EPSA Newsletter Avril 2010

8/6/2019 EPSA Newsletter Avril 2010

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this newsletter is produced byEPSA and is distributed to all EPSA

members, national pharmaceuticalstudents’ organisations, faculties,official bodies and sponsors

ANNUALCONGRESS

rd

KRAKOW POLAND

33

AUTUMN ASSEMBLY

ANNUALRECEPTIONBRUSSELS

th

GENOVA

ITALY

6

European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

bringing pharmacy, knowledge and students together

NEWSLETTEREPSA



References 1

WHO. The challenge of obesity in the WHO European region. Fact sheet Euro/13/05. 2005. Available from: www.euro.who.int/document/mediacentre/fs1305e.pdf 2

Orlistat 60 mg in conjunction with diet provides significant reduction in visceral adipose tissue.

Poster presented at: 1st

International Congress on Abdominal Obesity, 2009, Hong Kong.3

Greenway F, Smith SR, Murray K et al. Orlistat 60 mg demonstrates a significant reduction in visceral adipose tissue at 24 weeks compared with placebo.

Poster presented at: 1st

International Congress on Abdominal Obesity, 2009, Hong Kong.

Across Europe, Governments and the general public are expecting pharmacists to play a more active role in the

provision of healthcare in the community. More than ever before, pharmacists have a primary care role and

are the first port of call for consumers with a minor health problem.

Ask your Pharmacist First is a unique partnership between GSK and pharmacists currently operating in more than 20

countries in Europe. Its objectives are to:

Help promote pharmacists as expertsEncourage people to visit pharmacies more frequently

Provide training for pharmacists and assistants so they can offer the best professional advice to their customers

This support programme incorporates consumer advertising and extensive pharmacy training materials. The most recent

example of GSKs “Ask Your Pharmacist First” initiative in action can be seen in the area of obesity.

In January 2009, GSK received a non-prescription licence for alli®

(orlistat 60mg). alli®

is the first non-prescription weight

loss aid to receive a licence from the European Commission.

What is alli®

?

alli®

is a weight loss aid for adults who are overweight with a

BMI of 28kg/m2 or more and should be used with a reducedcalorie, lower-fat diet.

alli®

can help people lose 50% more weight compared to

dieting alone. So for every two kilograms lost by dieting, alli®

could help lose one kg more.

Pharmacists are ideally placed to help provide

customers with information and support whilst

they are undertaking a weight-loss programme.

Pharmacy support and training through “Ask Your Pharmacist First”

GSK offers comprehensive training to ensure that

pharmacists and pharmacy assistants are fully informed

about alli®

and the support programme.

To date, more than 200,000 pharmacy staff in over 60,000

pharmacies across Europe have been trained. The training

includes workshops, distance learning and comprehensive

detail aids.

This is a great example of how GSK is working

closely with European pharmacists to help people to live a healthier and longer life.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare is working with pharmacists across Europe to

support their role as primary care experts through its “Ask Your Pharmacist First” initiative.

Promoting the role of

Pharmacists as providers of

healthcare in the community



Dear Reader,

This second edition of the EPSA Newsletter that I had the honor to edit was a real pleasure. Again, Ifocused on collecting different kind of articles so that there is something interesting to read for everyone.You can find articles about different events that has happened during the autumn and spring. Oneinterview you definitely should read carefully is the interview with Commissioner John Dalli on page 20,which gives the insight of the European Commission on some questions regarding our profession and itsfuture. You can also find an article related to our last Annual Topic «Patents, Generics and Counterfeits -facing the pharmaceutical challenges of today», an interview with EPSA Alumni Niamh Fitzgerald, anarticle about how to improve teamwork, a very interesting article about our new Humanitarian project inMadrugada - and so much more!

This second edition of the EPSA Newsletter is actually a combination of the second and the third edition of Volume 17 - and after this edition I give the editing hand to my successor.

The cover of the Newsletter has dramatically changed its look, thank you again António for all your greatideas and designs.

I hope you will enjoy your reading!

Edited by:Anette Aaland Krokaas

EPSA Vice President of Communication 2009/[email protected]

3

Table of contents

——————————————————————————————

Presidential words 4——————————————————————————————

6th Autumn Assembly 6Genova, Italy - October 2009——————————————————————————————

Annual Reception 9European Parliament, Belgium - March 2010——————————————————————————————

3rd World Health Care

Students’ Symposium 10——————————————————————————————

122nd YFK Anniversary Gala and TrainingHelsinki, Finland - February 2010 11——————————————————————————————

Quatrino part PortugalPortugal - Sweden - Bulgaria - Turkey

Lisbon, Portugal - March 2010 12

——————————————————————————————

Our favorite LS 14——————————————————————————————

Rarity (doesn’t) mean uniquenessRare Diseases Day - 22nd February 2010 16——————————————————————————————

Interview with Commissioner John DalliCommissioner of DG SANCO 20——————————————————————————————

Pharmacists, now and there,everywhere 22——————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————

EPSA’s first «real» Humanitarian ProjectGuinea-Bissau - December 2009 24——————————————————————————————

Patents, generics and counterfeitmedicines 27——————————————————————————————

My IMP training in London 30A truly invaluable experience——————————————————————————————

Tips for team 34None of us is as smart as all of us!——————————————————————————————

Interview with Niamh Fitzgerald 36Alumni Corner——————————————————————————————

Interview with Alexander Rödinger 38——————————————————————————————

EPSA contacts 39——————————————————————————————

mailto:[email protected]





Dear EPSA Friends,

It is a great pleasure for me to have thepossibility to write some words of conclusionof my mandate. My mandate as President wasthe greatest experience of my life and I willnever forget the EPSA people that undertookthis adventure with me.

EPSA is now in the position to make the bigstep. During this year we have managed toimprove our network among the professionalorganizations and the European institutions,but at the same time we were able to focuson the local level since we managed to visitvarious EPSA members and increase thenumbers of EPSA memberships.

Each EPSA conference of 2009/2010 werecharacterized by first class lecturesperformed by distinguished speakers andprofessional trainings. The Risky Businesstraining performed during the AutumnAssembly 2009 was a milestone in the EPSAhistory. It was a resounding success. It was asuper way for students from 26 differentcountries to get to know each other and learna lot about their current field of studies. Ibelieve this is the best way of learning and itshould be kept as example for the future.

Another exceptional EPSA meeting was the AR2010 at the European Parliament. For thefirst time in its history EPSA managed toorganize the AR inside a European Institutionand to involve the most importantstakeholders of the Pharmaceutical Field.That highlighted the trust and popularity that

our Association achieved in Brussels this year.EPSA is well known at EU level and this willbring new possibilities of development for thefuture.

To conclude I want to wish all the best to thenext team and I hope to see EPSA based inBrussels in the near future with a fullexecutive working on full time status for theassociation.

Yours in EPSA,

Tomaso PiaggioEPSA President 2009/2010

4

Presidential words





The 6th EPSA Autumn Assembly was held

from 18-23 October 2009 in the beautiful

city of Genoa on the northwestern coast

of Italy. There were 300 pharmacy

s t u de nt s f ro m a l l ove r Eu r ope

participating at this event, and the topic of

the congress was ”Personal Career

Development - new to the job or ready for

a change?” . There was amazing

educational program with an EPSA-IPSF

(International Pharmaceutical Students’

Federation) joint workshop along with

collaboration between EPSA and the DIA

(Drug Information Association).

An opening ceremony was held at Hotel Savoy inthe evening of the arrival day, where everyonewere welcomed by notable professors from the

University of Genoa, followed by a mingle withfood and drinks among old and new friends.

The daytime activities with lectures and GeneralAssemblies were held at the lower floor in themuseum Palazzo Rosso, situates in the heart ofthe city just a couple of minutes walk from ourtwo hotels.

The program for the week started with an earlymorning trip to Nice to attend the DIA (DrugInformation Association) Clinical Forum whereinteresting lectures were given on the topic of theevent. All the participants were also allowed to

attend the on going fair, a nice opportunity forthe students to get in touch with the professionalsin the pharmaceutical industry.

