"My team is responsible for the quality of each product for as long as it remains in our patients' hands”

Commercial Quality is the organization that oversees our medicine's high-quality from the end of their production and all the way to their destination. Magdalena Zelazny, who's been part of Teva for over 20 years, explains about her team's work and why every day brings new experiences.

My name is Magdalena Zelazny. I live in Krakow, Poland. I've been working in Teva for more than 20 years, as I joined right after graduating from the university. I began my journey with the company in the local manufacturing site, in the operations and quality departments. Since 2011 I'm part of the European Commercial Quality organization in Teva – first as Commercial Quality Head for Poland, then as Head of several European countries.

My work is not a standard work and it's never boring. Every day I deal with inquiries from authorities or from our customers, and many times it involves the need to collect information or break down the query in a way that ensures proper handling. My goal is to look at the big picture and understand who I should collaborate with to solve the puzzle and have the full answer in my hands. Every day I speak with many colleagues from different departments. I enjoy defining a plan, developing the process, and completing the full task.

Commercial Quality is the organization that supports Teva's markets. We operate in 60 countries around the world, and our team's responsibility is to ensure the high-quality of Teva's products once the manufacturing process is confirmed and the batches go out for distribution. We are the quality voice in contact with authorities as Marketing Authorization Holder. This is one of our basic responsibilities – to ensure that the finished goods are sold only to authorized customers and through legal and official distribution channels. Basically, we are responsible for each product until the end of its shelf life, or in other words, as long as it remains in the patients' hands.

We are part of Teva's Global Quality Compliance team. This means that we focus on compliance, with quality regulations and legislations. To be successful, we need to be in close contact on a daily basis with each market's Commercial team, as well as with our Supply Chain, Regulatory Affairs, Medical and Pharmacovigilance teams, and all of the company's manufacturing sites of course. So yes, quite a long list of collaborations. This enables us to find the information we need from the right stakeholders, and answer the questions and inquires we receive, efficiently and in the best way possible to always ensure the high-quality of our medicines.

Outside of work, I love traveling. I like spending my weekends walking, cycling, or hiking in the mountains near my hometown. I also enjoy traveling across Europe and just recently visited Tokyo for the first time. That was an amazing experience!