Encapsulated Newsletter, Issue 2

Encapsulated March 10, 2023 Issue 2

Featuring Creators

MARKETING Q&A WITH ANDREW DO

Ange Lu James Sagun

Q&A WITH JEFF CAI

Kristina Rodrigues

COVER LETTER TIPS

Eli Carbo Ontiveros

INTERNSHIP POSTINGS

Table of Contents 3

Mission Statement

4

Authors

5

Cover Letter Tips

6

Marketing Jargon

8

Introduction to Marketing

14

A Dose of February 2023: Industry Updates

16

Q&A with Andrew Do

25

Q&A with Jeff Cai

32

Internship Postings

32

Suggestions

Mission Statement

Encapsulated is an independent, studentrun organization committed to providing industry-related resources, knowledge, and connections for students. We are dedicated to bridging the gap between students and the pharmaceutical industry and creating opportunities for internships and fellowships alike. We hope to encapsulate the field into an easily accessible and digestible format.

Kristina Rodrigues

Ange Lu Co-Founder, Lead Editor

Co-Founder, Lead Writer

Eli Carbo Ontiveros Co-Founder, Lead Editor

James Sagun Co-Founder, Lead Writer

Marketing Jargon Detailing

A sales technique involving face-to-face interaction with healthcare professionals to provide information about a drug and its benefits

DTC Advertising

Direct-to-consumer advertising, which is targeted at consumers rather than healthcare professionals

Market Access

The process of getting a drug approved for a particular market or group of patients to use

Value-Based Pricing

A pricing strategy that considers the value a drug provides to patients and the healthcare system

Market Segmentation

Dividing a market into distinct groups of consumers with similar needs or characteristics

Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR)

A field that evaluates healthcare interventions' economic and clinical value; this includes drugs

Real-World Evidence (RWE)

Data collected outside of clinical trials, such as from electronic health records or insurance claims, that is used to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of drugs in real-world settings

Comparative Effectiveness Research

Research that compares the effectiveness of different treatment options for a particular disease or condition

Marketing Jargon Labeling

The information provided on a drug's packaging, including indications, contraindications, warnings, and dosing information

OutcomesBased Contracting

A pricing strategy in which a pharmaceutical company agrees to provide a drug at a discounted price if it does not achieve specified clinical outcomes

PatientReported Outcomes

Measures of a patient's health status and quality of life reported directly by the patient

Precision Medicine

A medical approach that uses genomic and other personalized data to tailor treatment to a patient's specific characteristics and needs

Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS)

A plan developed by a pharmaceutical company to manage the risks associated with a particular drug, including measures to ensure its safe use

Health Technology Assessment (HTA)

A process used to evaluate healthcare technologies' clinical and economic value, including drugs

Comparison Diagnostic

A diagnostic test that identifies patients likely to benefit from a particular drug

Key Performance Indicators

Metrics used to measure the performance and success of marketing campaigns, such as sales revenue, market share, and customer satisfaction

Introduction to Marketing

WHAT IS MARKETING? Marketing focuses on developing a brand strategy for a company and creating a unique identity for a drug to generate educational and promotional material for patients and prescribers alike.

Marketing is mainly involved in both the drug’s development and selling pathways by working closely with Clinical Development and Sales to drive the company’s brands.

Structure of Commercial Under the Commercial functional area, Marketing and Market Access groups work cooperatively in a pharmaceutical company.

Within Marketing, internal positions focus on creating the drug’s brand, message, and vision onto promotional material for target audiences.

External colleagues, such as sales representatives and direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketers, are responsible for distributing these promotional materials to target audiences, including healthcare providers (HCP) and patients.

Within Market Access, internal positions focus on developing the drug’s pricing, contracting, and value proposition. External colleagues, such as access support marketers and account executives, convey these developments to payers and influencers.

Payers include insurance and pharmacy benefit managers (PBM’s), while influencers are comprised of hospital pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) committees and key opinion leaders (KOL’s).

Overall, there is a vast amount of administration within this functional area to navigate complex payment systems and demonstrate the drug’s innovative brand and benefits.

HOW IS MARKETING INCORPORATED IN A DRUG’S LIFE CYCLE? Marketing can enhance a drug’s image and position the product for success by addressing the patient and provider experience. Optimizing this customer experience can improve revenues, satisfaction, and adherence.

