Stefan Palimaka › Senior Manager, Market Access - Europe North, Illumina
Bio
I’ve had the opportunity to work across a number of sectors, companies, and geographies since graduating in 2014. Currently I am responsible for market access for genomics at Illumina, covering the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, and Nordic countries. At Illumina I am engaging with health systems to support and accelerate the uptake of genomics across reproductive health, oncology, rare disease, with a long list of other potential future applications to improve human health. I had a great COOP experience within Market Access at AstraZeneca Canada where I learned a lot about this exciting area of pharma companies. It was during my COOP I took an additional exchange course in advanced economic modelling at McMaster University which allowed me to transition prior to my COOP period ending in becoming hired as a health economist for the provincial health technology agency Health Quality Ontario (now Ontario Health) evaluating medical devices and care pathways. From here I moved onto Pharma, working as a Health Economics and Reimbursement Manager at Janssen in Canada, working on a drug submission for Crohn’s disease which was another great experience. I then moved to London, UK with a health economics and market access consultancy Amaris who had done a lot of work for me at Janssen. Here I developed my subject matter knowledge, people management skills, and worked on a large variety of projects across many geographies. My final position prior to joining Illumina was as the Health Economics and Market Access Lead for Advanced Accelerator Applications (a Novartis company) covering the UK, Ireland, Nordics and Baltics. Here I was responsible for preparation of reimbursement submissions for two radioligand therapy products in neuroendocrine tumours and prostate cancer for a very innovative therapeutic platform.
How did your experience in the MBiotech program contribute to your career success?
I credit the MBiotech program fully with getting me on my current career path. Firstly, the knowledge the program gave me of the pharmaceutical industry and potential roles was a key insight into planning my career. Then of course, my COOP position was just the foot in the door I needed in order to apply the skills I acquired in MBiotech and to build my network and progress in my career. Along with these practical experiences, the fast-paced and collaborative environment prepared me for the type of cross-functional work required in many corporate settings. The ability to adapt, work quickly, leverage the skills of your project group and how to lead without authority were all key lessons throughout the program.
What are some of the key skills and knowledge you acquired during the MBiotech program that are still valuable to you today?
Although it sounds simple, the focus on group work was really key to working in a corporate environment. The volume of projects, presentations and reports really challenges you to communicate clearly, delegate tasks, work with each other’s strengths and weaknesses and deliver to a high level. The other foundation skill I found was honed in MBiotech was the ability to really quickly work on a project and to build presentations with little turnaround- this really helped me with my overall communication and confidence and helped prepare me for the consulting environment particularly.
What advice would you give to current MBiotech students or recent graduates who are entering the job market?
My advice to current MBiotech students is to fully take advantage of the program and opportunities- it’s a short time overall and the more you can make of it, the more you’ll learn and be able to build on in your early career. Push yourself to participate in extra-cirrculars and additional projects if and when they present themselves. Network as much as possible – the program will give you a lot of opportunities. Finally, I would say to keep an open mind- my own career path was defined by relationships and building on connections and optional classes through MBiotech to open doors I didn’t know existed.
Be open to new experiences/departments/companies/industries until you find where you can add the most value and ultimately make an impact, there’s no wrong COOP position and make sure you learn and wring as much from each experience as you can- even if it’s what you don’t want to work on in the future, this can be extremely valuable.
Are there any memorable or transformative experiences from your time in the MBiotech program that you would like to share?
Besides getting a start on a career path I deeply care about and enjoy, my best memory of the MBiotech program is the great relationships I built. The program is a bit of a pressure cooker, so you form very strong bonds with some amazing people, and I have a number of lifelong friends from the program who share a number of core values this program attracts.
Any major accomplishment/achievement/award you would like to share with us?
Hopefully you will take a lot of meaning from your work. I think most of us were drawn to the program to work within healthcare where we can contribute to human health, however indirectly. If you work for a company who provides a life-saving or life-changing therapeutic, diagnostic, or health service, you can take pride in having a small part in making a difference in patient’s lives. For me, it’s knowing I had a part in making new drugs and genetic testing available to patients by demonstrating the value of these interventions to health care payers to inform adoption and making a real difference in people’s lives.
