After another exciting Midyear, we are back with our first year features. This week, we want to introduce Adam Quicquaro who is a 1st Year Fellow at Alexion. Adam, who is originally from Connecticut, is no stranger to the Boston area—he is an alum of MCPHS University. In fact, he had the opportunity to do an APPE rotation with one of our other fellowship companies while he was a student. Find out about how Adam adjusted to professional life, and what opportunities Alexion has to offer our fellows!
I originally became involved in the industry through my internship and APPE rotation experiences. In the summer of 2016, I was fortunate enough to have an intern position at Alexion Pharmaceuticals within their Global Medical and Clinical Review department. This opportunity was an excellent introductory experience that solidified my desire to work in the biopharmaceutical industry. During the summer of 2017, my first APPE rotation was at Becton Dickinson (BD) Medical, and I assisted the Medical Affairs department on diabetes device strategy, conference planning, and key opinion leaders (KOLs)* influence. Throughout this experience, I was able to determine that I wanted to belong to the medical affairs realm.
* = also referred to as key thought leaders
As a Global Medical Affairs fellow, I am fortunate enough to participate in higher-level engagement with key healthcare practitioners and KOLs at a global scale. Projects that require this type of engagement include assisting in the development of global medical advisory boards, attendance at key conferences around the world, and delivering presentations on new and emerging evidence/data that pertains to diseases and therapies within the global medical affairs department.
Transitioning from student to fellow required me to break out of my comfort zone and adapt to a new environment. At first, the transition was mildly stressful because the process is ongoing throughout the fellowship program. However, it becomes easier over time and eventually facilitates the development from student to fellow, and ultimately from fellow to industry professional. A great example of this occurred when I first began the program. My program director did not have a particular answer that I had, and this interaction enabled me to seek out the answer elsewhere by reaching out to other leaders in the company. All the while, I benefited from the experience by growing my internal network at the company and enhancing the quality of my work.
Later throughout the program, I will have the opportunity to explore and assist various departments that work parallel to global medical affairs. Examples of such departments include global patient safety (pharmacovigilance), marketing (commercial) operations, and regulatory affairs. Ultimately, this experience will expand my understanding of their role and function within the company.
Alexion Pharmaceuticals is a rare disease company. More often than not, a rare disease is a devastating, life-threatening condition that has no treatment available. The work being done at Alexion provides rare disease patients with an opportunity to live a better life. Having the opportunity to work at Alexion fulfills my desire to help those less fortunate in a unique way that is relative to my personal interests and skill set. I am fortunate enough to say that I find deep satisfaction and purpose in what I do on a daily basis.
Adam Quicquaro, PharmD. is a Global Medical Affairs Post-Doctoral Fellow with MCPHS University and Alexion
MCPHS Biopharmaceutical Fellows' Network 