Episode 3 – ISPE Boston and Individualized Medicine with Jack Campion

Jack Campion is Principal at the Hart Companies. He is the immediate past president of the ISPE Boston area chapter. Jack and the show host Samir have known and worked with each other for many years in their capacity as the ISPE Boston board of directors and as volunteers on other committees. Let’s hear Jack’s thoughts on the new and emerging developments in our industry and what it means for the future of pharma.

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Show Notes

1:00     Jack’s professional background and how he got into the biotech field. Met with people who were starting the ISPE Boston area chapter. Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA is the center of the R&D universe with the most engineers per square foot in the world. Biogen among others were the pioneers in the field.

3:00     Jack’s thoughts on the new technology and innovations which will have huge impact on the pharmaceutical industry. Individualized medicine will be a key factor. There will be patient specific therapies with the bedside manufacturing. The standardization of manufacturing may be a challenge.

5:21     What’s the difference between single-use technology for an individual plant and an individualized medicine? Different patient will need different process parameters.

6:00     The continuous march of single-use technology and the continuous manufacturing. The choice between a single-use or stainless steel plant is also very product specific. The continuous manufacturing will also spread.

7:26     There will also be a big use of cloud computing not just for archiving but also for GMP usage and retrieval. The data safety is still a concern.

8:45     The long-term drivers of the industry will be the companies with manufacturing abilities and those who know how.

9:20     How can you prepare for all these changes? The talent pool is very thin not just in Boston but also in other clusters of biotech centers. Look for opportunities to expand your skillset. Talk to people. Go to professional events like the one organized by ISPE.

11:02   Any concerns? The regulation of the new technology will be the key.

11:50   Jack’s new duties as the immediate past president. The Scholarship foundation, the Women in Pharma, the Industry Advisory Board – among others.

12:40   Jack’s involvement with ISPE. Chaired the education committee. Was asked to join the board. Then the Treasurer, the Vice President and eventually the President of the chapter.

13:15   What separates ISPE from other professional organization? Other organizations such as AIChE or ACS caters to a particular branch while ISPE serves the pharma industry and all of its aspects such as regulatory, validation etc. which may not be covered by the others.

14:15   Advice to new professionals joining the pharma industry. Find a professional organization like ISPE or other to join and network. The members are there to help each other. Raise your hand for as many opportunities as possible.

15:10 Belief that others may think is unorthodox. Insect cell culture – what do insects do well that other species don’t? Let’s see if we can get some of those. Remember Jurassic Park?

16:48   The book that’s been most influential to Jack – The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. E.g Be proactive – think through your day ahead of time. Plan your week Sunday afternoon or night.

17:50   The quote Jack lives by – This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day. Thou canst not then be false to any man/Farewell, my blessing season this in thee! Which is from Act 1, Scene III of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Listen to it here on youtube – the quote starts at 2:03. For those of us who didn’t study English literature, it means never lie to yourself or others. Be truthful to yourself and others. Be authentic.

18:40   Jack’s parting words. Get involved with ISPE in any small way you can. You’ll get 10-fold out of it compare to how much you give to ISPE. It’s an international organization and you’ll meet follow members wherever you go.

Jack can be reached via LinkedIn.