As we are seeing an upturn in the requirement for excellent Quality staff, we thought it’d be interesting to collate the course that can lead to the QP or “Qualifed Person” status in Ireland.

Trinity College, Dublin (TCD) – MSc / Postgrad Diploma in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Technology

Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) – MSc in Industrial Pharmaceutical Technology

IT Sligo – MSc in Industrial Pharmaceutical Technology

Edit – there’s University College, Cork (UCC) also – Masters in Pharmaceutical Technology and Quality Systems

To our knowledge these are the 4 currently on offer. Most are run on a 2 year part-time basis, where attendance is required a number of times per semester. They are semi-distance learning, so to speak. The requirements for these courses are generally just a scientific degree plus 2+ years of Quality experience in a regulated industry. They are a great way to kick-start your career if the support network within your current employer exists.

For relevant quality opportunities, check out our QualityAssurance.ie site.

Comments or questions? – Brian (brian.c at lifescience.ie)

Connected Health – The Future?
Brian Christensen from Life Science Recruitment examines the current state of Connected Health and the opportunities that exist

Connected Health is the application of technology in order to make healthcare systems more efficient and effective. Much of it focuses of remote patient management. On a radio interview on 28th July 2010, when asked about his tenure, Prof. Brendan Drumm (Head of the HSE) said “the IT area, I think, is an area where we have to make huge progress – it is my one regret. When a Patient arrives I’d like to see them immediately linked up to the system in St Vincent’s Hospital (for example)”
Connected Health is primed to be one of the major growth areas in Ireland’s knowledge economy over the next number of years. According to a recent report by BioBusiness Ltd, (Connected Health in Ireland, An All-Island Review), Healthcare Technology, Connected Health and Medical Devices were identified as high potential growth areas, and that Ireland was uniquely positioned to capitalize on this potential due to its knowledge-based economy, highly skilled workforce and position in the EU.
Telehealth (remote healthcare management), a subset of Connected Health would also seem to be an area primed for growth. Although requiring significant initial investment, the potential gains to be made from it are immense. Simple changes such as less time being taken up by minor procedures / monitoring in hospitals means that a clinician can be more productive and save time, thus reducing the cost to the tax payer, or certainly getting more value for the tax payer. It might not be so easy in the beginning, but it certainly appears to be the way healthcare is moving.
The following account from a junior doctor in a national hospital highlights the problems first hand: “Radiology is undoubtedly at the epicenter off all things concerning patient management in the hospital. Rarely a patient diagnosis will be made or management decision decided upon without the use of CT, MRI, X-Ray or some other imaging modality. To this end, it is essential to have a quick turnaround time from time of scan ordering, scan completion to ultimately scan interpretation.”
The doctor went on to say “I will begin my day with a ward round, here my senior colleagues will delegate work for the day before they go off to theatre, while it is my role to care for the patients on the ward , both their standard post/pre-operative care or if they become acutely unwell for any reason. For efficient patient care to be actualized, quick interpretation of scans is paramount. Unfortunately however, without the use of an integrated PACS or other telehealth system much of my working day is occupied with frequent visits to the radiology department to ascertain various scans of current in-patients, often only to ultimately find out the scan has been lost; all the time detracting from patient care on the ward.”
The Irish government has invested vast sums of money in educating its doctors through medical school. Upon graduating the fledgling medics are equipped with an ability to obtain a medical history from a patient, hypothesize over a probable diagnosis and formulate a management plan. These skills are rarely practiced in the unconnected healthcare system though; the unofficial role of a junior doctor is to perform the laborious and logistic duties of compiling and organizing patient notes, tests and films, something a connected health system would achieve in the blink of an eye.
Given the constraints of the current austerity measures enforced the government, Mary Harney, the Minister for Health, is working within a limited healthcare budget. She has highlighted the excessive overtime situation experienced by the junior doctor as a key target of austerity measures. In current practices, it is highly impracticable for junior doctors to work within the confines of a 39 hour work week, due to reasons alluded to above. Having spoken to a number of junior doctors across the system, for those which incorporate PACS, junior doctor overtime is currently being reduced. Nationwide implementation of PACS, RIS and PAS will greatly improve efficiency in the healthcare systems and result in a decrease in the overtime experience by junior doctors.
Positive signs in this area have been seen recently. The HSE NIMIS (National Integrated Medical Imaging System) project is investing over €40m in providing state of the art electronic radiology systems for 35 Irish hospitals. NIMIS will make Ireland’s radiological services ‘filmless’ and enable secure and rapid movement of patient image data throughout the health service. This new imaging system will allow doctors to electronically view their patient’s diagnostic images, such as X-Rays and CT Scans, quickly and easily. The rapid access and availability of patient’s records to health professionals is a significant step for patient safety. NIMIS will be installed in 35 hospitals within a three year period starting from 2010.
From a job seeker’s point of view, this is just as exciting an area to look for progression. There are three main routes of entry; IT, scientific and clinical. From a scientific point-of-view areas such as LIMS (Laboratory Information Management Systems) and Computer System Validation in the life sciences can be of interest to companies providing connected health solutions. From a clinical perspective, technical radiographers are often attractive as potential candidates, especially on the client-facing side of the business. Their technical expertise and practical experience of the healthcare system ideally places them in a situation to act as trainer, mentor and mediator between the implementation team and the Client (hospital or healthcare institution).
As more public investment is necessarily allotted to this area, opportunities will exist for both professionals and companies to flourish, especially for those who have the necessary skills in the underlying areas of IT, medical devices and diagnostic radiography. Challenges exists though, particularly in the context of current policies in healthcare management, highlighted in the Connected Health Report by BioBusiness Ltd. Reform of management structures and policies are an essential prerequisite to the implementation of large scale connected health projects within Ireland leading to more efficient, more effective, more advanced and ultimately safer patient care.

