PharmaSEE mentor helps students gain confidence and see breadth of opportunities in profession

Marie-Hélène Irvine was focused on pursuing a clinical pharmacy career when a rotation in the pharmaceutical industry as part of her Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree changed her mind. The rotation gave her a better understanding of the breadth of careers that are possible, and nearly 14 years and multiple roles later, Irvine is still excited by the possibilities for pharmacists in the pharmaceutical industry.

“I was so impressed by the intellectual rigour in medical affairs, the ethical guardrails in place, and the sense of responsibility to ensure accuracy of information. And the rotation really opened my eyes to a whole new world of opportunities,” says Irvine, who is currently Senior Manager, Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs), Inflammation and Rare Diseases, at Amgen.

“No matter what your interests are – business, economics, medical information – there are so many possibilities. I’ve had several different roles at Amgen, and I feel like I could keep changing and growing for the rest of my life.”

Irvine first earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy in 2009, eyeing a career providing direct patient care. She started a hospital residency at Kingston General Hospital and completed a family health team rotation in Kingston to broaden her primary care experience. She decided that she wanted to grow her pharmacy skills and decided to pursue a PharmD at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy.

“I realized that advanced training would be important to make myself more competitive for the kinds of clinical roles that I was interested in, and I really wanted to invest in myself and see what kind of doors could open up with more education.”

“I realized that advanced training would be important to make myself more competitive for the kinds of clinical roles that I was interested in,” she says. “And I really wanted to invest in myself and see what kind of doors could open up with more education.”

Irvine started the PharmD program in 2010 with the goal of returning to clinical practice afterwards. But after a positive experience in her rotation working in the medical affairs department at Amgen, she accepted a contract role at the company. She has remained with the company ever since, taking on a variety of roles in medical information, medical affairs, patient access and health economics.

She says that the PharmD program has been critical in her career in the pharmaceutical industry.

“It really trained me to be comfortable with uncertainty and strengthened my ability to defend my decisions with evidence and reasoning,” she says. “I think those skills have served me well because it really translates directly into leadership and all the industry roles that I’ve taken on since then.”

MSLs help improve awareness of medication access for rare diseases

In her current role at Amgen, Irvine supports a team of MSLs who provide information and help health care providers and patients access medications for inflammation and rare diseases such as thyroid eye disease, an autoimmune disease called neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), and a chronic fibroinflammatory condition called IgG4-related disease.

While the MSLs on Irvine’s team are primarily responsible for providing information to health care providers about therapies for these rare diseases, they also often have to raise awareness and provide education about the diseases, as many health care providers may have little experience with them. They also work with patient advocacy groups to help patients navigate health care systems and medication access.

“Pharmacists bring a strong understanding of our health care system and a patient-centred lens, and that translates well into roles in industry.”

Irvine says that pharmacists have a skill set that is well-suited to working both in the pharmaceutical industry in general and rare diseases in particular, because of their experience navigating health care systems and drug access.

“Pharmacists bring a strong understanding of our health care system and a patient-centred lens, and that translates well into roles in industry. They’re able to translate complex science into practical relevance, whether the audience is health care professionals, patients and caregivers, or internal partners,” she says.

“Especially in rare diseases, having that knowledge of how the system works is crucial because you often have to navigate your own path through a complex system. Pharmacists understand how the access landscape works and have a patient advocacy mindset, and that’s critical in the industry.”

Mentorship program helps students learn about profession and accelerate confidence

As a manager, Irvine says that one of the aspects of the role that she most enjoys is seeing her team members grow and become more confident in their abilities.

It’s the same thing she enjoys about being a mentor with the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy’s PharmaSEE mentorship program. Even as a pharmacy student, Irvine was interested in leadership and professional growth, and when she had the opportunity to mentor students in her professional capacity, she jumped at the chance. She has participated in the program since its inception in 2021.

Irvine enjoys sharing her story with students to encourage them to keep an open mind about their future pharmacy career.

“Mentorship is really reciprocal. I learn so much from the students, and I hope that through the mentorship program, the students discover things about themselves that they may not know and accelerate their confidence,” she says.

“I’ve had a lot of important mentors who have helped me recognize my own strengths, opened my eyes to new opportunities, and encouraged me to try different things in my career. I want to be that person for others, to help them clarify their own goals and expose them to different opportunities.”