One of the absolute highlights of the week wasthe game called Risky Business about the researchand development phase while launching a newdrug, arranged together with MSD (Merck Sharp &Dohme).

Workshops and trainings on interesting topics wereheld before the event and parallel with theGeneral Assemblies. The popular Leaders inTraining workshops got very positive response

along with the rest of the workshops with all

moderators from EPSA. In addition an IndividualMobility Project (IMP) training was held for thefirst time for the coordination board within IMP.Important discussions and decisions will take thework of IMP further.

The Working Committee director of Mobility, LígiaGomes, held one of the workshops. Theparticipants were divided in two groups with theassignment to develop a student exchangebetween one or more European countries. Each

group had different conditions concerning moneyand they all tried to make the best of theircurrent situation.

The workshop was very instructive and gave thestudents more knowledge about arranging an EPSAmobility project. Other interesting workshops:Herbal drugs in the modern pharmacotherapy,Living with HIV/AIDS and lifestyle treatment,Tuberculosis, Drug counterfeiting and Conflictmanagement.

6

6th EPSA Autumn Assembly Genoa, Italy - October 2009



Participants at the workshops were split intosmaller discussion groups (with students of different countries). The results were presentedat the end.

The General Assembly (GA) was spread out inparts during the week, and most of the time

official delegates and interested spectators filledthe hall.

Reports from the EPSA team were presented andit was interesting to follow the recent work in theorganization. A lot of valuable discussions wereheld where the future of the organization andimportant issues for the students in Europe weretaken into account.

During the congress EPSA partners Merck Sharp &Dohme (MSD) and European Medicines Agency(EMA) held interesting lectures for theparticipants. They also had their own stands after

the lectures, which made it possible for thestudents to learn more.

Being in beautiful Italy at this event experiencingdifferent cultures with over 300 participants wasincredible. On top of that there was a fantasticsocial program with of course great parties. Thetraditional European Night was most appreciatedwhere the participants experienced local food anddrinks from all different countries in Europe.Another popular party during the congress was theToga party where most of the attendants weredressed in white.

On the last day, a gala dinner celebrating the pastcongress week was held at the Hotel Savoy.

The party continued by the harbour of Genoa atthe Banano Tsunami.

So what can you get out of attending the EPSAAutumn Assembly?The reasons going back every year to thecongresses depend upon the will to see yourfriends again. It is exciting to meet people fromdifferent cultures and countries all over Europe.Although we have different background, we haveone thing in common -- pharmacy. That is what

brings us together at both a professional andsocial level.

Besides the educational part, you will also getbetter knowledge of English through all thediscussions on social and professional topics. Inaddition you will be trained in speaking to anaudience. Having good communication skills iscrucial to a pharmacist.

Attending an event for a big organization likeEPSA will give you a good experience and a chanceto get an insight in how everything is driven andorganized. Furthermore, you always get new

friends and valuable contacts all over Europe. If you are going somewhere in Europe in the future,you surely will have someone to visit and whoknows? That person might be your futurecolleague!

My advice to you all: Get involved and join theEPSA spirit!

Djanke BodjangPresident of SNAPS (Swedish National Associationof Pharmaceutical Students) 2010

7





This year the EPSA Annual Reception

took place in the European Parliament

in Brussels 1st of March 2010. It was

hosted by the MEP Dr. Ioannos

Kasoulides.

Dr. Ioannos Kasoulides opened the Annual Reception

with a speech, congratulating our association forgathering so many important stakeholders at theParliament for the Annual Reception. He also said thatthis is a sign that EPSA is developing in the rightdirection and that it this year is even closer to the EUinstitutions and its stakeholders.

The EPSA projects that were presented was theIndividual Mobility Project (IMP), by Inkatuuli Heikkinen(EPSA Local IMP Coordinator Helsinki), and the Map of Competencies, by Jurate Svarcaite (EPSA Honorary LifeMember).

The Annual Reception’s aim is to present EPSA’s workand projects to the Board of Trustees, Partners anddifferent stakeholders from the health sector. Thepresentations were followed by a round tablediscussion.

The Annual Topic « Patents, generics and counterfeits -facing the pharmaceutical challenges of today» wasdiscussed during a round table session afterpresentations on the topic were made by HugoCarradinha (EGA, Senior Manager Health EconomicsAffairs) and Boris Azais (MSD, Director European

Government Affairs).

The program was followed by a Cocktail, which was agreat opportunity to network. It was a very successfulevent, and being located at the European Parliamentwas undoubtedly a great touch.

Present at the Annual Reception were EPSA teammembers, several LSs, AEGEE, EAFP, EGA, PGEU,EAEPC, EASGP, ELSA, EPHA, ESTIEM, EIPG, ESN andseveral other companies and partners.

Anette Aaland Krokaas

EPSA Vice President of Communication 2009/2010

9

EPSA Annual ReceptionBrussels, Belgium - March 2010



During 9 th-14 th of November 2009 the 3rd

edition of the WorldHSS took place. The

educational program was split in 4 parts:

Education day, Global health day, Ethics

day and IP collaboration day. Students

from EPSA, IPSF, EMSA (EuropeanMedical students’ Association) and IFMSA

(International Federation of Medical

Students’ Association) were present. The

theme of the event was “Urgent care”,

and it was based on multidisciplinary

teamwork.

The pharmacists’ delegation was by far thebiggest, split between EPSA and IPSF members.There were around 100 participants in total, of which around 80 were pharmacists.

EPSA’s role was very important in both organizingthis event and being part of it. Katja Srpan, theJoint Working Group Chairperson, did an amazingjob in organizing and putting together all thesessions in this symposium. Three EPSArepresentatives (I, Fokion Sinis – VP of EU affairs,and Jurij Obreza – Central IMP coordinator) wereasked to conduct a training on Projectmanagement during the Educational day (the 10th

of November). The training lasted for a total of 4hours.

At the end of each session there were evaluationforms gathered by the JWG members, regardingthe quality of the educational session. EPSA’s

evaluation regarding the training had a 4 out a 5evaluation, which was considered to be very good.

This is what happened during the day. During thenight, as every student’s symposium, it was filledwith parties and social events.

Ana Maria PuiaEPSA Vice President of Education 2009-2010

10

3rd World Healthcare

Students’ Symposium«Urgent care»

Alexandria, Egypt - 2009

!

!

!

!



In February this year EPSA was invited

for the YFK (Yliopiston farmasiakunta)

122nd Anniversary Gala in Helsinki.

YFK is the association for pharmacy

students in Helsinki, and this year they

celebrated 122 years of long traditions

with a fabulous gala evening. I waspresent both to represent EPSA and

my local and national association

(Veneficus and NoPSA) and to hold a

presentation about EPSA to the Finnish

students.

There were a lot of international guests present at thegala: Tomaso Piaggio (EPSA President), Fokion Sinis(EPSA VP of EU affairs), Anne-Marie Vingdal Tessem(National IMP Coordinator Norway), in addition to someSwedish students. The other student associations forpharmacy students were also represented, and otherstudent associations from other areas of studies werealso there.

The male gala participants spent the morningcompeting in field hockey while the female part spentthe hours getting the perfect gala hair.

The gala was held at a fantastic restaurant in thecenter of Helsinki. The evening was clearly affected byYFK’s many traditions, and it was very nice to

experience all of them. The evening was amazing, andit was a great experience to get to know the Finnishstudents.

The day before the gala Katja, Inka and I held an EPSApresentation/training session in the venue of theFinnish Association for Pharmacists, where we gave apresentation about EPSA, a training about how studentscan inflict the desicions in the EU and a presentationabout IMP to Finnish pharmacy students. In the end wehad a brainstorming about why students should attendEPSA congresses and how EPSA can communicate betterwith its members. The session were very interactive andthe students came with good inputs during it.

If your association is interested in arranging somethingsimilar (EPSA presentation, training for example), or toinvite members from the EPSA team to your events,please do not hesitate to ask!

