A Passport to Career Development: A Journey with Teva's R&D Teams

My trip was definitely new territory for CPD! Yes, we’ve had short-term, in-person visits, but never before was there a longer, in-residence trip with specific project goals to meet. I was eager to take this unique assignment to see other Teva R&D sites firsthand and to immerse myself in new cultures. A lot of planning, pre-work, and goal setting went into this career development experience and looking back, that’s what made this assignment an enriching experience for me and for the colleagues I worked alongside.

First on my itinerary – Waterford. My Irish colleagues are testing one of our inhalers in development. We set up our own testing in the West Chester laboratory to help move the project along more quickly. I worked with the Waterford team to confirm West Chester was following identical testing techniques and provided them with good data. Being on site and talking directly with the Waterford team was very valuable and gave us all additional confidence in the data we’ve been sharing.

I was in Ireland for only a few days, but the Waterford team made the most of every minute. I loved the early morning huddles, where we chatted over breakfast and coffee at the site canteen. It set the tone for the rest of the day and contributed to a strong team environment.

After that, we quickly got started on the day’s agenda – meeting engineers in the lab, getting to know R&D colleagues from other parts of the organization, and observing the inhaler manufacturing line in operation, among other activities. In the spirit of Irish hospitality and as a professional courtesy, I was also invited to tour another company’s research facility that shares the campus with Teva Waterford. And my visit wasn’t all work. I was in an area of Waterford with Viking ruins, so I was able to see some historical pieces.

Next, on to Croatia. With four weeks at the Zagreb site, I really got to know my colleagues from the medical device testing team. I worked with different members of the team every day in the lab, which was fantastic! They were always ready to lend a helping hand.

My main focus in Zagreb involved finding ways to improve a container closure testing method, which helps identify leaks. It was a truly collaborative venture, with the West Chester site shipping a pressure vessel that we used in the first phase of testing in Zagreb. My medical device testing colleagues in Zagreb helped me analyze samples, and together we created a method that seems to be feasible for vials, syringes and different types of drug products. That was really exciting!

Away from the laboratories, I co-led an R&D Talent Development and Retention workstream, which is focused on fostering a workplace where scientists find professional challenges, enjoy what they do, and build life-long careers. I met with several R&D colleagues in Ireland and Croatia to hear diverse perspectives.

I had more time in Zagreb than I did in Waterford, so I was able to get to know the area a little better and even learned a few phrases in Croatian. One of the first things I did was a coffee and history walking tour around the city. The coffee culture is important in Zagreb, with its many small coffee shops. Even our Teva site has espresso machines at seemingly every corner!

Based on my experience in Zagreb, West Chester purchased a duplicate pressure vessel and another key piece of equipment, a spectrophotometer. Now, leveraging the experience gained in Zagreb, I am working on developing new methods for the drug products based out of the West Chester site. My Zagreb colleagues provided guidance on the analysis portion of this test method to help it get up and running. I was also able to observe cartridges being filled in a sterile manufacturing “clean room,” which provided a new and interesting perspective to my ongoing work in West Chester, where I am working on a device that uses a cartridge.

Colleagues gave me farewell gifts, but it is me who is truly grateful for the gift of an amazing learning experience. As engineers and scientists, we often find common ground in our ability to help each other for the good of patients. Now new connections built in Waterford and Zagreb make it even easier to exchange expertise and resources. While we have a large and diverse R&D organization, I’ve learned that our similarities are greater than our differences.