Product Life Cycle Drugs, and other marketable products, undergo different stages throughout their life cycle. The four stages of a drug’s life cycle includes the introduction, growth, maturity,

and decline, where each stage needs individual marketing strategies for optimizing its revenue and brand.

The introduction stage is the period of market entry for the drug product, where sales may be slow due to high expenses of production, promotion, and/or distribution. At this stage, the drug product may face difficulties in convincing providers of the product’s value. Strategy here focuses on intensive personal selling to a targeted medical community to create awareness and garner popularity.

In the growth stage, substantial profit is made with widespread medical approval of the drug product. Growth marketing strategies focus on

product improvement with the development of unique brand differences, market segments, price adjustments, and promotional activities to gain a wider distribution. Increases in sales allow for price adjustments and cost lowering.

Maturity is reached when the drug product’s sales and profits peak without further room for growth.

Marketing strategies here investigate new “markets” or areas to use the drug product. Other strategies focus on improving the product line by producing different dosage forms to remain competitive in the mature market. Otherwise, the net effect during this stage is a saturation of the marketplace.

Although decline is seen as a decrease in product sales, the drug is not necessarily unmarketable or unprofitable. By this time, decrease in overall demand removes competitors out of the marketplace. At this stage, marketers incorporate strategies such as finding new product uses, retaining the product line while reducing promotional support, or pricing the drug below the market price.

These four stages are a general view of a product’s life cycle, and they can vary depending on whether the product is a “high-learning,” “lowlearning,” “fashion,” or “fad” product.

Marketing vs. Sales: The Closed Loop Without Marketing, a drug’s brand and vision will never be realized. If not for Sales, the drug product’s life cycle is short-lived. These two commercial areas collaborate to sell the product to wholesalers, hospitals, and pharmacies to eventually reach the patient.

This is where Closed-Loop Marketing comes into play. The sales team relays data and insight of the consumer landscape to the marketing team. This closed-loop guides the drug product’s campaign strategy and direction in terms of what worked and what failed. Closed-loop marketing involves an interdisciplinary team to impact marketing, market research, medical/regulatory/legal review, and business intelligence.

This loop examines healthcare provider’s (HCP) feedback and relays that information to the interdisciplinary team to adjust market strategy accordingly.

PRODUCT MARKETING FOR SUCCESS In order to differentiate their drug products within a competitive market, pharmaceutical companies are moving away from “launching a product” and are focusing on launching an experience. By heavily researching both patients’ and providers’ needs, marketers place the customer experience and journey at the forefront of product launch strategy.

Marketing Personas – The Paradigm Shift of Launching Strategy One way to market the customer experience is to create a persona.

This persona represents the target audience, which is the patient or the

provider who will contribute to the drug product’s brand.

The company conducts quantitative segmentation analysis in order to understand key elements such as customer profiles, behavior patterns, pain points, decision-making drivers, and customer goals. Afterwards, a three-dimensional portrait can be created using qualitative methods to illustrate patient and provider personas.

For example, prior to launching a new therapy campaign for diabetes, a company can investigate the diabetes landscape to create personas of their target audience. Both the patient and provider personas become the starting point for marketers to develop an experience that highlights key interactions common within the diabetes landscape.

Resources to Expand Your Knowledge on Marketing and Commercial Areas • • • •

Pharmaceutical Marketing: Tactics & Techniques Driving Towards Marketing Excellence From Product to Customer Experience: The New Way to Launch in Pharma Managing Marketing Plans & Strategies in the Pharmaceutical Sectors

• • • •

Management and Marketing in Pharmacy The 7PS Digital Marketing Mix for Pharma A B2B Pharma Market Research Guide to Ensure Your Marketing Campaigns Can Succeed Closed Loop Marketing in Pharma

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Q&A with Andrew Do

Currently, Andrew Do is a fourth-year student pharmacist at the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy and will be joining Alnylam Pharmaceuticals as a United States Marketing fellow upon graduating this May 2023. His other experiences include industry rotations at Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi, a clinical internship at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in pediatric inpatient pharmacy, and published research in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.

Andrew Do

What experiences helped prepare you for this role as a prospective marketing fellow?

I was fortunate to have two industry APPE rotations, specifically in Sanofi’s Immunology department as a Global Medical Affairs/Scientific Communications Extern and in Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) Myeloma department as a Customer & Market Research Insights Extern. At BMS, I gained specific market access experience and learned more about marketing and the other functional areas. In both of these roles, I really just learned as much as I could and kept an open mind to learn about other functional areas and industry in general.