Thanks to Inkatuuli Heikkinen and Katja-Emilia Lillsundefor being such great hosts and showing me Helsinki! :)


EPSA Vice President of Communication2009/2010

11

122nd YFK Anniversary Gala

and EPSA training

Helsinki, Finland - February 2010



The first week of March became

unforgettable for 60 students who took

part in EPSA’s Quatrino Project – PUSH

Obesity. Turkish, Swedish and Bulgarian

gathered to visit and experience the

wonders of Portugal and its people!

The project

The idea to participate in EPSA’s TWINNETProgram started a year ago and it was with greatpleasure that the Organizing Committee embarkedon this amazing journey: Seven days, threePortuguese cities, plenty of lectures, culturalvisits and parties, but never too much fun! Oh andwhat a result…

No one could ever think one could learn so muchand connect so rapidly with people from suchdistinctive backgrounds and life stories. Nowonder everyone is already craving for Bulgaria’sPart!

Future Pharmacists

The educational concern was on Obesity, HealthyLife Styles and Cardiovascular Diseases and so

there were some students’ and professors’presentations, a video-debate on today’s need for“super-sizing” food, public screenings forglycaemia and blood pressure and a training onIntercultural Awareness by Louise WinneckeJensen and Riccardo Hesse – EPSA Trainers! It wasindeed a great opportunity to learn with eachother and share points of view, educationalapproaches and future professional perspectives!

12

QUATRINO part PortugalPortugal - Sweden - Turkey - Bulgaria

March 2010



Road Trip

It all began in Lisbon where participants had achance to visit the historical city centre, thefamous monuments and its breathtaking viewsover the river, plus our unique Pharmacy Museum.The night followed with a lively welcoming dinner

party. Still, the best night in Lisbon was «Noite detunas», where the true EPSA’s spirit emerged:Two musical groups formed by pharmaceuticalstudents played our own traditional music,wrapping up with a lavishing by the moonserenade, which melted every girls’ heart! Thenext morning we departed to Coimbra, the mostancient university city of Portugal, where we werewelcomed amongst its academic traditions, lumpystreets and even found our way into the footballstadium to experience Portugal beat China 2-0!

Finally we went further north and made our laststop, Porto. In the city known for its uniquebalance of medieval landscape with contemporaryand artistic architecture, we cruised along DouroRiver, walked through parks, museums, listened toFado and even got to taste the local treats,‘Francesinha’ and Port Wine! There was held theinternational night where one could savorexquisite delights, such as Bulgarian Rakia,

Turkish coffee and Swedish gums!

The best of this experience was all the people youget to know and learn from, all the longconversations you had, all the laughs and singing,the silly drinking international games and all thephotos and memories that last when borders andcultural habits are no longer barriers. The best isthe PUSH Family you build! Thank you guys! :D

Ana Rita TiagoPUSH Obesity Organizing Committee

Porto, Portugal

13



The Liaison Secretary awarded to be

the “Favourite LS” in this edition of the

EPSA Newsletter is the LS from

K.N.P.S.V. the Netherlands, Jules

Heuberger. He is a 21 year-old

pharmacy student from Leiden, the

Netherlands, working on his pharmacy

degree at the University of Leiden,where he has just finished his 2nd year.

His dedication as an LS to the benefit

of our association has been easily

noticeable. And as usual the title

comes with an award: The fabulous

EPSA t-shirt!

Jules has a lot to say about his experience

as an LS for EPSA:

Why did you become the LS for K.N.P.S.V.?

I actually became Commissioner of General Affairs(CGA) for the executive of the K.N.P.S.V., whichalso means being LS for EPSA. I was asked for thefunction, and after thinking about it for one week,I decided it would be a great challenge, and aunique opportunity for me. One of the importantreasons for this was the fact that one of the tasksof the CGA is to handle European affairs, as an LS

for EPSA. I thought this would be a great way tomeet students from other European countries,learn more at a European level, and get the Dutchstudents interested in EPSA. As soon as I visitedmy first EPSA Event, the Annual Congress inReims, I knew I did not make a mistake. EPSAcaught me from the second I arrived in Reims!

What does it mean to you to be an LS?

For me the goal of EPSA is to develop andmaintain a European structure for Pharmacystudents from which these students can learn and

benefit. My main aim as an LS this year was to try

to help EPSA achieve this goal. The K.N.P.S.V. hasa lot of experience as a students association,being 107 years old, and I tried to transfer ourexperiences to EPSA.

However, EPSA also has a lot that the K.N.P.S.V.does not have. For one, the internationalcharacter. My second goal therefore was topromote EPSA to our students and make them feelwhat I felt in Reims and all other EPSA events sofar: The EPSA spirit! It isn’t just a saying, the EPSA

spirit exists, and I tried to infect as many Dutchstudents as I could.

Have you held any positions earlier in yourlocal/national association or in EPSA?

I did one committee for my local association,«Aesculapius», in 2008, before I was asked for theposition in the K.N.P.S.V. executive in 2009.

Is there any particular situation that youremember from your time as an LS that isespecially worth mentioning?

Too many to summarize.

Why would you recommend someone to becomean LS?

Because EPSA gives you an experience that youwill get only once in a lifetime (every single EPSAevent over and over again!). And once you areenthusiastic for EPSA, you will be able to makeEPSA grow, and make your students enthusiasticabout it too.

What did you do to promote EPSA to thestudents in your country?

We organize an International Night in every localassociation where I promoted EPSA throughpictures and stories, and Marisabelle (former EPSApresident) came to speak about EPSA. I also wasmediating person for the K.N.P.S.V. committeethat produces our magazine to get them incontact with EPSA-people. In every magazine thisyear, there was an article from one of the EPSA-member-states about their curriculum and theirstudents’ life. I also promoted EPSA events

through emails, and person to person.

14

Our favourite LSThe Netherlands grabs the title



Which event was your favorite EPSA event andwhy?

I participated in three congresses, in Reims,Genoa and Krakow. They were all amazing and Ihave great memories and great friends from eachone of them. But if I have to choose, the congressin Reims was my favorite, because it was my first

congress, which made it special.

What is your best experience from being an LS?

Wow… Difficult question. From an educationalpoint of view: Getting lectures by big speakersfrom pharmaceutical companies, associations andinstitutes, and of course the Risky Business inGenoa.

From a social point of view: Every single momentin an EPSA event. Some highlights being le Crit-party and gala party in Reims, every European

night, and the Auction + party in Krakow.

From LS point of view: the great changes weaccomplished in the GA’s in Krakow. It took sometime, but I’m very proud of the result, and I’msure EPSA will profit from it!

Are you planning to continue working in EPSAafter your LS mandate, and in that case, whatwould you be doing?

I would love to continue working for EPSA. I like

the Training project a lot, and I will try to becomea trainer. But even without having a function inEPSA at the moment, I will still attend events andgive my thoughts and ideas to take EPSA to thenext level together with all of the other studentsthat feel the same way about our beautifulassociation.

Interview by:

Anette Aaland KrokaasEPSA Vice President of Communication 2009/2010

15

On a scale from 1-10 Jules thinksthe LS position looks:

- Experience: 10

- Fun: 10

- Time consuming: 5

- Headache: 3 (but there were higherpeaks ;) )

- Responsibility: 7



R a r e D i s e a s e s D a y

(www.rarediseaseday.org) is the day

when attention is brought to people

suffer ing of rare diseases, in

organization of European Association

of Rare Diseases Unions EURORDIS

(www.eurordis.org). This association

represent more than 400 rare

diseases patients unions, in 40

countries, covering more than 1200

different rare diseases. Therefore,

EURORDIS is the voice of 30 million

patients affected by rare diseases in

Europe.

