Advice You - Business

Because one of the free agent’s biggest challenges is finding enough work, I decided to write about the incredible value of volunteering. I thought back, and

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

can confirm that close to 90% of the work I do and have done in the past has come my way because of a volunteer connection.

Start by joining a group or organi

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ation in the field of your interest and then volunteer your talents. Yes, it does take time and effort, but I submit to you that you will get more business thi

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

s way than ever doing the dreaded cold calling, direct mailing, and/or advertising. First of all, people like to do business with those they know and like. Secondly

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

if you have proved your credibility by doing what you commit to, you will stand out from all of the rest. I became a newspaper editor after writing as a volunteer

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

for the paper for less than two years. Volunteer work is never a waste of time, and it is also a great way to meet potential clients and/or those who will recommend

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

you to potential clients.

If you are going to volunteer, make sure that you will be dependable and will always go “the extra mile.” Never, never say you wi

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ll do something and then not follow through. When you do follow through, make sure that what you are doing is topnotch. You will be amazed at how quickly the word w

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

ll leak out about the job you do and your expertise. It is unfortunate that so many volunteers do not choose to do an exemplary job. This fact is what makes your qu

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

ality work stand out above the rest. Remember that the impression you make will follow you forever.

Know when to volunteer for “free” and when to start chargin

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

. Yes, there is a time and place for free volunteer work. But there is also a time and place for charging. For example, one of the groups to which I belong and

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

where I have devoted many volunteer hours, needed a website. I gave them a proposal in which I lowered my usual fees -- making note, however, of the break they were

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

getting -- and even though my price was higher than those of other proposals submitted, I was chosen to do the website.

Realize that volunteering provides a won

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

derful learning opportunity. When we volunteer to take on a specific job, we will gain experience and learn something new. Often we will be asked to perform a t

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

sk that we haven’t done before, take on a new leadership role, or teach something -- and there is no better way to learn than to teach. The skills we acquire are mo

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

re valuable than any book learning in a school or college, and can even be included on our resume. We can use people we’ve worked with in volunteer situations as re

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

erences -- just make sure you ask them up front if it will be OK.

When volunteering, we are not only networking, we are also making friends for life. When

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

we are working together with others on a common project or goal and without the competition that so easily crops up in a business setting, we form wonderful friend

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

hips. We get to know others in a special way that also leads to future opportunities for all of us. We learn to trust and care for each other, besides gaining all o

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

f the other benefits that accompany volunteering.

So, what are you waiting for? Next time they ask for a volunteer, do it! You will thank me in the future.

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

Tags

Links

Advice You - Is Volunteering Valuable for Furthering Your Career?

Related Articles: