Alison from Process Chemistry

• • Process chemistry

  • Emma
  • Alison
  • Gair
  • Catherine
  • Coleen
  • Naomi
  • Zakariya
  • Darryl
  • Jacob

After graduating with a chemistry degree from the University of Oxford I worked for 2 years as a medicinal chemist at GlaxoWellcome (now GSK) and then went on to do a PhD in organic chemistry at the University of Cambridge.

During my PhD I became interested in Process Chemistry, having attended a 1 day SCI symposium and also a workshop run by Pfizer.

"We work in project teams and there is a really good team spirit and friendly atmosphere in the department" Alison

I applied to AstraZeneca and was invited to the Charnwood site for a day of interviews, which included giving a presentation of my PhD work to some members of the process chemistry department. I was also given a tour of the excellent facilities and although the new PR&D building was still under construction at the time I could see the potential! Everyone I met was very welcoming, and enthusiastic about process chemistry.

Process Chemistry is just one part of Process R&D. Process chemists work closely with analytical chemists, process engineers and members of development manufacture the people who operate and run the pilot plant and large-scale laboratory. Our job is to deliver the active drug substance to the other departments involved in the drug development process whilst developing the final route of manufacture.  We often have to work to quite strict time frames!

The majority of my time is spent developing new processes in the lab. I have worked on a number of projects since joining the department nearly 3 years ago. We work in project teams and there is a really good team spirit and friendly atmosphere in the department.

I have been given the opportunity to supervise a sandwich student and a new graduate and I enjoy helping them to learn more about chemistry whilst continuing to learn more myself. We also have monthly problem sessions where people get together in small groups and go through literature syntheses discussing mechanisms etc. Obviously this is not compulsory but there if you want to join in!

I have also been involved in a project working towards the introduction of an electronic lab notebook system for Process Chemistry. This has involved working as part of a team with process chemists from all the PR&D sites Avlon/Charnwood, Macclesfield and Sodertälje. This has been challenging and fun and has allowed me to visit all the other PR&D sites. The best canteen is definitely in Sodertälje!

The first time your process goes into the pilot plant can be a quite nerve-wracking experience! Ultimately, however, the job is very rewarding when your hard work helps the team to provide multi-kilo quantities of the drug substance for clinical trials.