The world has so far registered 6000 - 8000 rarediseases (www.orpha.net), and about 80% areof genetic origin. For people affected by rarediseases there is a general lack of diagnosis andthere is no proper health care. Most of the raredisease drugs that prolong life are inaccessibleand/or very expensive, and families of patientsare very engaged and bear the load at theexpense of their own quality of life. Only 56drugs for rare diseases (orphan drugs) arecurrently on the world market, and about 500potential drugs are in various stages of testing,

the question is whether it will ever be found inthe offer.

Despite this obvious problem, we find a generallack of information and lack of understandingfrom the environment, which could beovercome by joining all patients with rarediseases in a National association of patientssuffering from rare diseases in Serbia.

National Association of Pharmacy Students -

Serbia (NAPSer) implemented the initiative«Rarity (doesn’t) means uniqueness», which isaimed at pointing out the existence of rarediseases to the public, the problems in thediagnosis, treatment, and the psycho-socialproblems that people with rare diseases arefollowed around with their whole life. Duringthe February 4 panels were organized with thistopic. The concept of debate included theint roduct ion of rare d i seases , somerepresentation of life stories of patients fromthe patients themselves or their representative

associations, presentation of the stateinstitutions and at the end of the story orphan

16

Rarity (doesn’t) mean uniquenessRare Diseases Day - 28.02.2010

http://www.rarediseaseday.org/

http://www.eurordis.org/

http://www.orpha.net/









drugs. As the lecture ended and the story of rare diseases presented, the word gets theaudience, and we had a chance to hear manyquestions and comments in all cities.

After 2 discussions in Belgrade and one in NoviSad and Niš, two days before marking theEuropean Day of rare diseases, NAPSer held apress conference at the Media Centre inBelgrade. Speakers were: Svetlana Vukajlovic,director of the Republic Institute of healthinsurance, Jelena Kotević, a representative of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy,Dragana Koruga, president of patients withprimary immunodeficiency, and Bojan Davinic,NAPSer Secretary General and Coordinator of the Initiative. Represented by impressions fromthe stands, the preliminary results of the surveyand in general the situation and plans related tothis issue.

Associations of patients with rare diseases havenot had enough strength to fight for theirrights. The initiative «Rarity (doesn’t) meansuniqueness» is a desire for equal life and futurepatients suffering from rare diseases and theirfamilies. Given that there is a very positiveattitude of all the associations of patients withrare diseases to the formation of a nationalassociation, NAPSer will do everything they canto help achieving that goal.

On the day marking the day of rare diseases - 28February - NAPSer were present in shoppingcenters «Mercator» in Novi Sad and Nis, and inthe Shopping Centre «Delta City» in Belgrade,and we threw the emphasis on rare diseases.Volunteers in white T-shirts with the inscription«Rarity (doesn’t) means uniqueness»interviewed passers-by filling in the survey.

17

From the left: Bojan Davinić, Svetlana Vukajlović (director of the Republic Institute of health insurance),

Maja Đorđević (leading doctor in rare diseases in Serbia, and chief of the genetic and metabolic sector atMother and child institute in Belgrade), Dušan Drenić (regional manager for Genzyme, world market leader inorphan drugs).



Passers-by were also able to obtrain keyinformation about rare diseases, as well as theaddress where they can find out more.

The internet has established an e-group wherepeople with rare diseases and associations thatsupport them will be able to communicate,share experiences, plans and ideas, in order toform the National Association of patients withrare diseases as soon as possible.

Bojan DavinićSecretary General

National Association of Pharmacy Students - Serbia

www.napser.org

18

Through the activities of a NAPSer = 23%

Through the media (shows dealing with health) = 43%

Searching content on the Internet = 9%

From conversations with people from the environment (family, friends) = 15%

From a doctor = 4%

From other sources = 6%

23%

43%

9%

15%

4%6%

On the concept of rare diseases information I have received:Total responses: 552

Do you think that the public is familiar

with the problems of patients with rare

diseases?Total responses: 669 (results are expressed as a

percentage %)

Do you know what the definition

of a rare disease is?Total responses: 672 (results are

expressed as a percentage %)

0 10 20 30 40 50

43

28

29

Yes, I am fully aware

I am not sure

I don’t know anything

0 20 40 60 80

6

18

76

Yes

Not enough

No

http://www.napser.org/







John Dalli was appointed as European

Commissioner responsible for Health

and Consumer Policy in February

2010. The Commission department

under his political responsiblility is the

Health and Consumers Directorate

General (DG SANCO), and therefore it

was natural for EPSA to approach him

and ask him some questions that are

important for our members. These are

the answers he gave us:

How could Pharmacy students and youngpharmacists contribute to the Commission’s

roadmap for the next 5 years regardingInformation to Patients?

We need to ensure that patients have access to

reliable and high quality information. The Internet

is flooded with information on medicinal products,

information that patients consult. We have an

obligation to protect patients and knowledge is

the most powerful tool we can offer our citizens.

New legislation will contribute to empower

patients to make informed decisions when it

comes to their health. This is the underlying

objective of the Commission's proposal of 2008which attempts to specify the role pharmaceutical

industry should play in this context. At the same

tim e the rela tio n bet ween heal thca re

professionals and patients should in no way be

hampered by the new tools. We will identify in

the course of the ongoing legislative procedure

how to identify the necessary tools, like for

example medicines portals, to help citizens find

useful and independent information. After

adoption we will have to discuss with all

interested parties the best ways to implement the

new policies. I count on your support in thisprocess.

What are the challenges facing the wider use of Personalised Medicines and how can Pharmacy

students bring their own contribution to the

table?

In the near future personalised medicines will be

more and more used. We can already see theimpact of these new medicines on companies'

business strategies, the design of clinical trials

and, in some cases, in the way medicines are

being prescribed. Although it is too early to know

whether these new medicines will revolutionise

the sector, we do know that they will have an

important impact on the way we all think and

work. The Commission is closely monitoring the

sector and reflecting on how to support its

development. You as future pharmacists will play

a very important role in advising, informing and

supporting patients.

How could Pharmacy students effectively join in

the fight against Counterfeit Drugs, given their

availability for public information campaigns?

In 2008, the Commission adopted a legal proposal

that aims at strengthening existing legislation to

prevent falsified medicines from entering the

legal distribution chain. Unfortunately this alone

is not sufficient to prevent falsified medicines

from entering our home. Awareness-raising is thekey to winning the fight against counterfeit

medicines. Too many people today rely on illegal

Internet sources to buy their medicines, ignoring

the risk this implies. You as students today and

pharmacists tomorrow, can play a very important

role in the battle against such practices. You can

inform people of the risks of buying medicines

over the Internet. You can share your professional

knowledge, give advice, guidance, contribute to

raising awareness and sensitize people around

you. You have the necessary knowledge and

information to help the EU win this fight. I counton your support.

20

Interview with

Commissioner John DalliCommissioner of DG SANCO





Within the community

As the most accessible health care provider,your community pharmacist is often your firstpoint of contact with the health care systemand is an excellent source of informationabout health: Your community pharmacistcan advise you with just about any doubt you

have about medication or situations relatingto your own or your family’s health,including:

- helping you find out what your medicationsare for and what they will do for you

- reassessing all your medications to makesure you are not taking drugs that mayinteract and cause needless side effects, andinstruct you on how to take your medicationsto ensure you are getting the most from them

- choosing the right nonprescriptionmedicines or herbal and natural healthproducts, and helping you decide whether itis safe to treat your symptoms by yourself orwhether you should see a doctor or otherhealth care professional

- working with other health professionals tomanage chronic conditions such as diabetes,asthma, high blood pressure or highcholesterol levels

- making treatment recommendations forconditions such as coughs and colds, allergies,athlete’s foot, minor pain, upset stomach,vaginal yeast infections, dry eyes

- advising on lifestyle changes, such as howto quit smoking or how to have a betternight’s sleep.

