The highly competitive Medical Directors Fellowship program at Roche is now accepting applications. The selected Medical Directors Fellow(s) will participate and receive training in Roche’s Neuroscience and Rare Disease programs in Basel, Switzerland. Qualified candidates are physicians (MDs) with specialty training in neurology, psychiatry, geriatrics, or pediatrics.
Click here for the program description and how to apply.
The Chair of the Medical Directors Fellowship Committee is Dr. Gennaro Pagano, Expert Medical Director and Group Leader in Early Development at Roche. I recently spoke with him about how the fellowship works, the unique experiences that selected fellows gain, and how fellows are selected.
Physicians explore transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry
Many physicians at academic centers or major research hospitals conduct clinical research. They may include investigators for pharmaceutical company-sponsored clinical trials. In addition, some may even work in other capacities as consultants in various aspects of drug development.
Often, these physicians consider leaving their clinical work behind to pursue drug development ambitions in the pharmaceutical industry. However, it is a huge leap to go from academic research to running a clinical development program at a pharmaceutical company.
First, from professional and personal standpoints, the physician may be concerned that the career change might not meet their expectations. Secondly, there is a steep learning curve to understand how to work successfully in the research environment of a multinational corporation.
Therefore, this is where the Medical Directors Fellowship at Roche plays an important role. Dr. Pagano says, “The fellowship is a pathway for physicians to explore whether working in pharmaceutical drug development is right for them.”
After the fellowship, these physicians can decide whether to apply for permanent jobs in industry. According to Dr. Pagano, it’s a smart way for Roche to “bring in talent and train them” to join its ranks.
About the Medical Directors Fellowship at Roche
Pharma Research and Early Development at Roche hosts the Medical Directors Fellowship.
Fellows observe and support ongoing projects within the Neuroscience and Rare Disease therapeutic area. They participate in the core responsibilities of clinical science and interact with different functions within the company.
Some of the activities that the fellows participate in include:
- Contribute to the strategic planning of drug development, such as the clinical development plan and target product profile
- Design and implement clinical trials, such as clinical endpoints
- Prepare trial materials, including the study protocol
- Manage internal and external meetings, such as investigator and scientific advisory boards
In addition to hands-on experience, fellows have coursework on the drug development process.
Plus, they are mentored by a cross-functional fellowship committee. Dr. Pagano, who heads the committee, explains that the committee meets monthly with the fellow to assess progress and provide guidance. Importantly, fellows are mentored by senior executives at Roche.
Fellows typically commit to a sabbatical from their academic or hospital appointment for about 12 months. After that, the fellowship can be extended to 2 years if all parties are in agreement that things are going well.
Medical Directors Fellows gain insights into how to be successful in industry
Essentially, selected fellows get hands-on experience in the role of a Medical Director in a pharmaceutical company. Therefore, they will be able to gauge whether it’s a job they want to have in the long term.
“It’s a completely different way of working in industry,” says Dr. Pagano.
First, drug development is highly collaborative and cooperative. Fellows are members of cross-functional teams with colleagues from:
- Clinical Science
- Biomarkers
- Safety
- Clinical Pharmacology
- Clinical Operations
- Regulatory
- Patient Partnership
Secondly, fellows develop a mindset that will set them up for successfully working in the pharmaceutical industry. “Emotional intelligence is so important,” according to Dr. Pagano.
He shared some of the skills that fellows learn and practice during the fellowship. These include:
- Providing feedback to colleagues
- Communicating in a cross-functional work environment
- Explaining and presenting complicated concepts succinctly to senior management
How Roche selects Medical Directors Fellows
Dr. Pagano shared that candidates for the Medical Directors Fellowship are evaluated in two main areas:
- Disease area expertise - Fellows need to have the disease area expertise in the therapeutic area of interest at Roche. Required qualifications include direct patient care as well as clinical research or trial planning experience. Journal publications and other examples of communicating research are also important.
- Leadership qualities - As Roche prides itself in being the most agile of pharmaceutical companies, it seeks leaders who embody the roles of visionary, architect, coach, and catalyst (VACC). Effective and inspiring leadership (e.g., via the Leadership Circle assessment) is very attractive and valuable.
“We try to ask questions that discover the core values of the individual,” said Dr. Pagano. Therefore, he asks candidates to describe examples of experiences that were most significant for them.
After the fellowship
At the end of the fellowship, fellows typically apply for new jobs in the pharmaceutical industry. On the other hand, they might decide to return to their prior roles outside of the industry.
Roche does not guarantee that the Medical Directors Fellows will have jobs at Roche after the conclusion of the fellowship.
However, Dr. Pagano is very careful about how many fellows are selected each year for the fellowship program. He tries to anticipate potential openings for Medical Director roles that coincide with the end of a fellowship, should there be a good fit for the fellow to stay.
Alternate routes for physicians into the pharmaceutical industry
We’ve previously described how physicians can get jobs in the pharmaceutical industry and the types of jobs they typically get.
In addition, Dr. Pagano recommends a few alternate routes for physicians to transition into the pharmaceutical industry.
- Start as a Medical Monitor. Pharmaceutical companies and Contract Research Organizations (CROs) often hire physicians as medical monitors on trials. This is a great way to gain experience in clinical research in the pharmaceutical environment.
- Do a postdoctoral fellowship in industry. Pharmaceutical companies offer postdoctoral positions for both MDs and PhDs to gain experience conducting research projects in the industry setting.
Both of these routes allow physicians to expand their professional network and continue exploring career opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry.