Working Life: AstraZeneca’s Jonathan Day
pharmafile | May 5, 2015 | Feature | Manufacturing and Production, Medical Communications, Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Jonathan Day, Working Life
How did you find your way into your current role?
By way of background, I trained in medicine at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel and then spent the next ten years working in the NHS specialising in cardiothoracic surgery. I mainly worked in London but did my house jobs in Basildon and Blackpool, which was a great experience.
During my training I spent three years doing a PhD on thrombin inhibition at Imperial College at the Hammersmith site while continuing to do on-call cover mainly in the cardiac ITU, as well as covering any emergencies that came in.
This was the first time since entering medical school that I’d put my head above the parapet and realised how much opportunity there is out there to do other rewarding and fulfilling work beyond clinical practice.
I started my career in the industry working in the UK affiliate of a Danish company called Nycomed which, after various mergers, is now part of Takeda. For the past seven years I have worked at The Medicines Company in a variety of roles, including positions in European medical affairs and early and late stage drug development, which I really enjoyed – especially the work with FDA and EMA and other regulatory agencies.
It is really rewarding when you see decades of drug development work pay off with getting a new medicine approved and made available to patients. But, of course, that is only the beginning in many ways, as successfully commercialising a product is the next great challenge.
Then along came this opportunity to work at AstraZeneca. I couldn’t resist the chance to work in a thriving and dynamic environment such as this, an organisation with a great pipeline in a commercially strong marketing company.
How is your field changing?
I think pharmaceutical medicine as a discipline is changing for the better. It is getting far more recognition both in the UK and internationally as a career with great prospects and there is a real diversity of opportunities out there in terms of what one can achieve, where one works, and the focus of that work – whether it is in development, drug safety, medical affairs or something else.
Five years ago I couldn’t have told you what I’d be doing now and the same applies for the what I’ll be doing five years from now – I love the changing environment and the opportunity that brings to do something new and exciting every day and to continue to grow professionally and feel a sense
of reward.
What are the most enjoyable things about your role?
Positive interactions with people and teams when we are achieving something great together. When I look back on all my positive experiences in life it’s usually the people that made the difference, the interactions we all had together and the things we achieved through collaboration. People always used to ask me when I left the NHS if I missed patients and I’d say no – I love people but they don’t have to be sick!
And the least enjoyable?
I think we can all get swamped in email and bureaucracy sometimes – it’s a necessity of modern working life but sometimes picking up the phone or walking over to talk to someone face-to-face can really help.
What are some of the most common misconceptions about your field and the people in it?
I think a common misconception is that clinicians working in the industry somehow didn’t make it in clinical practice, but I really don’t believe that’s the case.
There are some really great, talented and hard working individuals I have met in the industry from all over the world and everyone has a different story of how they got here. Life is full of different opportunities and choices and we all take a different path sometimes.
Is there someone in your field who has inspired you or from whom you have learnt a lot?
There have been many at different stages of my career and I think about them all frequently as I have a lot to thank them for.
I’m not going to name any here but I think we have all had various mentors or looked to inspirational figures at various points who take us under their wing and guide and inspire us through a stage in our career. I wouldn’t be what I am today without their oversight and guidance.
Similarly, is there someone outside your field who has been a source of inspiration for you?
My long suffering wife, who I met when I was 19, who understands and luckily tolerates all that is me.
What is the secret to a happy working life?
I think we all need to get our work/life balance right – probably the best advice would be to enrich your personal life with the positive energy you derive from work and vice versa and let them nurture
each other. Generally happy and confident people exude that energy in interactions inside and outside of the work place.
If you had advice for anyone starting out in your field now, what would it be?
Think about it carefully and talk to as many people as you can as it is a big decision leaving clinical medicine. But when you’re ready go for it, put your heart and soul into what you do and you’ll have a fantastic and truly rewarding time. Personally, I have never looked back.
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