UPDATES FROM OUR TECHNOLOGY DIVISION 

On May 5th last the Irish affiliate of ISPE (International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineers) held a conference titled “Industry 5.0 "The Future of Life Sciences" at which our very own Head of Digital Transformation, Noel Kelly delivered a keynote presentation that outlined the work undertaken by Innopharma in developing and executing a Digital Maturity and Sustainability Assessment for members of the Lighthouse Partnership in Disruptive Technologies, a Biopharmachem Ireland and IDA backed group of leading small molecule manufactures in Ireland.

Noel also participated in a lively panel discussion alongside Domhnall Carroll, Head of Advanced Manufacturing Center and Seán O'Reagain, the Deputy Head of Industry 5.0 at the European Commission. The audience was very engaged with the panel on a number of Industry issues including the importance of skills development as a core element Digital Transformation.

THE NATIONAL MANUFACTURING & SUPPLY CHAIN

Darren was a speaker at the National Manufacturing & Supply Chain where he presented on SmartX as a low code/no code application for process automation and control.

USA EAST COAST TOUR 

On the 20th of June, Darren and Liam went to USA for a week. They joined up with our US distributor Horiba and hit the road visiting new and old customers up and down the East Coast. The photo below is of Keith Swain (Horiba) Bill Travers (Horiba) and Liam Ryan (Innopharma Technology). It was great to finally be back in the US after nearly 3 years.

The meetings and demos we had, got across some things that a remote video call lacks. It was our first time to be presenting SmartX in-person to customers. EyePASS V3.0 with AI image analysis was also met with awe and delight. Customer meetings included Colorcon, FDA, Rutger‘s University, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Sun Pharma.

OUR EDUCATION DIVISION HAVE BEEN BUSY RECRUITING FOR SEPTEMBER 2022 INTAKE

We received our Springboard+ and HCI course numbers for September 2022!  We were well above average as we received funding for 14 courses, with a minimum target of 800 places. We are on track to reaching our target with a current estimated class list of 464, 58% of our minimum target. This was a tremendous validation of the hard work we do and the results we deliver for our students every year. Now for the final push before we meet our new students with our programmes starting in September. 

OPEN DAYS ARE BACK!

It was great to be able to organise in-person Open Day's again and meet potential students face to face. We held three Open Days across our locations, Dublin, Limerick and Cork. We had a great turn out and lots of interest for our Sept intake.

THURLES UPSKILLING EVENT 

Mary Jo and Joan attended an upskilling event in Thurles. It is great to be attending events again and growing our brand to new connections. 

WEEKLY WEBINAR SERIES

The team have been running weekly webinars in the lead up to our September intake.We have been focusing on a different topic each week so that students get a full overview of the course they are interested in and the opportunities within the industry. We have had a great response to these webinars, on average we have a 60% attendance rate so we are continuing with an August series that starts on Thursday 4th!

A huge thank you to everyone who has been involved in these webinars, the speakers, support team and the organisers. 

LIMERICK & ATHLONE EXAMS 

In May, exams returned to the classrooms in Limerick and Athlone where we had over 240 students sit exams. The following groups sat exams:

3 Certificate in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Operations
2 Certificate in Food Science & Technology 
1 Bsc in Process Technologies 
2 Certificate in Operational Excellence 
1 Higher Diploma in BioPharmaceutical and Medical Device Technology 
1 MSc Food Business Management & Technology 

Overall there was a very positive feedback from our students and ti was great to meet with all of our groups in person over the duration of the exams. IT was especially nice to get to meet with our Level 6 Pharma & Food September 2021 groups who sat their final exams in May and on the final day we got to chat to them about their academic progression opportunities. 

We get to do it all again soon this month where majority of the groups above will sit their final exams and hopefully positive outcomes from them all.

EXCITING NEWS FROM TECHNICAL SERVICES

Q2 has been another busy quarter for the Technical Services division.  Cohort 18 have completed the validation programme and are placed or interviewing at the moment.  Cohort 19 have been recruited and have commenced the programme.

Our QC business continues to grow.  Cohort 5 are nearing the end of the QC programme and are interviewing at the moment.  We are in the process of recruiting our next cohort – interviews commencing this week (Week beginning July 11^th). 

We welcomed the new starters Chris Maria Joseph, James Lynham, Ester Ibulu, Eoin Greaney, Linh Chi Tran, Smith Sheth and Mary Archana to the technical services team. We also welcomed back Harsha Girish and Ishita Chandrawanshi.

Chris, Linh, Mary, Harsha and Ishita have all started roles with Amgen.  James has taken up a role in Zoetis. Ester has taken up a QC Analyst role in BMS. Eoin has commenced in Boston Scientific in Galway. Smit has started in Regeneron.  

