In his career quest, Masood Khan ignored defeatist judgments.
By Linda C. Brown
Masood Khan, Ph.D., is vice president of Alliance Pharma, where he leads the growth of their state-of-the-art large-molecule bioanalysis services. He is also a widely recognized authority in the field of regulated ligand-binding assays. But his road to industry leadership was not an easy one. Khan came from very humble beginnings in India. He cites coming to the United States in 1976 as his first great accomplishment. “We didn’t have much money when I was boy. My parents were very sweet to me, they gave me everything that they could, and I had a happy childhood,” he says. “But growing up in a simpler place where there were no paved roads, homes had no phones or electricity, and animals roamed freely on main streets, it was a very far-fetched idea for a young man to even dream of traveling across the world to visit America let alone become a citizen and live here.”
Khan faced disparagement on many fronts. “I was a young man who had been constantly berated as ‘too small to excel at sports,’ or ‘too small town to have good connections’ or ‘too funny talking’ because of a speech impediment,” he says. “When I was young, I was bullied by a boy, who told me I would never amount to anything because I was smaller than he was. In college, one professor told me that esteemed positions were reserved only for people who had family connections, and since I did not have any family connections, I would never amount to anything. So, I set out in my life determined to prove these people wrong.”
And prove them wrong he did. Khan worked hard in school and college and earned a doctorate in biochemistry. He came to the U.S. as a visiting fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in North Carolina. “I worked backbreaking hours and lived on meager scholarship money. Still, this country proved to be the only pure meritocracy I have ever known,” he says. “In this country, I was able to apply the gifts of my intellect, my passion for science, and my sheer determination to earn positions of increasing prominence in the scientific community.”
CHARTING HIS CAREER
After earning his doctorate, Khan faced two opportunities. First, he was offered a scholarship for postdoctoral training in Sweden. Second was the visiting fellowship at NIEHS-NIH. “I chose to join NIH—the number one center for research in biological sciences in the world,” he says. “The excellent research environment and superb mentors I found there were instrumental in developing my career in receptor biology, protein chemistry, and immunoassay development.” At NIEHS, he worked on “big ACTH [adrenocorticotropic hormone],” a putative biomarker for oat cell carcinoma, and developed a novel immunoassay for the quantification of ACTH.
Later he moved to Montreal and became an assistant professor at McGill University, where he discovered unique vesicles (endosomes) and elucidated their role in the transmembrane signaling of insulin and growth factors.
Khan thanks his wife for his next big opportunity. An accomplished biochemist, she heard from a recruiter seeking an experienced and motivated scientist to design and direct an immunochemistry operation for a group of driven and experienced entrepreneurs, and she suggested her husband. “I went for what was initially supposed to be a one-hour interview with John Hooper, Ph.D., CEO of the fledgling Phoenix International Life Sciences, but it became a three-hour discussion about innovations, future ideas, values, and the risk-benefit analysis of me moving forward with this opportunity,” he says. ”Eventually, I was convinced to make a change and take a calculated risk. This drastically changed my career path from academia to industry.”
At Phoenix International, Khan established the Immunoassay Department that later became the most trustworthy and reputable immunoassay (or ligand-binding assay [LBA]) service provider in North America at that time. “There, I had the opportunity to address many deficiencies in LBA data handling,” he says. “I also realized that it was essential to initiate an intellectual dialogue within the pharmaceutical industry to develop a real picture of the challenges associated with the application of immunoassays for regulated bioanalysis. That is why I joined the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) and started building and sharing ideas with colleagues. And so, my career in bioanalysis began, with a focus on new immunoanalytical technologies for the regulated bioanalysis of drugs, antidrug-antibodies, and biomarkers.”
Khan went on to hold executive roles at Medimmune, Neuro-Biotech, Covance, and KCAS. Recently, he was named vice president at Alliance Pharma in Philadelphia, leading a team of highly experienced scientists and analysts using cutting-edge technologies to provide a complete suite of large-molecule bioanalysis services for development of biologics and biosimilars.
“The prominence of my position has allowed me unfettered discretion to build the most cutting-edge large molecule bioanalysis facility in the country,” he says. “I think that in technology and capability we have already achieved that, but I want us to triple in size by 2018 so we can handle an even greater market share of the large molecule bioanalysis contract research industry.”
WORKING WITH LBAS
In Khan’s work with LBAs over the decades, he “came to appreciate the challenges of LBAs in a regulated environment working at several major contract research organizations and pharmaceutical companies,” he says. “That is why I had ample opportunities to address real-life issues related to LBA validation and implementation.”
As an AAPS member, he built a network of like-minded and concerned scientists in the industry. Having gained a clear picture of the issues and challenges related to immunoassays, and with the support of colleagues in the industry, Khan organized a historic roundtable on the challenges of immunoassay validation and implementation in a regulatory environment at the 1998 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Francisco. In 2000, Khan and his colleagues published a scientific paper in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis (2000; 21:1249–1273) summarizing these challenges (and potential solutions). “This was the first white paper on industry perspectives regarding LBA validation and use in regulated bioanalysis,” he says. “Interestingly, this paper was published just before the second Crystal City Workshop and became an important advocacy tool for regulated large molecule bioanalyses.”
