The Global Pharma, Innovation & Leadership Fellowship

In this two-part session, you’ll first explore how new medicines are approved worldwide—covering MHRA (UK), EMA (EU), and FDA (US) processes. You’ll learn about preparing key regulatory documents, maintaining quality standards (like GMP and GLP), and managing pharmacovigilance to ensure ongoing patient safety after a treatment reaches the market.
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In the second part, we introduce the Lean Canvas method to help you “get your innovation hat on.” Through hands-on practice, you’ll learn to quickly map out a product or service idea, validate core assumptions, and refine solutions, ensuring both compliance and user-centric design.

Dr Shaneil Sonecha: UK and Ireland Country Medical Director at CSL Vifor

This module explores the drug life cycle's initial stages, including Drug Discovery and Preclinical Development, and proceeds to detail Clinical Trial Design. It emphasises the journey from identifying potential therapeutic compounds to the critical planning and execution of clinical trials. This comprehensive approach underlines the significance of ethical considerations, regulatory compliance, and the integration of technology in streamlining trial processes, ensuring data integrity, and safeguarding patient safety, offering a holistic view of drug development from conception to clinical evaluation.

Dr. Romillie Cruz, MD: Head of Medical Clinical Development, Senior Medical Director at Simbec-Orion
Evelyn Kamau: General Manager, DCT Strategy and Innovation Home Trial Services at Thermo Fisher Scientific

In this session, you’ll see how Medical Affairs connects scientific knowledge to healthcare providers, patients, and internal teams. We’ll discuss how it can evolve from a supportive function to a strategic partner in global healthcare, and explore pharmacovigilance (monitoring side effects and real-world data) to keep patients safe. We’ll also highlight the critical role of Medical Science Liaisons (MSLs)—field-based experts who share research insights and gather real-world feedback.

On a more practical note, the second workshop will focus on innovation and leadership. We’ll explore how to use frameworks like Objectives & Key Results (OKRs) and agile methods to manage projects effectively in fast-moving pharma and healthtech settings.

Dr. Victor Lopez: Vice President, Medical Operations & General Manager AES

Learn what happens after a drug is discovered, focusing on scaling up production to reliably supply medicines. We’ll cover quality checks (GMP), supply chain logistics (like cold storage and distribution to hospitals), and how companies plan for disruptions so that patients can always get their treatments. You’ll also gain a practical insight into how Artificial Intelligence can speed up drug discovery, improve clinical trial processes, and predict supply chain needs.

Yasmin Karsan: Digital Clinical Safety Officer (CSO)| Medical Device Regulation (ISO/IEC) | AI Consultant | Pharmacist | Health tech Founder

This week explores how pharmaceutical companies market and educate about their products across multiple channels—known as omnichannel marketing—and dives into the world of digital therapeutics, which are software-based treatments that can complement or replace traditional medicines. You’ll discover how AI personalises content, tracks engagement, and helps teams make data-driven decisions, and you’ll learn how patient-centric design and regulations shape these emerging healthcare solutions.

Konrad Dobschuetz: Global HealthTech Leader | Former National Director NHS Innovation Accelerator. ex-Pfizer, NHS, Novartis,
‍Dr. Faiz Shivji: Global Commercial Strategy Director, Immuno-Oncology, Bispecifics at AstraZeneca

Even the best drug isn’t useful if people can’t access or afford it. This session explains how pharmaceutical companies work with NICE (UK), health insurers, and government agencies to negotiate prices and prove a treatment’s value. You’ll learn about health economics—using data to show cost-effectiveness—and discover how real-world evidence can tip the balance.
In the final workshop, you’ll focus on personal branding, networking, and leadership development with a careers coach, preparing for long-term success in the UK pharma/biotech sector, whether you aim for a specialist role or aspire to lead teams.

Jaineel Mistry:  Leading global market access strategy for pharmaceutical and biotech clients

The final week culminates with our BiteLabs: Pharma and Life Sciences Summit event, where we host the pharma and life sciences industry, topical panel discussions and an oppertunity for our fellows to  present the individual and/or group projects they have been working on during their 8 weeks fellowship programme.

Our summit event is a great opportunity for our fellows to become a part of the Pharma and Life Sciences industry by networking and raising their profiles amongst the top industry leaders.
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You will ralso eceive your certificates and be formally initiated into the BiteLabs Pharma & LifeSciences Alumni Community.