company is good, I feel very comfortable working with my team. People in the company do not treat you differently because you are just an intern. People are so respectful of each other, and this is what the company appreciates and I like it very much.

Micron recruits most of the interns in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science from schools on the West Coast and in the Midwest. As a MBA student from New Jersey, I feel like I am a rare species in the intern groups. But it is very nice to hang out with those engineers after work hours and on the weekends, discovering Boise and its proximity. I am close to some interns who are living in the same complex with me and we have done some fun outdoor activities like mountain hiking and river rafting together in Boise. I still have six weeks to finish my internship and have been enjoying everything here so far. I think Boise is an underrated city in the US and I would love to come back for work!"   

Swathi is pursuing dual concentrations in Pharmaceutical Management and Marketing, as well as an MS in Biomedical Sciences...

"This summer I've been fortunate enough to intern with the US Marketing group at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a (insert surprised reaction here) diagnostics firm based out of Raritan, New Jersey.  Ortho Clinical was initially a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, but mid-last year was acquired by The Carlyle Group- a private equity firm.  This divestiture has actually resulted in immense growth for the company, as it now functions as a stand-alone global firm that is able to specialize on certain product lines.

One of the greatest advantages I've had during this experience was in essence taking over a marketing role rather than an internship- while I do have one major 'intern project' within our clinical chemistry line, I get placed on other tasks as they rise in importance.  I've learned about pricing promotions, marketing communications, developing customer facing content and a vast majority of other marketing functions.  This has been accomplished all while interacting with sales teams, executives, engineers, and scientists proving to be a truly cross functional role.  Another huge benefit is that I've been able to travel to multiple locations- my internship actually started with a week in LA for a product launch within our transfusion medicine line.  I'm currently in Rochester this week for a series of meetings, and next week I will be off to Atlanta for the annual AACC conference (American Association of Clinical Chemistry), which is one of our most important events for the year. 

Since I'm still in New Jersey, I've been able to see some of our Rutgers MBA folk on occasion, and have been heading out to NYC on the weekends.  Next weekend I will actually be traveling out to Chicago for some fun (and I'll be able to meet up with some business school people as well)!  While it will be nice to get out of Jersey for a weekend, my internship has been (and I am certain, will continue to be) a great experience over the three month duration, and I'm excited to see the long term results of my direct work."

That's all for now! I know the summer is almost coming to a close and many people are finishing up the last few weeks of their internships, but have no fear! We'll be back next week to hear from more members of the Class of 2016!

Summer Internship Series: Kamali, Kinshuk and Bryce

It's Friday!!!! Kamali Thompson, Kinshuk Saxena and Bryce Kanter are talking about their internship experiences today...

Kamali is a dual MBA/MD student at Rutgers Business School and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School...

"This summer I am fortunate to work in one of my favorite places, New York City. Having explored many areas of the city, I am now able to familiarize myself with Hell’s Kitchen, the location of the Medscape office. At Medscape, a subsidiary of WebMD, I am interning with the Project Coordination team. 

One of Medscape’s main features is CME (Continuing Medical Education), a requirement for healthcare professionals to ensure they are learning about developing areas in their field. I have been given several responsibilities to complete for the duration of my internship. My purpose on the project coordination team is to manage the CME activities and ensure everything is in order for the project to move from one step to another. During my 5^th week in the internship, I began a retrospective study in collaboration with the product management team. In the study, I am examining correlations between the activities Medscape offers and preference of these activities among specific age groups of physician completers to help Medscape increase efficiency in teaching.

Working at Medscape has been the perfect opportunity to combine my medical and business backgrounds. In the rare moments I have downtime, I watch Medscape lectures to recollect information I learned in medical school. Every Wednesday, the interns have a lunch & learn with one of the leaders of WebMD or Medscape to gain a better understanding of each department’s role. The best part of the lunch & learn is going to the downtown WebMD office, which is in the same building as Nike and Google!

After the completion of my internship, I have the pleasure of attending 3 weddings and a music festival almost every weekend! In the meantime, if anyone wants to visit a rooftop lounge after work in NYC you know who to call!"

Kinshuk is spending his summer in East Hanover, NJ...

"They say a picture is worth a thousand words and perhaps this one says it all. I feel privileged to be interning for a company with a true passion for transforming people’s lives. With over $47B in global revenue, Novartis is the world’s largest pharma major. I am currently interning at the company’s US Headquarters in East Hanover, NJ.

One of my projects have been centered around strategizing a model for selection of multi-media production agencies that would help us carry out product launches for key novel brands at Novartis. This involves interacting with supplier partners, evaluating their pitch and finally awarding the business to a select few based on a predefined set of holistic criterion. This role excites me because it requires a delicate balance of analytical skills, relationship development and of course consensus building. My other project is to create alignment around the competencies of more than 200 marketing vendors within the Market Access, Insights and Analytics category with a total spend of over $200 M.

Outside of work, I had a chance to volunteer for a walk in support of Cystic Fibrosis research (see pic below). The fundraiser helped collect around a million dollars in funds for research to seek a more effective cure for Cystic Fibrosis, a disease which affects thousands of patients worldwide. In addition, we recently toured a cutting edge manufacturing facility for CTL019, a drug that promises to cure Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, ALL, a type of cancer (top pic). In a nutshell, my second stint with Novartis has been a deeply gratifying and enriching experience."

Bryce is studying Pharmaceutical Marketing and Management at RBS, while simultaneously earning his MS in Biomedical Sciences at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School...

"This summer I am interning with the US Neurology Brand Team at Bayer HealthCare in Whippany, NJ. The main project I’m working on is to strengthen the claims and layout of the website for Bayer’s multiple sclerosis medication, Betaseron.  I have also been assisting with the vendor transition for Betaseron’s nursing support service, ensuring all previous business practices are maintained and improved where possible during the migration from old to new vendor.

So far it has been a great summer. Below is a list of my top 10 summer internship highlights:

1. Seeing firsthand how a pharmaceutical marketing team functions and makes decisions

 

2. Networking: I met a couple people who have given me meaningful advice as I move forward in my career

3. Working on a project where in a couple months I will be able to log onto the website for Betaseron and see changes that were the result of my recommendations

4.  Opportunity to go on a ride-a-long in the field

5. Playing basketball every Tuesday after work

6. Discounted Starbucks coffee shop on the first floor

7. Eating at the Bayer café twice a day for breakfast and lunch: they got everything from fresh fruit, baked goods, and made-to-order omelets in the morning to make-your-own sandwiches and Mongolian grill for lunch

8. All you can eat Flintstones vitamins

9. Receiving a paycheck every two weeks: It is nice to purchase a beer after work with real money, not my student loan

10. No School/Homework/Papers/Tests: Freak that stuff"

Thanks Kamali, Kinshuk and Bryce for contributing! Tune in next week for more updates!