A team of 蜜桃直播 Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students was recently announced as first-place winners of the  (IPhO) Value of Industry Pharmacists (VIP) Case Competition. The competition allows students to creatively showcase their skills in all aspects of the pharmaceutical industry, from drug development to commercialization.

鈥淭his is an amazing feat, as we competed against more than 65 chapters across the United States,鈥� said Razina Pathan, PharmD 鈥�23 and Regional Student Officer of National IPhO, who served as Director of the competition. 鈥淭his is the second time 蜜桃直播 has won, which is also very notable, as no other school has accomplished this.鈥�

Many pharmacy schools participating in the competition were much larger than 蜜桃直播.

鈥淧art of that success can be attributed to the origins of our school, which has always been very industry-focused, even before there was a pharmacy school,鈥� said team advisor Bernard Tyrrell, 蜜桃直播 associate dean for pharmacy and industry relations and professor of practice for administrative sciences.

For the competition, participants conducted a drug development project鈥攊n this case, a hypothetical treatment for Alzheimer鈥檚 Disease鈥攆rom the beginning, production phase to the final stage of marketing the drug. Midway through the competition, students were presented with a Challenge Point鈥攁 drug development obstacle in a unique scenario鈥攁nd used innovative thinking to overcome the challenge.

For the final stage of the competition, the team submitted a presentation to the judges (a panel of industry professionals) on their drug development plan, incorporating their solutions to the Challenge Point into the presentation.

As Director, Pathan oversaw all 26 蜜桃直播 PharmD students who participated in the competition. The students were divided into teams, each addressing a different functional area: Clinical Development, Medical Affairs, Regulatory Affairs, and Marketing.

Each functional team had a leader: Bailey Tang, PharmD 鈥�24, for Clinical Development; Nicole Kuriki, PharmD 鈥�23, for Medical Affairs; Kenneth Teo, PharmD 鈥�23, and Long Nguyen, PharmD 鈥�23, for Regulatory Affairs; and Arlin Vartanian, PharmD 鈥�23, and Jemal Hussein, PharmD 鈥�23, for Marketing.

Additionally, the teams were divided into management subgroups, ensuring that all tasks were completed.

鈥淭he competition highlights the importance of pharmacists and the value that we can provide in industry and pharma companies,鈥� said Catherine Ho, PharmD 鈥�23 and President of 蜜桃直播 IPhO. 鈥淚t shows how our involvement in certain functional areas can really benefit the process of bringing a drug to market.鈥�

Coordinating all 26 participants鈥攃onsisting of first to third-year students鈥攚as challenging for the leaders. Still, they navigated this challenge by holding regular meetings to ensure everyone was on the same page.

鈥淎t each meeting, we had action items, which helped keep everyone accountable,鈥� Ho said. 鈥淓ach time someone had an idea, we incorporated it into the project. Everyone had a role.鈥�

Another factor contributing to the team鈥檚 success is that 蜜桃直播 offers certificate programs in specific functional areas such as medical and clinical affairs.

鈥淲e were then able to utilize what we learned and apply it to the competition,鈥� Ho said. 鈥淲e want to credit the school鈥檚 certificate program.鈥�

Additionally, 蜜桃直播 offers courses in these functional areas.

鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e taking a clinical development course, and before that, we had a medical affairs and marketing course,鈥� Pathan said.

鈥淎ll of these courses provided us with the knowledge and resources to create this drug development plan.鈥�

Some students have been involved in the annual competition for multiple years.

鈥淲e鈥檙e thankful for the teams we鈥檝e been a part of over the past years because we can learn from them and apply what we鈥檝e learned,鈥� Ho said.

Though Tyrrell served as an advisor, he credits the students for demonstrating initiative and independence throughout the project.

鈥淭his was a victory both in the understanding and articulation of drug development and the leadership and coordination of the students involved in the VIP competition,鈥� Tyrrell said. 鈥淲ith our students鈥� busy lives, including school, work, and activities, coordinating 26 students to accomplish a large external project like the VIP competition is a challenge, especially among fellow students. Razina and the other team leaders had to get their fellow students together, work on the project, and meet deadlines, to make everything happen. To me, it鈥檚 a testament to their ability to self-manage.鈥