What characteristics would a PharmD need to be successful in Marketing?

A PharmD in Marketing should have strong communication skills to best market a product based on company needs. As a PharmD, you have leverage in a marketing role because of the clinical knowledge of disease states that you can apply to a business background.

How important is having a mentor within industry? Who impacted you the most and why?

Mentorship is a huge part in your professional development, especially during the fellowship application process. Reaching out to your upperclassmen and current industry professionals is a great way to find a mentor that shares the same interests as you. My current mentor was my upperclassman in pharmacy school and a current fellow in Marketing as well. She’s been a huge help during the entire fellowship process and was someone I could rely on to answer any of my questions thoroughly.

Also, you don’t have to have a direct relationship with an upperclassman or professional, but you should still actively network with people in the field you’re interested in via IPhO or LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to reach out or ask questions to fellows or upperclassmen since you can learn a lot from just having a conversation.

Because there’s a steep learning curve in understanding the Marketing and Commercial areas, how did you overcome this and learn more about the field?

During my rotation at BMS, I was able to gain hands-on experience to thoroughly understand Marketing. At first, it was like swimming in hot water since the industry lingo was unfamiliar, but being clear about your experiences at the start of your rotation will help your preceptor understand your competency and help you grow in the area.

If you can’t get a rotation within the commercial space, network with current marketing fellows and have conversations to ask about their daily life. You can take note of the terminology they use and how they speak.

There is that steep learning curve at first, so don’t be too overwhelmed, just learn as much as you can!

As a current P4 who has successfully completed the most recent fellowship cycle, can you provide some insight into how you prepared for fellowship applications, the general process of how this year’s cycle went, and what you would have done differently?

I started prepping for fellowships early around July. I wrote my CV and Letter of Intent in advance before I sat down to review my application with my mentors. I got great feedback on what was strong and what areas needed to change. It’s a good idea to figure out what functional area you want to apply for and it’s ok to have multiple interests, but many successful applicants already know what they want to do.

Recently, the Midyear conference transitioned back to inperson, so I was able to talk with current fellows and pick their brains a little on their experiences. Midyear can be intimidating because it’s a whole different world of interviewing, but it’s important to be personable and learn to leverage your unique experiences. I applied to 12 different positions in marketing and commercial, but I was still learning about the functional area during the interview process since pharmacy school doesn’t really prepare you for a business background. But being able to be flexible and bounce back from mistakes can help you stand out.

Although fellowships are really competitive, at the end of the day, you want to match with a fellowship that you vibe with since you’ll be working with them for 2 years.

Remember, companies are fighting for you just as much as you’re fighting for them.

What advice would you give to students if they aren’t able to obtain any industryrelated experiences like summer internships or APPEs?

It’s completely fine if you don’t have any industry experience! The biggest thing to have is to be involved in something you’re passionate about. We all have core clinical rotations as pharmacy students, so leverage those clinical skills in the industry space since many of those soft skills are transferable.

During your interviews, there are a lot of situational and behavioral-type questions, where you can talk about any leadership or project experience you have from an organization or rotation. It’s not the end of the world if you can’t get industry experience, but just communicate your interests to your preceptors at your APPEs so you can find those unique experiences to leverage during interviews.

On that note, a lot of applicants may share similar experiences that can be repetitive for these interviewers.

You should reflect on your CV and past experiences and ask yourself “has anyone done this in the past?” You can go far in the interview process if you can find experiences that are unique to you.

For example, I talked about my industry experiences at Sanofi and BMS, but I also talked about the project I worked on for New Student Orientation (NSO). I had an idea for an orientation welcome video and led a team of 20+ people to execute the project from scratch. We were able to get a lot of views on various social media platforms, and I gained a lot of experience in digital marketing.

What made you decide to pursue industry instead of other fields of pharmacy?

Even in undergrad, I was involved in media and historian leadership roles. Growing up, I always had a creative mindset and liked working on projects.

Without realizing it, I was chasing marketing all throughout pharmacy school, and the different projects and experiences leveraged my background for a marketing role. As a P1, I had no idea marketing fellowships existed, and it wasn’t until my third year that I found that my interests and creative mindset aligned with marketing.

Although clinical pharmacy can be rewarding, my clinical rotations felt repetitive, and I got tired of the same workflow. In industry, there are a lot of different projects and variability since drug development is constantly changing. My APPEs at Sanofi and BMS were variable, and while yes, you are working on projects the whole day, the projects themselves are totally different in their own sense. There’s just an excitement in project work for me and being able to constantly learn what’s out there to best support the company you’re working with.