In 2009, Khan coedited a book, Ligand-Binding Assays: Development, Validation, and Implementation in the Drug Development Arena. Today, he says, “this book is still used as the authoritative and comprehensive reference to teach young scientists engaged in immunoassay validation nationally and internationally.” At the 2016 AAPS National Biotechnology Conference, an exhibitor told Khan that his laboratory uses his book extensively, and he still considers it “the Bible” of LBA development for regulated bioanalysis. “It was a very rewarding experience to have made my mark in the LBA arena,” he says. At the same conference, Khan was honored with the AAPS Biotechnology section Distinguished Service Award.
MENTORS
Khan is grateful for the three people who influenced his career the most. First, his professor, A. Salahuddin, Ph.D., “empowered me and allowed me to choose and develop my own doctoral project related to the biomolecular interaction in chemical carcinogenesis. His encouragement and mentorship built a strong foundation for me in the exciting area of molecular interactions and their role in complex biological processes.”
Second, his postdoctoral advisor at NIEHS, Richard P. Di Augustine, Ph.D., gave Khan the opportunity to come to the U.S. Khan worked in pulmonary carcinogenesis and developed challenging immunoassays. “The development of novel immunoassays and their use as a tool to elucidate complex biological issues has become my passion,” he says.
Third, John Hooper, Ph.D., trusted Khan and convinced him to change his career path. “I moved into the ever-interesting biopharmaceutical industry,” he says, “particularly large molecule bioanalysis using immunoassays and cell-based assays. ”
LEADERSHIP
“I have learned that leadership is a privilege, one with the responsibility to inspire and motivate others, to help them develop and attain the visions and goals they have for themselves, their companies, and their personal growth,” Khan says. “This requires building trust with your team and earning their respect. It is important to take an interest in your team as individuals, support their personal and professional development, and empower them. Recognizing their achievements in public and providing constructive criticism in private are essential in developing a motivated and devoted team.”
Khan notes that the pharmaceutical industry in general and the contract research industry in particular are very demanding workplace environments where highly skilled people are working against time to bring drugs to market. “I am humbled to say that my leadership philosophies have helped tremendously in keeping most of my team members motivated and striving to go beyond expectations,” he says.
“A good leader attracts, motivates, and develops employees while clearly conveying goals and performance expectations,” Khan says. “By listening to and involving others in the decision-making process (but standing firm on the decision you make) and treating people fairly, a leader gains the respect, support, and trust of his team, stakeholders, and customers.”
SUCCESS
“Success starts in your mind,” Khan says. “If you believe that you can do it, you will do it. Never lose hope. Be focused, have faith in yourself, and do what you are passionate about.” Khan’s own story certainly bears this out.
“Drug development is a regulated area of science,” Khan says. “It is a dynamic and evolving area providing exciting but challenging research and development prospects in biosimilars, antibody-drug conjugates, personalized medicines, and stem cell therapies. All these challenges, however, also present tremendous opportunities for career growth. Our industry requires people to be highly motivated and skilled in their area of interest, innovative, curious, and perhaps most important, able to collaborate and communicate well with others.”
WORKING WITHIN AAPS
Over the past two decades, Khan has served on various AAPS committees and organized scientific programs including short courses, roundtables, and symposia, and he represented the Biotechnology section on the AAPS Newsmagazine Content Advisory Committee for two terms (2006–2008, 2011–2013). The roundtable he organized at the 1998 annual meeting on the challenges of immunoassay validation and its implementation in a regulatory environment essentially led to the formation of the Ligand-Binding Assay Bioanalytical focus group (LBABFG) in 2000, where he served on the steering committee for more than eight years. He currently serves as the liaison of the Biotechnology section focus groups.
“My participation in AAPS over the years has provided a platform to organize and participate in educational programs to increase awareness about the challenges of large molecule bioanalyses, to participate in formulating best practices for regulated bioanalyses of large molecule drugs, and to develop fit-for-purpose assays for quantification of biomarkers in the drug development arena,” Khan says. “As a result, I have a wide network of interesting and prominent colleagues, whom I consider to be great friends in the biopharmaceutical industry. I am honored to have met and worked with such an outstanding group of inquisitive minds. Learning is a continuous life-long process, and my participation at AAPS has continuously enriched my professional life.”
For those pursuing a career in the pharmaceutical sciences, Khan recommends joining AAPS and becoming active student members in an AAPS section of their interest. “Join an AAPS student chapter at your university, seek out opportunities to volunteer in an AAPS focus group, find a mentor,” he says. “I champion you to take initiative and seek opportunities to be a comoderator, note taker, or speaker at scientific programming sessions. These activities will provide real-life experience, increase your visibility, and help advance your career. Most important, have a goal, think it through, and pursue. Always dream big and aim high.”
“I have built a career doing exactly what I love to do,” Khan says. “The biggest lesson I have learned is to never let anybody tell you that you will not amount to anything. We are who we choose to be.”
Linda C. Brown is the AAPS managing editor.