At the hospital

Your hospital pharmacist is a crucial elementof the health care team. He or she monitorsyour drug therapy to ensure that it is safe andeffective and works with your health careteam and you to ensure you receive the bestresults from your medication while you are in

the hospital. During a hospital stay, you mightbe prescribed new medications. The dose of some medications you were already takingmay be changed or the medication may bestopped. Your hospital pharmacist will workwith you to keep track of all these changes. Itis important that the hospital pharmacistknows about all the medications you aretaking when you come into the hospital andthat your community pharmacist knows whatmedications you are taking when you go backhome. It is also important for you to conveythese changes to your family doctor and any

specialists involved in your care. Ask yourcommunity and hospital pharmacist for help.A constant basic flow of information ensuresthe best care for YOU.

Basic care is an important health care termthat affects you and your family’s health. Itrefers to the continuous, uninterrupted caredelivered to you by your pharmacists andother health care providers wherever you are,whether at home, in hospital or in a nursinghome, or particularly when you are moving

between any of these settings. For example,if you take medication regularly and will beentering hospital for a procedure, ask yourcommunity pharmacists to work with you toensure that your health care team in hospitalis aware of all the medication you are taking.Ask for a complete list of your prescriptionmedications and add to it any nonprescriptiondrugs, herbal and natural health products andvitamins you may be taking.

22

Pharmacists, now and there, everywherePharmacy Awareness Working Committee



This works in the reverse too. When you aredischarged from hospital, it is important thatinformation about your medications be passedfrom your caregivers in the hospital back toyour community pharmacist, doctor and othercaregivers in the community. Basic care helps

avoid medication errors, such as “doubledosing”, which can occur if you areprescribed a drug that is in the same “family”or “class” of drug you are already taking. Thismight happen if you are moving betweenhospital and home, or if you are seeing morethan one doctor. With thousands of medications available, your pharmacist — thedrug expert — is best equipped to determineif two drugs you are taking are the same orsimilar or may interact and can discuss thiswith you and your doctor. Ask yourpharmacist — both in the community and in

the hospital — to ensure that your care isuniform. Don’t let your medication needs,and your health, slip.

So pharmacy awareness is about all this and more.

Ruxandra Nicula

EPSA Pharmacy AwarenessWorking Committee Director 2009-2010

23



It all started back in Genoa during the

Autumn Assembly where Dr. Alberto

Hesse (Riccardo Hesse’s father)

introduced me to a member of the

“Veronese Association for the Base

Development of Guinea-Bissau” (literal

translation from Italian), which alsomade a small presentation in the GA

room about a project in Campus

Madrugada, based in Bissau, Guinea-

Bissau. After this first meeting I was

invited to go to Bissau with some other

Italian Volunteers.

By the 23rd of December I was on my way to

Bissau after convincing my family that I would be

away for Christmas! Leaving Lisbon with 9ºC we

arrived at 4.00AM (24th of December) in Bissau’s

airport “Osvaldo Vieira” with 28ºC, being

transported after to Campus Madrugada in the

service Ambulance.

After being resting and knowing the Campus which

is composed by the Medical Centre which includes

the Diagnosis Wing and the Pharmacy Wing, the

school facilities with a Kindergarten working since

October and an Elementary School that will begin

the classes this year, and the sport facilities which

includes an already finished football pitch during

the first day, on the Christmas day we (me and

the other Italian Volunteers) started to realisewhat were we supposed to do in order to help the

most in the 20 days of our journey.

After this analysis our main objective were to

create and organize 2 stable laboratories, one for

Production of drugs and other for Clinical Analysis,

installing interactive SMART Boards, organize the

pharmacy, eliminate contaminated waste and

resolve some issues in the Campus organization.

My main areas of work were the coordination of

the labs and the pharmacy, however I also tookpart in all the other objectives we had.

The production lab was already settled in its

definitive room although it was a real mess. There

were assembled basic instruments for the

production of drugs (distiller, pills machines,

capsules machines, etc.) and it was organized in

order to create a clean and easy to use lab for the

technicians.

24

EPSA’s first «real» Humanitarian ProjectGuinea-Bissau



While in the first days we found the working

Clinical Analysis lab in a room that was also a

conference room and the administrative room in

the Diagnosis Wing. As you may imagine this is not

the ideal scenery for a place that should have a

minimum of sterility and control of who goes in

this lab that actually is not as bad equipped as you

might think, once that the Italian Association from

Verona that supports the Madrugada Cooperative

tries to gather and send to Bissau equipments with

the same quality we have in most of our labs in

Europe. With this conditions it was mandatory to

do something and we removed all the lab

equipment from the conference room and

installed it in a room near the production lab that

was being used for... let’s see... nothing!

The now officially called conference room was

one of the places where it was assembled an

interactive SMART Board in order to provide help

on the diagnosis via web from doctors from all

around the World.

Other main issue of our help in the Campus was

the improvement of the general sanitation of the

Campus even with the el iminat ion of

contaminated waste from the Medical Centre for

about 7 months that was “storage” in piles near

the incinerator (the only one in Guinea-B.) due to

no one knowing how to turn on the incinerator.

Well, neither did we, but an incinerator with the

door opened is a great oven with “controlled”

fire. The result was 5 days burning waste.

Apart from all the work, that is actually quite

good the sensation of looking back and see what

we achieve and the difference that we were ableto do on some aspects that will influence the well

being of the local population on a daily basis, I

was also able to travel to some places in Guinea

where I saw beautiful landscapes like in

Quinhamel and Cumura, where there was also the

opportunity to visit a Leper Colony from the

beginning of the twentieth century and also a

Hospital that treats Tuberculosis, AIDS and also

Leprosy.

The country in general is very beautiful and the

people are surprisingly authentic and genuine,

something that is almost impossible in our modern

World. Apart from some sellers in the market

(mainly from Nigeria) people treats you very well

and even congratulate you every day for being

helping their country. There is no violence and no

criminality even in Bissau which is a city that for

me there is only one word to describe it:

Amazing!!!

25



I say this even in a good and a bad way once that

you have on one side the complete chaos in

traffic, and the amazing Bandim market that has

everything for you to buy (is a fantastic

experience going there for supplies), cows, pigs,

goats and chickens going freely between the

houses in some residential areas, the smell of

roasted peanuts and cashews, eating watermelon

on Christmas eve, and many other things that I am

sure most of you would like in a completely

different place from what we are used to and

where the life goes without stress and you have

sun all over the year!

One very important thing to refer to is the actual

conditions of Campus Madrugada, for the ones

that might be interested in an amazing experience

like this. The Campus has drinkable water,

internet, rooms that are not worse than the ones

in hostels with one bathroom per room, electric

power in most cases is only turned off during the

night when you are sleeping, all the windows have

nets to stop insects to go inside, fans, some places

with air conditioning and all the basic food

supplies provided.

I must say to you that if I was able to write all the

events between the 23rd of December and the 9th

of January, I would take all the pages in this

newsletter and that even in that situation some

things I was not able to write it down, some things

really need to be experienced!

I am glad to say that this experience was very

likely the best one in my life and I also hope that

this is the first from several EPSA’s participation

and collaboration with Madrugada Cooperative,

doing this project a continuous contribute from us

students to the poor people of the third World,

especially the people from Bissau where we can

help directly via this newborn EPSA’s project. I am

only the first volunteer from EPSA in Africa and I

hope that at least some of you will be interested

on following this project and also you become a

volunteer in Campus Madrugada, Bissau, Guinea-

Bissau.

Yours in EPSA,

Guilherme Monteiro Ferreira

EPSA Humanitarian AffairsWorking Committee Director 2009-2010

26



In the last hundred years, since the

outset of modern pharmacology, it is

striking to see that only a handful of

highly developed nations have seen the

rise of research-based pharmaceuticalcompanies. In effect, the world still

relies on thesefew countries, and their

pharmaceutical companies, for the

development of innovative medicines

that will treat patients. This simple

o b s e r v a t i o n s h o w s t h a t , a s

pharmaceutical innovation becomes a

global endeavor, we are still at an early

historical stage of pharmaceuticalinnovation and that the future still holds

i m m e n s e p r o m i s e s o f b e t t e r

treatments, targeted therapies and

better health outcomes, as hopefully

more countries will join the ranks of

global pharmaceutical innovators.