Brian Christensen works with Life Science Recruitment. For more information log on to www.lifescience.ie

I’m looking for Clinical Research professionals in many guises. From CTA to CRA and a Clinical Operations Specialist, it’s an area we seem to be seeing a lot of movement in.
I’m also seeking qualified Regulatory professional in Pharma (Dublin / Galway)

James is sekeing a number of roles on the medical device side of the business.

A Snr Ballon Engineer for a Client in the South East. A very exciting company / opportunity.
He is also seeking Quality Engineers at various levels. There’s the Complaints Coordinator role (call for more info), to a QE and a Snr QE

Richard is looking for skilled sales reps in all areas as always. A particularly urgent need he has is the Neurology Hospital Rep in Munster. Previous experience in this sphere is required.

Eamonn is always on the lookout for Medical Science Liaisons (Medical Advisors). More information can be seen on the MedicalAffairs.ie niche site. Eamonn tends to look for people with relevant PhDs / MSc / Pharmacists with commercial experience. Another area we’re seeing a lot of movement in. the majority of these roles are based in Dublin, but there is one opportunity in Cork also.

If you’d like to discuss or career or any of the above – call us at 010 6854545.

Outside of these walls, what else is new? The GAA Championship is firmly underway, with the Dubs clear favourites v. Tyrone on Saturday(!!!). Tipperary impressed v Galway last week in a stormer of a game, can they get to the final again?
AND there’s the small matter of a certain Mr. L. Cohen at Lissadell House, Sligo on Saturday.

Here’s hoping for more sunshine – Brian (bhc at lifescience dot ie)

Brian Christensen from Life Science Recruitment examines how the recent economic difficulties have affected the Life Sciences industry in Ireland.

The Life Science industry in Ireland has weathered the economic storm relatively unscathed. A sweeping statement perhaps? But one we believe to be true. There are a number of points to be noted when assessing the current situation.

The Brain Drain

With 1,000 PhD’s scheduled to graduate this year, are there job for these candidates? Currently, it seems, the answer is no. Reliable PhD employers like Wyeth/Pfizer have frozen recruitment due to the current merger. Recruitment has also slowed down in relation to PhD recruitment with Abbott. The overwhelming result is that more PhDs are staying in academia, and are not contributing ideas to industry. Many are seeking work in more buoyant markets and also outside mainstream science – in areas such as sales and marketing and business consultancy. However, on the commercialization of research, there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.

