In my most recent role at work, I interacted with colleagues in the Commercial part of the organization. Many of them have MBAs and very interesting career backgrounds in both pharma/biotech companies and consulting firms. I wondered: For people already working in the pharmaceutical industry (or someone interested in working in pharma), is there an MBA program that is focused on pharmaceutical business?
Interesting career experiences of my colleagues with MBAs
My colleagues have extensive experience across the lifecycle of pharmaceutical and medical device products, from pre-launch, launch, growth, and late-stage. In fact, they played roles in business development and strategy, like mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, some of them have sales and marketing backgrounds. Or they have experience in managing commercial processes like distributor management, logistics, and finance.
While not mandatory, it seems like the MBA gives my colleagues a leg up in business skills such as leadership and strategic thinking. The MBA could nurture those who have an entrepreneurial spirit and provide skills to build or grow a business. Even those who work in Research and Development or Manufacturing could benefit from some business acumen in our career development.
First impressions of the USciences Pharmaceutical Business MBA program
The University of the Sciences (USciences) in Philadelphia has a MBA in Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Business. Out of curiosity, I recently spoke with Robert Mueller and Anuja Gupta, the former and current Directors of the MBA program, respectively, to learn more about the program.
A few of the characteristics that stood out to me about the MBA program were:
- Pharma Focus: Other MBA programs may have a healthcare track. By contrast, this program focuses solely on the pharma and biotech industry.
- Faculty: The permanent and adjunct faculty are high-level executives and professionals working or previously working in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Flexibility: The program designed the curriculum for working professionals to take classes at night, online, and at their own pace.
- Capstone: The Master’s thesis capstone project is a hypothesis-driven project requiring a quantitative assessment of a significant business problem.
- Cost: Around $40,000 covers the tuition for the entire program. The tuition of other MBA schools is easily 3-4x higher.
More about the Pharmaceutical Business MBA program
Drs. Mueller and Gupta graciously answered some basic questions about their program. Here are their responses:
1. Why should someone consider the USciences MBA for Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Business program?
The USciences MBA is a unique opportunity for potential students to create new opportunities, and for current professionals to create new pathways in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector. We provide this opportunity by offering a program of specialized study for a very large sector in the US economy. This sector is estimated to represent approximately $4 trillion in 2019. It is also a highly complex business environment this program uniquely prepares graduates for. It can take MBA graduates from more general programs years to understand the complexity of the sectors well enough to contribute in a meaningful way. Our graduates provide value on day one.
It is also important to understand that our perspective on the industry extends far beyond the big pharmaceutical companies. Our graduates also work in specialized consulting firms, advertising agencies, medical education firms, biotech start-ups, medical device companies and others too numerous to list.
The USciences MBA, therefore, should be MBA choice number one for those interested in or currently in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector.
2. What schools (around the country, around the world) offer programs similar to the USciences MBA for pharmaceutical business program?
We are not aware of other programs that offer the level of specialized business and research education in this sector that USciences does. St. Joseph’s University offers a concentration in pharmaceutical marketing, and Rutgers offers a concentration in pharmaceutical management. At USciences, this specialization is all we do. And as part of the oldest pharmacy college in America, it is coded into our DNA.
3. How does the pharmaceutical business program differ from the typical MBA program?
We differ primarily in our focus on the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors through specialized courses that help students understand the industry context, and gain knowledge of very specific topics in this area. Our MBA also provides the core courses that generic MBA programs offer, such as finance/accounting, marketing/sales, strategy, and general management. Our specialized program has a suite of courses on very specific pharmaceutical topics, including:
- Issues and Trends in Health Policy
- Pharmaceutical Marketing and Sales Management
- Pharmaceutical Research and Development Management
- Introduction to Medical Cannabis Industry
- Finance and Regulation of Cannabis Industry
- Regulation of Prescription Drugs and Ethical Issues
- Health Economics
- International Pharmaceutical Business
Finally, 85% of our faculty are seasoned veterans of the industry. This includes our valued adjunct professors, many of whom are currently in senior positions. In addition to the knowledge they share, they often provide a bridge to their network in the industry.
4. What prior business (or otherwise) experience in the pharmaceutical industry should candidates have prior to applying?
USciences does not have specific experiential requirements. Our students typically fall into two experiential categories: early/mid-career in the industry and recent graduates wanting to enter the industry. The specialized MBA means that our new entrants to the industry are ready to contribute on day one; and the mid-career graduates are ready to move to another area and/or move up. This is backed up by our alumni surveys which showed:
69% of our graduates had received two or three promotions or job change to a better position. This is strong testimony to the value of our MBA.
5. What type of positions do your graduates typically get upon graduation?
80% of our alumni are in mid and upper management.
6. Does your program require or provide experiential learning opportunities (internships, industry-driven case studies, etc.) or mentoring by industry professionals?
We employ a wide range of active learning modalities. These include case analyses, computer simulations, team presentation projects, and courses and requirements specifically designed to test students’ ability to apply what they have learned. Beyond these pedagogies, the entire educational model is built around a process of integration and application of knowledge. After completing a series of core courses, the students take a Multidiscipline Strategic Management (MSM) course where they apply what they have learned in the core courses to a real-world problem or a simulation. The next step is to integrate all these core categories into a computer-based business challenge, where they have to balance the costs and opportunities of a variety of needs.
The final step is the Capstone project, which is best understood as an hypothesis-based study of a pharmaceutical healthcare problem. They produce a master’s quality level paper and presentation to the entire Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Business faculty. This is an individual piece of work that includes quantitative modeling, accounting and or finance.
7. What challenges or changes has your program faced due to the coronavirus pandemic?
COVID 19 has affected us in ways similar to other educational programs. We always had an online option for the program, but now we also moved many campus-based classes to a Zoom format. It is very important to realize that our online program has always been synchronous. Like Harvard our offering is a SPOC (small private online course) and not an asynchronous MOOC (massive open online course). We have two-hour online Zoom classes in all our online offerings. We believe that the most valuable learning is interactive and live. Critical thinking is best learned in the moment, not in the text.
Last notes
During graduate school, I had interacted with several MBA students. We worked together on biotech consulting projects (e.g., with the Penn Biotech Group). The stereotype was that they were a competitive bunch, and they certainly outlasted us all when it came to networking!
Few of my MBA team members had prior work experience in healthcare. Therefore, they were learning right alongside me in those healthcare consulting projects. Thus, a focus on the pharma/biotech industry is a key difference between the typical MBA student vs. someone in a specialized program. Indeed, understanding how to work in this highly regulated and rapidly changing industry can be pretty complicated. Specialized knowledge and experience are certainly not to be discounted.
In my continued exploration, I hope to interview one or two graduates of the Pharmaceutical Business MBA program. I would really like to learn about their career paths. In particular, I would like to better understand their motivations for getting the MBA. In addition, I would also like to hear how they have leveraged their new skills and perspectives in their work.
How did your MBA propel your career in the pharma/biotech industry? Let us know in the comments below!
Many thanks to Drs. Mueller and Gupta for answering my many questions about their MBA program!