There are three important reasons whypharmaceutical innovation first took root in only ahandful of countries: The development of modernhealth care systems, a large and systematicinvestment in science and the enforcement of intell ectual property rights. These threeconditions help illustrate how pharmaceuticalinnovation is at the crossroad of public health,science and industrial policies. The research-based pharmaceutical industry, as we know it, hasbeen developed thanks to these enlightenedgovernment policies.

The Role of Patents

Intellectual property rights, such as patents, are akey incentive mechanism to attract privateinvestments. In exchange for publishing itsinvention (through the Patent Office) thusallowing others to innovate further, an innovatorwill be granted a limited period of exclusivity,during which he can exploit his invention. Thisdoesn't preclude competition from otherinnovators or from older, well establishedtechnologies, but rather provides some level of confidence that the significant investment madein the discovery and development of a newmedicine will not be lost through immediate,systematic copying. As for any other industry,patents for medicines can be granted only if threeconditions are met: novelty, industrialapplicability and inventive step, which, in thecase of a patented medicine, means therapeuticprogress.

The investments made by pharmaceuticalcompanies help translate basic science intomedicines. Therefore, patents play a key role inthe development of innovative pharmaceuticalproducts and, as such, are a key policy for theimprovement of health care.

Pharmaceutical research and development (R&D)is an extremely complex and difficult process:starting in the laboratory, only one out of 10,000compounds screened will eventually become anapproved medicine. Pharmaceutical R&D is also avery long process: every drug prescribed has been

researched and studied for more than ten years onaverage.

27

Patents, Generics andCounterfeit Medicines

How Pharmaceutical Policy shapes the future ofmedical innovation to bring safer, better medicines

Public HealthHealth care system

Financing mechanisms

ScienceEducation

Research institutions

IndustryRule of lawIncentives



Pharmaceutical research and development (R&D)is an extremely complex and difficult process:starting in the laboratory, only one out of 10,000compounds screened will eventually become anapproved medicine. Pharmaceutical R&D is also a

very long process: every drug prescribed has beenresearched and studied for more than ten years onaverage.

Finally, pharmaceutical R&D is extremely costly,especially because of the high cost of failures: theaverage R&D investment for a new chemical entityhas now crossed the one billion dollar bar.

On average, pharmaceutical companies investabout 20% of their revenue into R&D. Such a levelof investment is much higher than any otherinnovation based industrial sector, such ase lectr on ics , the autom otive sector or

telecommunication (which on average investabout 5% of revenues).

Generics at the Right Price

Generic medicines play a key role in our healthcare systems. Once the innovative company losesits patent right with respect to a particularchemical entity, generic companies can step inand produce the same compound. As a compoundbecomes generic, it can be compared to a basiccommodity, in which market manufacturers cancompete on the basis of price.

As the value of a generic product only rests in thelower price they can demand, it is extremelyimportant that policy makers and healthauthorities ensure that the appropriatemechanisms are in place in order to ensure thatgeneric manufacturers truly compete and bringthe price of their products down to the lowestcost possible for the health care systems. This isnot always the case, as we see a great variance inthe price of generic products between Europeancountries. This is mostly due to differencesbetween pricing cultures, as some countries donot fear full, market-based competition (thusreaping the benefits of lower prices), while othercountries prefer to control prices (which results inless competition between generic manufacturers).A spectacular example of how competition canlower prices for patients can be found in the WalMart 4$ Prescriptions Program, which offershundreds of generic prescription products at 4$for a month of supply (or 10$ for 90 days).[http://i.walmartimages.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/customer_list.pdf]

28

http://i.walmartimages.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/customer_list.pdf%5D








Zero tolerance for counterfeit medicines

A counterfeit medicinal product is a medicinalproduct, an ingredient, an excipient or a

component thereof which is deliberately and/orfraudulently misrepresented with respect to itsidentity, its source or its history. Counterfeitmedicines can contain toxic substances, no activeingredient, or the wrong amount of it. As such,counterfeit medicines are not only damaging toany medical treatment, but also dangerous whenpatients are being treated for serious illness.

Counterfeit medicines, already widespread in thedeveloping world, are now being foundincreasingly in the EU. While Internet-based salesare the main source of counterfeit medicines,these products are also appearing in the

traditional supply chain. Urgent measures arerequired to protect European patients, including aban on medicine repackaging.

According to the World Health Organization, salesof counterfeit medicines represent 1% of themarket in developed countries, 10% in developingcountries and above 50% of internet sales.

EU statistics report the continuous increase of fake medicines seized at EU customs borders. Atthe end of 2008, the European Commissionconducted a two-month joint initiative focusing

customs authorities on counterfeit medicines.During this operation, called "MediFake", over 34million illegal drugs were detained, including life-saving medicines, pain killers and anti-malarials.

UK Authorities have reported an increase in thenumber of counterfeit medicines entering theregulated supply chain and reaching patients.Such incidents have led to recall campaigns.Securing the pharmaceutical supply chain is thusextremely important and pharmacists should begiven a key role in ensuring that patients receivegenuine medicines.

This should be based on three core elements:

− Use of tamper-evident packaging ortamper-res i s tant c losures for a l lmedicines;

− Use of overt, covert and forensicauthentication features;

− Strengthening product identification atindi v idu al pack level through aharmonised coding standard (2D datamatrix)

Such safety measures can help ascertain theidentification, authenticity and traceability of medicines and thus ensure the safety of patients.

One area of particular concern in the EuropeanUnion is the existence of a grey market, wherevarious intermediaries move medicines from onecountry to another in order to take benefit of price differentials (due to government pricecontrols). In the course of such arbitragingactivity, medicines are often repackaged, thuscreating the risk of counterfeit medicines enteringinto the supply chain. Therefore, it is importantthat the original package remain intact so thateffectiveness of any anti-counterfeit features aremaintained.

One key area for improvement in the future is the

absolute penalization of counterfeit activities inthe field of pharmaceuticals. While the trade inillegal street drugs is heavily penalized,manufacturing and selling counterfeit medicinesdoes not necessarily lead to heavy fines. Facedwith an odious criminal activity, it is crucial forthe safety of patients and the public trust in thepharmaceutical supply chain that perpetrators besubjected to heavy fines and jail time.

Production in the Pharmaceutical Industry

Counterfeit Medicines Operations

Boris Azais

Merck Sharp & Dohme

(the content of this article represents the view of the author

and not necessarily that of Merck & Co. or its affiliates)

29



Asking me exactly 2 years ago about

how I thought the whole EPSA Individual

Mobility Project will turn out to be

today, I'd most probably be saying: «If

everything goes according to plan,

EPSA may have 2 or 3 available

placements secured with our new IMPpartners by then.» And here we are

today, exactly 2 years later, with 12

IMP training placements secured so

far in various fields of our profession

a n d w i t h o u r E P S A m e m b e r

associations currently doing their

utmost to establish the project in 17

European countries. Thanks to the IMP

Coordination Board along with National

and Local IMP Coordinators, doing

their best to bring the project to all

European pharmacy students, we have

so far managed to come further than

anticipated.

In beginning of May 2009, right after listening toofficial representative of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)C on sum er Hea l t h ca r e announc i n g t he

collaboration with EPSA and offering the first IMPtraining placement to students during the EPSAcongress in Reims, France, I decided to go for itand apply for the newly established IMP training.GSK offered a placement within their EuropeanSales team located at GSK Consumer HealthcareEurope Headquarters in Brentford, London, U.K.Considering this was one of the first IMP trainingplacement offers provided by the pharmaceuticalindustry at the time, this was exactly something Iwished to experience in order to gain a betterinsight and learn about the work within the«pharma» industry.

