Christopher Tobias, PhD EVP, Chief Scientific Officer Dir., Business Development Dudnyk

What is Dudnyk Full-service, medical marketing organization Independently owned and managed Inc. magazine 5000 fastest growing private companies in US Strategic and creative solutions –Pharmaceutical –Biotech/biopharma –Medical device –Diagnostics

Clients Biotechnology/Biopharma Pharmaceutical Medical Device

My Background 10 years of basic science bench research BS, Medical Technology –Michigan State University  Neurotoxicology  Oncology  2 publications MS, Physiology –Georgetown University  Oncology  Transgenics  3 publications PhD, Neuroscience –Drexel University College of Medicine  Gene therapy  Spinal cord injury  9 publications (5 first author)

Why Leave the Bench Not terribly interested in being a post-doc for 3 to 5 additional years My skills were not marketable as a scientist in pharma or biotech/biopharma Funding very tight (in 2001 <10% of grants getting funded) Tired of living in a 1 bedroom apt at 30 years old, making $18,500/yr Felt there had to be more opportunities to apply my skill set Post-doc from our lab left to join a medical communications company

My Transition to the Business World Medical communications company –Scientific writer/Senior Scientific writer ( )  Abstracts  Posters  Slide presentations  Manuscripts  Reviews  New business pitches  Development of the scientific/medical strategy for conditioning a market for a new product –Learned marketing skills for application in pharma

Dudnyk Career Scientific Director ( ) VP, Scientific Director ( ) –Scientific lead for agency –Evaluation of market landscape –Review of product clinical data –Build relationships with physicians in multiple specialties –Preparing in house tutorials for department teams –Development of product positioning/core claims –Attendance at market research –Participation in new business presentations –Review of all medical content leaving agency –Member of executive team –Responsibility for research and editorial services

Dudnyk Career (cont.) SVP, Scientific and Strategic Services ( ) –Business development strategy –Lead on new business presentations –Brand identity development team member –M&A responsibilities –Scientific oversight over content EVP, Chief Scientific Officer (2009-Present) –Scientific lead for agency –Responsibility for Scientific Director(s) –P&L responsibility –Company vision/long term planning –Business planning –New business strategy/product and company identification –M&A responsibilities including due diligence

Strengths Gained from Doctoral Work Presentation skills –Journal club –Congress presentations Ability to debate factual information –Asking and answering questions in scientific format Familiarity/organization/interpretation of manuscripts Capability of conducting literature reviews and drawing conclusions Preparation for presentations Writing to convince a reader –Peer review process Analytical abilities –Interpretations of data tables/graphs/charts –Statistical interpretations

What Would I have done Differently? Obtained MBA at same time –Lack of formal business training was a disadvantage early in transition Potentially chosen a more clinically relevant neurological disease model linked to pharma/biotech interest –Might have led me to continue as a scientist in the industry setting

How Can Doctoral Programs Support Students Encourage them to explore non-traditional opportunities if they ask –It is not wrong to leave the lab Help them find a mentor outside academic science Presentation skills need to be strong Communication skills need to be strong Spend time understanding how physicians diagnose patients Good understanding of how a pharma/medical device product gets approved by the FDA Encourage involvement in the financial aspect of the lab Help students build solid networking skills prior to finishing

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