Medical Advisor

Why did you choose to join the pharmaceutical industry?

Hi I'm Gary Solomons and I work at Boehringer Ingelheim. I'm a GP by training and I joined the pharmaceutical industry approximately 18 months ago. I moved into the industry to find out more about what is involved within a pharmaceutical company and I was keen to learn a bit more about drug development, how the commercial aspect of business works because my only previous experience of the pharmaceutical industry was meeting medical representatives.

What is your role and what are your responsibilities?

So I'm a medical advisor in cardio metabolism. What does that mean? It means I work within diabetes and a bit within cardiology and I oversee a specific drug with regards to clinical data being generated medical education talking within the different teams within the company and also discussing diabetes with experts in the field.

What are some of the other roles undertaken by pharmaceutical physicians?

So there are a number of different roles that are available for pharmaceutical physicians apart from working within medical affairs which is where my role is. You can work within the regulatory affairs department that looks at generally drug regulation and working alongside the MHRA. You can work within patient safety so ensuring that the drugs that are being developed and go out into the market are safe to use and constant monitoring of safety data as that comes in. You can also work within clinical development early stage development of drugs before they actually reach the market.

In your opinion, why should someone consider a pharmaceutical physician role?

Well the reason I would go into the pharmaceutical industry would be because it's a challenge, it's an interesting area to work in and it's something that a doctor can easily transfer their skills from clinical practice into a different setting. I'm a GP by background and I still continue to work as a GP but I am able to use my skills of communication and negotiation within the role that I oversee.

What piece of advice would you give to someone considering a pharmaceutical physician role?

If I wanted to give some advice to someone who is considering a role as a pharmaceutical physician, I would strongly recommend that they get in touch with someone they may know or a friend who works within the industry and it doesn't really matter which role particularly. I think certainly talking to someone with medical affairs where I work but actually it doesn't specifically matter where that area is and I think what is most important is to talk to as many people as possible just to get an idea.