As the IMP concept was still fresh, not yet provenand relatively unknown to majority of theEuropean pharmacy students, not a lot of themdecided to run for the offered placement. Aftersuccessfully filling in the application and sendingit along with my CV and cover letter to theCentral IMP Coordinator (who at the time, hadbeen taking care of this first placement along with

the National IMP Coordinator for BPSA, U.K.), Ihad to undergo a written English examination. Ipassed and then did an oral English exam via»Skype« and apparently performed very well. Asonly five candidates applied for the offeredplacement, GSK decided to pre-select only twofinal candidates for the over-the-phone interview,after which they were going to decide who of thetwo candidates would secure the offered IMPplacement. Only in the 2nd half of June, I wasinformed that GSK decided to accept me tobecome an industrial placement trainee at theirpremises in London.

30

My IMP training in London A truly invaluable experience

The famous houses of parliament



I was overjoyed when I received the news, havinghigh expectations and knowing that I am going towork for one of the world's biggest pharmaceuticalcompanies and on top of all, in London, Europe'sbiggest business and cultural centre.

The experience started on the 11th of July 2009,just two days before my first day at work in GSK,when I actually flew to London from Ljubljana,Slovenia. The National IMP Coordinator for BPSA inthe U.K. at the time was by chance out of thecountry, so thanks to my old EPSA and IPSFfriends, Jurate and Andreia, they offered a placeto stay. And there I finally was, in the vast city of different opportunities, diverse cultures andcolourful faces – London.

When I first walked into the GSK Headquarters on

Monday, 13th

July 2009 I was astonished. Thebuilding was enormous, hosting up to 3000employees and it all looked perfectly organised.As I have been working in GSK ConsumerHealthcare, presenting some of its world's leadingbrands in the field of OTC medicines and oral careproducts, I started with a slight scepticismknowing that dealing with prescription medicineswill be out of my reach, since this area of products are dealt with by some other company’sdepartment called GSK Pharmaceuticals. It tookme more than a month to learn roughly about howthings work and to figure out how the internal

GSK's administrative system operates and evenafter that there were always new things to learn.However after some time, I soon realized that dueto different regulations for the niche of productsin this department, there was much morecreativity and more “space” for open thinkingavailable in the field of marketing and sales.

I had to undergo all kinds of trainings in order toknow the environment I was working in andunderstand the tools I would be using to performas efficiently as possible. There were a lot of other trainees from all across the U.K. working indifferent departments in the building, so wealways had time to exchange experience and talkabout leisure activities during lunch time.

After 4 weeks of experience in the company Ialready assumed responsibility for assisting the

whole European Sales team (consisting of 6members of staff). My tasks mainly includedwriting daily sales reports, preparing presentationmaterial, updating different material for externalaccounts and customers and partially taking careof the IT databases where constant updates werenecessary. As this was going well, after 3 months Ireceived more tasks that involved lots of dailymeetings and internal discussions as well ascollating information from different markets andnational GSK representative offices across thewhole of Europe. All these tasks forced me tolearn and organise myself in a way. I have learned

31

If this looks unfamiliar to you, then you really should visit London!

Working environment GSK offices from inside



about the corporative thinking in the company andgot to know the complexity of interactions andresponsibilities that each individual in such aworking environment has to assume. In spite of allthe experience I gained through my associativework over the past 5 years in the faculty, things Ihad to do in the company were very different andtherefore I had to reorganise myself in a way inorder to adapt properly to the existing workingenvironment. The nature of my IMP placement

offered a great opportunity to learn how tocommunicate internally as well externally usingall kinds of tools and behave professionally in theworking environment. All this is extremelyimportant and vital when you work in a team incollaboration with different people, trying toadapt and understand their views and opinions.

Putting aside the professional experience,

definitely an extremely valuable gain out of theIMP experience as a whole was the sociable andcultural experience. And if there is a place inEurope that can offer such thing, then it must beLondon. There is absolutely nothing you cannot door experience in this city, and this is definitely notthe place where you get bored. With itsalternative Sunday markets and fairs, musicconcerts, festivals, stand-up comedies, greatclubs and pubs, green parks and never-endingmuseums and exhibitions, this city never sleeps. Ipersonally preferred the amazing night life of theOld Street and a colourful and creative Camden

and Spitafield market, where solo-fashion-designers sell their master pieces every Sunday.The beat of the city is amazing;

however this is the city to live in while you areyoung and not bothered by the noise of traffic andby the hours you spend on your way to and backfrom work every morning. For its size Londonseems a fairly safe place to be and I must say, Ifelt really great living there.

IMP experience as a whole helped me understandwhich professional path to consider in my futurecareer and profoundly influenced my overallprofessional experience, which without any doubthad left a very positive impression for my futurecareer. Living in London had also been an amazingexperience. Experiencing some negative sides of the people living in the city and getting to knowthe glamour of this European capital made merealise how diverse and vast this city really is.This truly was a personal school of my own.

So, if you ever thought of getting any kind of professional experience in a similar or verydifferent field of profession, I suggest you go towww.epsa-online.org/imp and look for new IMPopportunities and placements that may beavailable for you right at this very moment. Goodluck with your own future and your ownpharmaceutical career.

Boš tjan ČehEPSA Honorary Life Member

EPSA Central IMP Coordinator 2008/2009EPSA Student Mobility Officer 2007/2008EPSA Liaison Secretary 2005 - 2007

32

GSK Headquarters in Brentford (west part of London)

You just cannot miss the Piccadilly Circus and itssparkling advertising

http://www.epsa-online.org/imp







Were you ever part of a team? Most likely

the answer is yes. And for sure you will

have lots of hours of teamwork ahead of

you in your career as well as in your

personal life – it is everywhere! Therefore

it can be good to have an idea about some

theory behind teamwork, as thisknowledge might help you improve your

contributions and thus the outcomes of

the team.

Groups versus teams

In general terms a group is an informal version of a team. A group might consist of people with acommon interest, but not necessarily a commongoal, often the group has no clear roles, and thushas no leader. In a group people are more focused

on their personal interests, because they put theirindividual achievements higher than the success of the group.

Now it might seem like a team is always to preferover a group, but this is not the case; it takestime to form a team, and sometimes there is noneed for putting an effort into team building.

Though it can be useful to distinguish betweengroups and teams, in practice there is often noclear division between them, and the informationpresented below can be useful on many levels.

Phases in teamwork

Maybe you noticed this: When a team initiallyforms, the members come together with a highmotivation and lots of energy, but might not be soproductive. It is due to the fact that the teammembers are enthusiastic and believe in thestrength of the team. This phase is called the“Forming”, and it is where the members get toknow each other and what their task is. It is apeaceful time, as everybody wants to be acceptedin the team and tries to avoid conflicts. Here theteam needs to establish its values, structure andlimits.

The forming phase is followed by “Storming” – andthis phase might not be as peaceful! It's like whenthe honeymoon is over, now the team realises itschallenges, different opinions and maybe a lack of trust to the other members. Obviously the level of motivation might drop, though the efficiency of the team is rising. In this phase it is importantthat the members appreciate each other’sdifferences, acknowledge all efforts andencourage each other.

The third phase is where the team regains its self-esteem and efficiency increases even more, aspossible solutions to the challenges are appearing.This phase is called “Norming”. The teammembers have gained knowledge of each other’sstrengths and weakness, and with that mutualunderstanding and respect. The team roles areclearly defined, and the team is learning to makedemocratic decision.

34

Tips for teamNone of us is as smart as all of us!

(Japanese proverb)

S O F T S K I LL C O R N E R

HINT: Formulate some ground rules,

like «We work every Tuesday», «If

someone’s phone rings, they should

answer it outside» or who should

bring cake!

HINT: Be openminded and stay cool!

This phase might be challenging, but

its an important step!

HINT: Be open to different ideas, and

remember that you are working

towards a common goal.



The team reaches its full potential in the“Performing” phase, where motivation andproductivity are high. Tasks can be delegated tothe members for minor decisions, while moreimportant choices are made in the team. Oftenthe team will set high standards, and challengeeach other to reach new levels.

It happens that a team moves back through the

phases, e.g. in case of a new challenge or newmembers joining the team. In this case it can beuseful to remember the characteristics and needsof a team in this phase, instead of expecting acontinuation of the way the team used toperform. Accept the changes, and facilitate theteam back to the performing phase!