How do you think your PharmD and unique experiences fit in the role of marketing?

At first glance, PharmD and Marketing may not look like they go hand-in-hand, but having strong clinical knowledge and literature review skills can help you determine how to develop campaign and marketing materials. We know what healthcare providers are looking for disease states and therapies, and PharmDs are well-versed in knowing the current landscape and what patients are looking for in a prescription.

Whether it’s in a resume, interview, or networking, how do you make yourself stand out in applying to competitive internships, rotations, and fellowships?

Sit down and reflect on what you did for each role and experience in your CV, and then find unique opportunities that you can leverage. Look for how you expanded your role and what you did for the organization or rotation you were involved in. Industry experience can definitely help, but don’t neglect the experiences and strengths you already have. People think you need business experience, but clinical experience can also give you an edge within this functional area. Try not to compare yourself to other people and be sure to talk about yourself in the best way possible to show why you’re best fit for that program.

What advice do you have for students who aspire to be in the field but are shy or more introverted than their peers?

I’m an introverted person myself, so it was scary and uncomfortable to put myself through these situations at first, but it gets better the more times you do it!

During my industry APPEs, a lot of it is what you make out of it, so I set multiple 1:1 meetings with people in the company to pick their brains. During my first 1:1, I was shaking because I didn’t know what to expect. I had all my questions written out and the whole interaction formatted. However, after sitting down with these professionals, I learned they really just want to have a conversation with you and find common interests, where they can provide advice for you to succeed in your career.

If you’re interested in something, pursue it. If you don’t know where to go, look at LinkedIn, find professionals who share that field of interest, and send them a message to have a genuine conversation. The more you do it, the more fun you’re going to have. The best way to learn and grow as a professional is by taking that first uncomfortable step to put yourself out there.

What is your biggest accomplishment that you are most proud of?

My biggest accomplishment was being the head of the media committee for NSO, and I talked a lot about this during my behavioral questions. It was a 2–3-month long project over the summer to create an innovative way to showcase the college and excite incoming students. I led subcommittees of 20+ people, so communication was key since I needed to convey what I wanted to accomplish to bring my vision to life. After launching the welcome video, we reached over 5,000 views on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. This was such a rewarding experience since faculty and past alumni reached out to say they were proud of the video we released.

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

I’d like to be remembered for my kindness! Overall, kindness goes a long way in whatever work you’re doing, so I’d love to provide mentorship and share my success and advice with others.

That’s a wonderful legacy to leave behind!

Thank you for sharing your experiences and taking the time to have this interview with us. We wish you the best at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and can’t wait to see what you do next!

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Andrew Do

Q&A with Jeff Cai

Currently, Jeff Cai is a third-year pharmacy student at The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy completing the MPH dual degree program from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Upon entering his fourth-year, he will be joining Pfizer and Proctor & Gamble for APPE rotations in Medical Affairs and in Brand Marketing. His other experiences include a Specialty Sales Internship at Eli Lilly and Company within their Diabetes Business Unit and a two-term presidency leading IPhO at UT Austin’s student chapter.

Jeff Cai

How and why did you choose Commercial as your functional area to pursue postgraduation?

Initially, my industry interests began within Medical Affairs since most PharmD graduates gravitate towards that area. However, I had a summer internship at Eli Lilly in their Diabetes Specialty Sales Unit, where I learned about the Sales team’s functions and the departments they work with, such as Marketing, Healthcare Provider Marketing, and Commercial Marketing. I learned about the impact PharmDs can have in Commercial, especially with understanding the customer base (i.e. MDs, PAs, NPs, and other HCPs).

Our medical knowledge gives us a huge advantage since we’re able to see what HCPs want for their patients through a clinician’s perspective.

After the internship, I liked how applicable my experiences were within Commercial, especially in directly impacting strategies for company-tocustomer interactions. Within Commercial, I’d like to focus on the Brand Management/Marketing and Business Strategy/Development areas where I can have a bigger impact within the company. In terms of narrowing functional areas within industry, I’d say keep an open mind, understand each aspect of industry, and know the bigger picture.

What was the best experience you had working at Eli Lilly?

