– Written by Nicole Rivera, Arcus Biosciences Manager, Clinical Pharmacology
Nicole Rivera is an ambitious and versatile business professional, who has devoted her time and skills to the pharmaceutical industry for more than eight years. She enjoys solving challenges in contexts that require collaboration, analytics and creative thinking.
Nicole is a Quantitative Clinical Pharmacologist in the oncology space. Her daily tasks include statistical analysis, design of drug trials, and technical writing of regulatory documents. She works at a USA-based pharmaceutical that cultivates long-term partnerships and offers competitive combination strategies. She holds a BSc with a focus on biotechnology from the University of Florida and an MSc with a focus on pharmacometrics from the University of Maryland.
Through careful preparation, Nicole plans to adopt a symbiotic approach to business and to advance industry ideas with promising impact on American society. Since the autumn of 2024, she has been learning marketing and pharmacoeconomic concepts through self-directed research and certified coursework. She hopes to attend law school in five to six years’ time, with a focus on business law.
Nicole believes there is great room for improvement in the US health system and so continues her journey to gain significant exposure in its various parts. She has strategised a career comprised of challenging work, continuing education, international business experience and network building.
1. What attracted you to your current position?
“I wanted a role as a clinical pharmacologist with a pharmacometrics skill set, meaning I’d have the opportunity to work as an integral and visible member of a drug development team while performing data analysis and model development. After working as a pharmacometrician and supporting projects in different therapeutic areas, I determined that a shift in focus to oncology would be beneficial for my career growth. I decided to pursue a position with a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing cancer combination therapies. From a job security perspective, I was confident about joining the company because of its approach to partnerships – the biopharmaceutical industry and drug development is associated with high risks, so forming strategic partnerships is important. I experience tremendous growth and receive recognition for the impact my work has on business goals.”
2. If you could offer one piece of advice to someone just starting out in the pharmaceutical industry and another to someone well established in their career, what would they be?
“My advice to young professionals is to practise patience as you gain knowledge and experience. With time, you’ll be exposed to people across functions. Stay curious and get to know more about what others do in their roles. And broaden your network! You’ll gain insights that inform and lead you to a promising career path based on your strengths and interests. It’s important to gain work experience prior to studying an advanced degree, which is highly valued in this industry. In their early career stages, young professionals should think wisely about how to upskill for both financial success and job satisfaction. This requires discipline, risk and support from those in your personal lives. My advice to those well established is that it’s never too late to learn a new skill or pivot for greater fulfilment and success. Take a leap of faith into your next act!”
3. How would you describe your leadership style in just a few words?
“I’d describe my style as both dominant and conscientious. I believe this helps foster a productive and fair work environment. I expect great organisation skills from myself and others to contribute to an efficient workflow. Also, I tend to be calm and even tempered as this makes work more enjoyable and demonstrates respect for the workplace and the workforce. I value collaboration with individual contributors and leadership for better long-term decision-making. I also value transparency.”
4. If you weren’t doing this job, then what would you be doing?
“It’s difficult to see myself doing something outside of the life sciences industry, given it accounts for most of my experience. However, if I was able to set aside my personal and professional limitations, I’d attend law school or work as a paralegal. On the other hand, I could also see myself living a leisurely life on the Italian coast.”
5. Reflecting on your career journey, what professional achievement are you most proud of, and how has it shaped your approach to leadership and innovation?
“My pivot from biopharmaceutical manufacturing to drug development was one of much learning and persistence. I am proud of this. To secure my first opportunity in this area, I had to network a tremendous amount and compete in the job market with others holding PharmDs and PhDs, which are highly valued by hiring managers who have these degrees themselves. However, I’ve found managers and companies alike recognise my talents and appreciate my cooperative and tactful approach to work given my real-world experience in the industry.”
6. Can you share a challenging decision you’ve had to make recently and how you navigated it?
“I have an interest in pharmacoeconomics, and decided to pursue coursework in the autumn of 2024. I considered the timing and how I could apply this knowledge in my current role. Through careful and thoughtful communication, I was able to begin this coursework with my employer’s support. Also, I took on a project at work this year consisting of learning about PROs (patient reported outcomes) and their application in oncology early- and late-phase clinical trials.”
7. In what ways do you see the pharmaceutical industry evolving in the next decade, and how are you preparing for those changes?
“From a US perspective, I think bringing back pharmaceutical manufacturing to the US, moving towards precision medicine and using real-world data are key evolving areas for the next decade. My goal is to learn and develop across functions of the pharmaceutical industry for as long as I’m in the workforce. This is a career-long feat, and I’ve done my best to prepare and align both my professional and my personal life to the things most important to me with little sacrifice. I think these changes will incentivise pharmaceutical companies to invest in employees and engage in collaborations to stay competitive.”
8. Working in clinical pharmacology is different to the usual data scientist role. How would you tell someone what your role is and where they may be able to help?
“In clinical pharmacology, I work with clinical data (and sometimes nonclinical data) and visualise this information in different ways to gain further insights. I focus on applying mathematical modelling to study drug behaviour and effects within the pharmaceutical field, by analysing pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) data to optimise drug development and dosage regimens. Essentially, a pharmacometrician is a specialised data scientist deeply rooted in the biological and clinical aspects of drug action. A data scientist may work with broad types of data; however, the overarching goal remains the same: to extract insights from data. So, data scientists’ technical skills in programming languages such as R and in data visualisation are helpful.”
9. Your plans sound very exciting. What attracts you to study pharmacoeconomics and how will this upskill complement your current role?
“Thanks! I think so too! Pharmacoeconomics is a valuable discipline for understanding the costs and consequences of using one company’s drugs over a competitor’s and to inform negotiations with payers. This information is especially relevant at the commercialisation stage. However, this discipline is also helpful during the drug development stage and can be integrated with clinical trial data and other information to assess the potential economic benefit of a new drug.”
10. How do you balance the technical and analytical demands of your role with the creative thinking needed for innovative solutions in drug development?
“I like to stay abreast of clinical pharmacology and pharmacometrics topics to gain further expertise and reinforce my foundational knowledge. I balance this by seeking new perspectives and collaborating with diverse teams to come up with novel solutions for drug design and development.”