A 7.5% increase in capital committed to start ups in 2008 was noted, which was also 26% up on 2006. Many of these start-ups are based around special incubation centres on university campuses like the Nova Centre in UCD and the Ignite Centre in Galway. The take-home message seems to be there are still attractive and viable options out there for ambitious researchers who have pioneering technology to bring to market. Recent success stories include Cappella Medical Devices in Galway and Merrion Pharma in Dublin.

Governmental Plans

For those that suggest preparation is key, our governmental organisations would tend to agree, certainly judging by recent actions. The IDA and Enterprise Ireland (EI) in recent times have sourced planning application approvals for 2 “plug and play” Biopharma campuses, one based in Galway and the other in Dundalk. This makes it easier for these bodies to attract potential Clients, although the argument could be made for the apparent lack of potential new blockbuster drugs in the current global pipeline which would warrant such sites. However, having these options ready to go means we are gearing up for the market to shift in the right direction, and positioning correctly for when new investments need to be made. Another issue on the horizon is how long can we keep hold of our magical 12.5% corporate tax rate? Obama has made it clear that it is something he is not happy about, and the EU has sent signals to similar effect. This could have a hugely detrimental effect on all sectors of our economy were it to ultimately materialise.

Recent Industry Movements

There have been a number of new investments in the country this year, including the further development of the Athlone Medical Device hub, encompassing companies like Teleflex, Utah Medical, Abiomed, KCI Medical, Georgia Tech, as well as the clinical research organisation PPD. Other investments and expansions include worldwide manufacturers like Millipore in Cork and Merck-Sharpe & Dohme in Carlow. This is encouraging when considering Ireland within the scheme of global markets; we are still an attractive place to invest. However, a number of questions still linger. The most pertinent of these would seem to be the fallout from Pfizer’s purchase of Wyeth. As Wyeth has a number of high profile plants here in Ireland, it will be interesting how Pfizer judges them in the global context of their operations. The Grange Castle site would seem to be in good hands due to its modernity, but the Newbridge site is 38 years old, so may not have a future quite so bright.

Job Areas to Focus On

On a more micro level, we have noticed a number of areas where job shortages seem to be present, at least from our viewpoint. As there has been a historical lack of biotech in this country, experience up- and downstream process engineers, as well as micro professionals with biotech experience, are strongly in demand. Regulatory affairs have been tightened up in recent times, resulting in a constant need to regulatory professionals in various areas. We are also noticed a lot of outsourcing in this area. There has been a lot of expansion in the Clinical Affairs / Clinical Research area. Larger companies like ICON and Quintiles are going strong, with numerous smaller companies making market gains with pioneering new technologies like electronic data capture (EDC). As EDC is something relatively new to the CRO marketplace, companies are still coming to terms with the regulatory adjustments necessary to accommodate it, resulting in a number of positions here. In Clinical Affairs, niche specialist roles like medical advisory and medical science liaison roles seems to be in constant demand.

Job Seeking

We have also examined how the web-savvy jobseeker who is on the lookout has adapted to these difficulties and market needs. According to our research, almost 70% of people have started to use multiple resourcing techniques, such as direct searches on search engines as opposed to just job boards. There is also a trend toward a more niche targeted jobseeker, with many opting for niche industry job sites and industry specialist portals, such as lifescience.ie. People are using social networks to connect and talk, which inevitably results in people finding jobs here too. LinkedIn, Facebook and twitter (to a lesser extent) are being embraced by the informed jobseeker. Google searches are becoming more popular as internet penetration continues to rise. In a market as tough as this, it pays to have a number of people who are taking a keen interest in any potential opportunities available, which these sites do perfectly. We see this market as continuing to adapt as new and better technologies become available. We would describe the forecast for next year as being cautious but quietly optimistic, although it will very much be governed by decisions by the global players who have made the aforementioned market shifting moves.