Along with meeting the Vice President of Sales at Eli Lilly and grabbing dinner with the team, I enjoyed visiting HCP offices and interacting with clients. In the big endocrinology office I interacted with, I made an impact in increasing Trulicity prescribing. Especially in Sales, it’s important to show your drug product’s benefit without being disrespectful to other competitors and your client’s prescribing practices, so it was nice to hear that these endocrinology HCPs valued our interactions during my handful of visits. I learned a lot during this internship, especially the fact that you can make an impact anywhere, even in a single visit.

What did you learn about the role?

Going into this internship, there was a lot to learn.

From a therapeutic standpoint, PharmDs are the most prepared. However, there was more to learn from a sales standpoint. My internship was within Specialty Sales, so while I worked with other PharmDs across the nation, I still had to match up to regular sales interns who actually majored in Business and Sales.

Learning about both sides was hard, but a PharmD with therapeutic and sales knowledge can make it far within Commercial.

What advice would you give to students applying to competitive APPE industry rotations?

Whether it’s with UT alumni or not, network as much as you can now and reach out to these professionals for a quick 30-minute call to introduce yourself. Do some background research and ask good questions to firstyear fellows who can precept you for an APPE rotation.

Understand the type of company these fellows are at and what schools they’re in conjunction with since that can determine their precepting availability. For example, Rutgers Fellows may have an academic requirement where they TA a course or precept an APPE student.

Also, it’s important to understand the calendar year because you don’t want to reach out to current fellows during fellowship season as they may be more busy with recruiting and interviewing applicants. As a P2, worry more about getting your CV ready and putting in the work to be noticeable. Do this, and come your P3 year, you’ll be set for competitive APPEs.

What is the most important characteristic one can have as a leader?

It depends since it’s hard to say there’s one specific trait. Leaders have a good work ethic and put themselves in uncomfortable situations to grow. A leader is someone who brings out the most in their team in a positive way, which begins with listening and understanding your team’s needs and job requirements.

Although leaders are the ones who guide others to success, it’s the team that actually makes the impact.

Knowing your team’s strengths and weaknesses allows you to lead by example and understand the team dynamic.

Who made the most tremendous impact on you as a leader and why?

I’m thankful for having so many wonderful mentors and colleagues who have pushed me to be better so it’s hard to name just one person.

For mentors, I met Dr. Francisco through Eli Lilly. He helped me understand and prioritize the necessary information that kept me focused throughout my internship, so I’m grateful for his guidance. Also, Dr. Zhang is my UTeams faculty mentor and IPhO sponsor, and he’s played a big role in providing quality advice that allowed me to understand leadership and industry better. For colleagues, Jenny Hoang pushed me to do better and provided unbiased advice on what was best for me. I’m really appreciative of her for being someone I can rely on for anything and everything, especially with leading IPhO. Surrounding myself with these people, each with different perspectives and experiences, pushed me to work harder and grow personally and professionally.

How do you stay motivated and positive in the face of rejection? How do you not get burned out with constant uncertainty?

Understand that with every interview rejection you face, the more you get to understand the process.

With each rejection, try to learn something new, and know your value in order to push yourself closer to where you need to be. It’s easy to be complacent with rejection but try to sit down and understand what you did both wrong and right, so you can strive to be better next time. The idea of seeing all that hard work pay off can motivate you to work through the rejections to achieve a rewarding acceptance.

I work a lot and try to full-send everything I’m involved in, since it’s important to challenge yourself and do what others won’t, so you can go far in your career.

However, burnout is real when you sacrifice a lot of sleep! It’s important to balance time for yourself–time for school, and time for your life. Prioritize your life while doing what you’re capable of at the moment.

What legacy do you want to leave behind?

I want to show future students that industry is an option for them, and I want to be a resource for them to succeed. Our school is full of great talent, so I’d like to grow our school’s industry presence to show that UT PharmD students are just as talented within industry as they are in a clinical setting. Especially with my internship at Eli Lilly, I want to continue that legacy of having recruiters pick UT PharmD students for direct industry experiences.

I hope to be known as someone who wants to help people succeed in their careers. Things can be competitive at times, but it’s important to help each other and get the most out of pharmacy school.

Honestly, I feel a lot better when someone I helped succeeds more than when I succeed myself. It’s the best feeling to know that you made a direct impact to help someone grow.

Absolutely! Thank you for sharing your experiences and taking the time to have this interview with us. We appreciate everything you’ve done for IPhO and look forward to what you do next!

jeffcai0713@gmail.com

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