In this third and last part of the Inhalation and Nasal Communities focus on different career journeys within pharmaceutical sciences Alan Watts from Catalent describes his career that has included small pharmaceutical companies, University Professor and a large company. Alan has been involved in a wide range of AAPS activities including community membership, PharmSci360 abstracts and publications in AAPS journals.
Alan Watts: As an undergraduate, I studied biomedical engineering and later joined the Pharmaceutics graduate program at University of Texas under the supervision of Dr. Bill Williams. Initial work in graduate school working focused on HME and polymeric coating of oral formulations before shifting toward novel particle engineering approaches for production of inhaled formulations. In my professional career I’ve worked for two small pharma companies, Microdose Therapeutx and Savara, and worked as a Research Assistant Professor at University of Texas while running an Institute focused on providing critical preclinical and analytical data for pharma/biotech innovations coming out of the University. During that time, I developed expertise in CMC for inhaled products, combination products and particle engineering. I have experience in development phases ranging from preclinical to clinical Phase III for nebulized and DPI programs. I am currently Director of Innovation and Partnerships for Inhaled Products at Catalent and have the opportunity to work on a variety of inhalation programs at various phases of development.
At this point, I’m approaching a decade and a half in my professional career and have had some great experiences with small companies, a top-tier university, and numerous amazing colleagues along the way. The industry vs. academia career decision is one that a lot of newly minted Ph.Ds will think about and I’ve had the unique opportunity to experience both. In academia, it helps to have a good mentor, identify labs for collaboration and to be a self-starter. Teaching and running a research lab can be highly rewarding, but might feel futile if you can’t find funding (this is where good collaborations can help). Small pharma is a great middle ground between academia and large pharma, where you can wear many hats and innovate while also working on a tangible product that will help patients. Working for a large CDMO provides opportunities to become involved in a very large number of programs and requires lots of energy and time management. If you’re a new grad, a CDMO is an ideal place to start because you will work on multiple programs and gain critical manufacturing experience.
What factors most influenced your decision(s) along your career path?
There are always several factors I would consider when making key career decisions. Outside of the obvious job description, salary, and location considerations, I’ve always focused on how engaged/excited I was by the overall project or product itself. At the end of tough day, you can always stay motivated knowing you’re working on something you find exciting and worthwhile.
What are the aspects of your career that you most enjoy and what are the more routine aspects of your career?
Innovating, problem solving, data analysis, and opportunities to learn have always been enjoyable and motivating me. Routine items like contract review, quality document review, slide deck assembly, project scoping and planning are less exciting, but ultimately worthwhile and can be rewarding in the long-term.
What is something that you wished others knew about your career that most scientists don’t know?
Specialization is great but will limit your opportunities, particularly if your area of specialization is only attractive to a handful of employers who may or may not be hiring when you’re hunting for a job. Get out of your scientific comfort zone in grad school and early in your career to be a pharma/biotech generalist.
What are the measures for success for each of you within the career path that you have selected?
In academia success was measured by publications, students mentored, and funding won. In small pharma successes and failures occur mostly as a team, where each member executes on their responsibilities. The best team members in small pharma are able to wear multiple hats and step up to solve problems that no one else in the team is willing to tackle.
Looking back on the path that each of you took to get where you are, what is one thing you wished you would have known/considered when you started down this path?
See my answer to question 3. Also, innovate and patent as much as possible while at University.
What question haven’t I asked you that you would like to address to provide insight into your career to date?
Continuously seek out new challenges in your career. You should always be slightly uncomfortable in a position or point in your career if you’re tackling tough, worthwhile problems or learning and broadening your expertise.