Communication, responsibility and decision-making

As can be seen from above, there is a requirementfor a feeling of responsibility among the teammembers. They must all contribute, otherwise themembers will loose trust in each other, and theteam will not be as efficient aspossible. Therefore it is important that the teamis open in its internal communication, sharingtheir concerns and challenged.

Who is in charge of a team? In many cases therewill be a leader appointed, who in the first phasesof the teamwork can direct and instruct the team.Also the leader can make decisions after listeningto the inputs of the members. In the later phaseshowever, the role of the leader changes into beingmore supportive than directing, this facilitatingthe democratic decision-making. Here it is of utmost importance that the members focus onlistening actively to each other, trying tounderstand other perspectives, and not stubbornlycling to their own opinions.

The team provides an opportunity for synergy,making 1+1 > 2. Benefitting from each other’sstrengths, the team can reach further, be morecreative, and achieve more than people workingindividually or in a group. Though it takes extraeffort to form a strong team, the feeling of teamspirit will contribute to more pleasure and betterresults. Try to consider what teams you are in atthe moment, which phase it might be in, and what

you can do to improve the teamwork. Good luck!

Louise Winnecke Jensen

EPSA Training Officer 2009-2010

35

HINT: Spend some social time with

your team! Have dinner together, go

bowling or something else, which can

contribute to the team spirit.

Acknowledging success

Every personal effort should be

acknowledged, contributed to the feeling

of importance of each team member.

Similarly, the team should always

celebrate its victories; set milestones for

the process, and acknowledge each step

of the way towards the major goal.

HINT: What about an EPSA training

for your local association? www.epsa-

online.org/projects/training

Wanna know more?

Ken Blanchard: The One Minute Managerbuilds high performance teams

Peter Levin: Successful Teamwork!

Michael A. West: Effective Teamwork

Esther Cameron: Facilitation made easy

http://www.epsa-online.org/projects/training








In which year did you get involved in EPSA andwhat was the nature of your involvement?

I first attended an EPSA congress in 1995 inBordeaux and spent most of my time partying hard

with only a little working hard. But I was veryexciting about the kind of experience the EPSAboard members seemed to have had and I knew Iwanted a piece of the action! I became LS forIreland and went to the next conferences Krakow1996 and Basel 1997 where I was electedPresident of EPSA for 1997/98. It was a greathonour and I was determined to work really hardand particularly not to let down the others whohad agreed to work with me that year – inparticular Evy Stavik of Norway who, after somediscussion, agreed to be my Vice President. What did you like about being involved in EPSAand your EPSA Experience?

There is so much to say in answer to this – it wasprobably one of the most amazing experiences of my life still. It was the most fantastic combinationof feeling passionate about a cause, working reallyhard to try to improve EPSA and having a greattime and great travel experiences while doing so.Of course, as with most things, the best part wasnot the important speeches, or the achievementsor exciting events but the people that I got toknow at that time. The spirit of EPSA was one of

acceptance of all who were involved, includingpeople who might have been excluded in othersettings. The people with whom I worked taughtme a lot about myself and I continue to feel asthough they know me perhaps better than many of my other friends as we worked so intensely

together for so long.

What are you doing now doing now?

Now I am running a health improvementconsultancy business called Create Consultancy(see www.createconsultancy.com). I have no

doubt that this is inspired by my EPSAexperiences. Create provides training, researchand consultancy services to councils and healthboards on health improvement/health promotionissues such as alcohol, drugs and sexual health. Ilove my work and although it is hard to run abusiness and have kids - I am supposed to be onmaternity leave just now but am having to dosome work of course – loving what I do makes it allworthwhile. When not working I am married to Leon and havetwo lovely little sons Lewis and Cormac.

How has EPSA contributed to your life and toyour professional career?

Massively! Career-wise, I can honestly say I do notknow what I would be doing or how I would havefound my way if it were not for EPSA. It is thereason I did my PhD, and without that I wouldn’thave ended up doing what I do. So EPSA gave me aknowledge of what I enjoyed doing and I was ableto seek that out in my later career e.g. managingan enthusiastic team to do worthwhile work.Equally importantly are the skills and confidence

EPSA gave me – I learned how to type faster, howto speak confidently, write reports, givepresentations, manage difficult situations andmost of all learned about myself. It was anamazing grounding in so many transferable skillsthat I have continued to develop and use to thisday.

36

Alumni Corner

Interview with Niamh Fitzgerald

http://www.createconsultancy.com/





For my life, EPSA has given me some lifelongfriends, a continuing love of travel and countries/cultures abroad particularly in Europe and

wonderful friends who I still keep in touch with tothis day. And also a sense that human beings canwork together in an atmosphere of acceptanceand love where there is no room for everyone. If you had the opportunity to do it over againwould you?

I think it is clear that I would not change it for theworld. In fact, I am still trying to find my place inthe worl d of my new career in healt himprovement and addiction prevention so that one

day I will be invited to international conferencesand do it all again!

What is your fondest memory from the years of your involvement?

Just one?!! So hard. I could give you one for everypage of the newsletter I’m sure! ....I think it wasprobably very long boring for everyone there but Ithink my proudest moment was delivering myannual report in Madrid in 1998 because I knewthen I had done a pretty good job. I had a bad

cold and so had to keep stopping to blow my noseand also got quite upset at times – its hard not tobe emotional when you’ve worked so hard and

you’re physically very tired! Other than that, wehad so many great parties...

Do you have any last words for the current andfuture EPSA generations?

EPSA is like most things in life – you get out whatyou put in. So if you are prepared to work hardand give of yourself to EPSA, you will get so muchback. You have to love it and be prepared to makeother sacrifices to be on the EPSA team but it is soworth it not just at the time but for many years to

come.Finally, in case they see this, I would like to say hito Evy, Bregje, Trude, Nina, Anne-Lise, Oriol andAnna and Per with whom I still keep in touch fromtime to time and all the others. You guys aregreat – and you know what we say – our door isalways open to you (now in Glasgow, Scotland!).

Yours in EPSA always,

Marisabelle BonniciEPSA Immediate Past President 2009 - 2010

37



During the Annual Reception I had the

pleasure to interview Alexander

Rödinger from MSD, one of EPSA’s

sponsors.

What is your first impression of the AnnualReception?

It was a gritty decision to chose such a complex

topic as Patents, Generics and Counterfeits. ButEPSA achieved to have a lively discussion

w h i c h was very i n s t r u c t i ve , a l s o f o rme. Furthermore, it is important that EPSA makesitself visible in Brussels, particularly at theEuropean Parliament. And it is necessary forthe pharmaceutical students to touch base withthe European policy playground which willcertainly impact their future professional life.

How do you think companies like MSD benefitfrom attending such events?

European policy is often dominated by well

established policy makers. The exchange withstudents gives us the opportunity to listento different voices and to be confronted with newways of thinking. This can be challenging becauseyou cannot presume that everybody understandswhy - for example - patents are necessary forinnovation. On the other hand this gives us theopportunity to start a dialogue.

In which way did you feel that you couldcontribute to and gain from the topics that waspresented and discussed?

Brussels can be compared to the ancient "agora" inAthens which was a platform for a true contest of arguments. Therefore, I appreciated thecontroversial setting of the event where bothsides could be heard so that the audience got thefull picture of the topic and was enabled

to form an opinion. Counterfeits for example are aserious problem and cannot just be compared tofake handbags or t-shirts. The event made clearthat fake medicines can seriously harm. And itmade also clear, to exclude certain medicinesfrom safety standards would be the wrongapproach.

Why do you think it is important for companieslike MSD to participate at such events?

MSD as a healthcare company is interested in thefuture healthcare. We attend such events becausewe want to listen to all the stakeholders but alsobecause we want to participate actively in thehealthcare debate.


EPSA Vice-President of Communication

2009-2010

38

Interview with Alexander Rödinger





Documents

EPSA Newsletter Avril 2010