We also welcomed a new member to the Technical Services Core Team with Sonia Conway, taking up the role of General Administrator reporting to Caroline.  We’ll meet Sonia in our next newsletter

OLIVIA O'GORMAN - QA VALIDATION SPECIALIST REGENERON

My name is Olivia O'Gorman. (Q1 starter). I am working as a QA Validation Specialist at Regeneron in Co. Limerick. I completed the L8 Biopharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing course offered by Innopharma and TUD in 2020-2021 and then accepted a place on the Innopharma Validation Program before becoming a full time Innopharma employee. When I'm not at work I can be found hiking, doing yoga or riding out with my horse. One of my favourite places to visit is the beach. My most recent favourite book is Think Like A Monk. I love food and so I don't have one favourite food but if I had to pick I'd put oranges at the top of the list. I'd describe myself as curious.

SMITH SHETH - VALIDATION ENGINEER REGENERON 

I am excited to embark on a career in Validation with Innopharma. I hold a Bachelor's degree in Pharmacy from Mumbai University, India. After working in the Retail Pharmaceutical Industry in India, I pursued MSc in Pharmaceutical Business and Technology with Innopharma Education at Griffith College Dublin, Ireland. Subsequently, I developed skills during Validation Programme with Innopharma Technical Services. I have recently joined Innopharma Technical Services as QA Validation Engineer subcontracted to Regeneron Raheen, Ireland as a QA Validation Consultant. Outside of work, I like listening to motivational podcasts and audiobooks, and watching web series. I practice Yoga and love to work towards self-development.

CHRIS MARIA JOSEPH - TECHNICAL WRITER AMGEN

I completed my Masters in Translational Oncology in 2021 from Trinity College Dublin.  I'm currently working as a Technical Writer in Manufacturing at Amgen in Dublin.  My favourite places to visit are Barcelona and Berlin.  My favourite hobbies are reading and dancing. One word that describes me is Determined. 

ESTHER IBULU - QUALITY CONTROL ANALYST BMS

My is Esther Ibulu. I had my MSc in Healthcare infection Management at Trinity college, Dublin in 2020. I currently work as Quality Control analyst with Innopharma at their client company, Bristol Myers Squibb. My hobbies are singing and dancing. I am an Optimist and a goal-getter, I believe that you can achieve anything your mind is set on. People who fail are those who don’t try.

EOIN GREANY - VALIDATION ENGINEER BOSTON SCIENTIFIC

My name is Eoin Greany. I qualified from NUIG with a Bachelor of Science Degree specialising in Earth & Ocean Sciences. I am currently working as a validation engineer in Boston Scientific in Galway within the equipment engineering department. I am a keen golfer and part time sheep farmer. I love to travel in my free time and my city is Paris.

LINH CHI TRAN - OPERATIONAL LEAD AMGEN

Linh was originally from Viet Nam. She holds a Bachelor in Pharmacy from the University of Queensland in Australia, and an MSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Trinity College Dublin. She is currently working as an Operational Lead - Validation in Amgen. Linh enjoys traveling, hiking, and playing badminton in her spare time. Her favourite places to visit are Howth and Galway. If I have to describe myself in three words, they are Truth-seeker, Empathy, and Adaptive.

JAMES LYNAM - LEVEL 8 PHARMA PROGRAMME TO VALIDATION STUDENT

Having spent many years in the Manufacturing industry across various departments I developed my passion for quality. My previous roles include Machine operator, Production operations supervisor, Injection moulding technician, Equipment maintenance Technician, Calibration specialist. lead Microelectronics failure analysis Technician, Microanalysis technician Chemical Technician I have been tool owner for a wide range of production and analytical equipment. I had the opportunity to participate and lead R&D projects and introduce new equipment to science labs.  After the closure of Hewlett Packard Leixlip where I had worked for 18 years, I decided this was my opportunity to peruse a new career in the growing pharmaceutical industry by embarking on my own upskilling programme, and as a result I achieved the following qualifications: Higher cert in GMP and technology from ITT Dublin 2018, Bachelor of science in Pharmaceutical Technology TU Dublin 2019, Higher Diploma in Science (BIO) Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing from TU Dublin (through Innopharma) 2020, Innopharma Technical services practical validation training provided me with the practical experience I needed for the smooth transition to the role of Validation EngineeR. I currently enjoy working as a Validation Engineer with Innopharma technical services, my current role is with Zoetis Tullamore specialising in Equipment Validation.

In my spare time I like spending time with my family and friends, working in my garage, DIY projects, cycling and forest walks with our two dogs. My interests at the moment include current affairs, climate change and sustainable energy ideas. I prefer to holiday in Ireland but also enjoy visiting relatives abroad.