Pharmacist Plans To Innovate Healthcare With An MBA In UK

A pharmacist by training, he studied an undergraduate degree in India before moving into the pharmaceutical industry. One of his early roles was in sales at Merck Group, a leading German healthcare group, before he later moved into Johnson & Johnson (J&J), the drugs giant, as a territory manager.

He wants to develop innovative healthcare solutions and an MBA program is his ticket to a career in either management consulting or marketing for a global biotech, medical device or pharma firm.

Why did you decide to begin an MBA?

I always enjoy solving complex business problems and trying innovative solutions.

So after serving six years in pharmaceuticals and then six years in [the] medical devices, capital equipment and biotechnology field, I realized that if I want to move upstream fast in my career I needed to hone my skills in finance, marketing, economics, strategy [and] operations, which are very important for general management. Hence I decided to go for [the] MBA.

What made LUMS stand out as a business school?

My choice was very clear. [LUMS is] amongst the top 100 schools globally, [there is] safe and high quality campus accommodation, a small cohort, [the MBA is] one year duration [with] affordable tuition fees, and finally [it has a] great connection with industry and employers.

What has the academic side of the MBA been like so far?

UK MBA education is very different and intense because one has assignments and exams lined up one after another for the whole year, instead of twice a year as we practice in India. It’s very challenging and intense, but encouraging and supportive as well.

Which project are you most looking forward to – business development, new venture challenge, consultancy, or corporate?

Although all the projects have been planned at a time in the course when we need practical exposure, I am looking forward to the corporate challenge the most because this project will be a summation of all the course concepts – a fitting end to the curriculum.

Do you value your MBA cohort?

Yes, very much. My cohort has students from more than 20 nationalities who have an average work experience of more than seven years, and who come from diverse industry backgrounds such as entrepreneurship, media, consulting, healthcare operations, manufacturing, audit and more.

All this gives me an opportunity to create a network with individuals and alumni from whom I can learn a lot, both during and after the course.

You've worked for J&J. What excites you about the pharma and biotechnology industry?

I am passionate about the way these multinational organizations create value in patients’ lives, one patient at a time but with a high standard of care.

You are a pharmacy graduate. Why did you switch into management-related roles?

I studied pharmacy so I have good knowledge about [the] human body and healthcare world.

Further, I switched because in business management all stakeholders – employee, customer and organization – grow and create value for each other.

Also I love interacting with people, understanding business complexities from them and creating innovative solutions, which is very much aligned with what organizations are looking out for in employees in business management. This creates a win-win situation.

You worked for a biotechnology company. Scientific advances in biotech have raised the prospect of new medical breakthroughs. How important has the sector become to healthcare?

Very [important]. Biotechnology products can create wonders. [For example] perception of sound can be imparted to a hearing impaired individual by a specialized cochlear implant surgery. We are not far off the day when biotech products will be able to offer perception of vision to blind people.

You studied and worked in India. How would you compare the UK's and India's business environments? 

Developed countries such as the UK and US and developing countries such as India, Vietnam and China have totally different business challenges.

In developing countries the market access, surgical capacity and product cost are a few of [the] top challenges. In developed countries there is a fairly stabilized business growth rate, tighter regulatory requirements [and] lessening government expenditure – a few of the top challenges.

However, a few things remains common in all parts of the world: healthcare compliance – the way in which companies are expected to market products; marketing programs – physician and patient awareness; quality of trained company sales personnel; and quality of products – most of the biotech, medical devices and surgical equipment organizations have centralized manufacturing capacity in companies’ global headquarters, and the products are then transported to other countries for sales.

What’s next for you after the MBA?

I aim to be working in management consulting, in strategy or marketing, in healthcare or in the marketing function of a global biotechnology, medical device, capital equipment or pharmaceutical company once I complete my MBA.

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