Gair from Process Chemistry

• • Process chemistry

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

I graduated with a BSc(hons) in Chemistry from the University of Strathclyde and a PhD in synthetic organic chemistry from the University of Sheffield.  I then moved to Boston College in the USA as a post-doc to broaden my knowledge and experience.

"I have been able to develop as a manager and as a scientist, both through experience and also through a variety of training courses and conferences" Gair

When I started with AstraZeneca I joined a team working on an Oncology project which had recently entered development.  Shortly afterwards I was given responsibility for managing the chemistry and two other chemists working with me on the project.  Since then I have been privileged to manage a number of very able and enthusiastic chemists.  I have also worked on a number of different projects, each of which has brought diverse challenges.  

In addition to scientific responsibilities I have had the opportunity to become involved in a number of non-technical areas, such as recruitment and professional development within the department.  I am also involved with setting up a Process Chemistry Workshop for postgraduates that we will be running jointly with GSK and Pfizer.  

During the time I have been here I have learnt a great deal about the drug development process, largely first hand.  I have also been able to develop as a manager and as a scientist, both through experience and also through a variety of training courses and conferences.  

Process development is not simply a matter of taking existing chemistry and doing it on a larger scale.  Often the synthesis of a candidate drug needs to be re-designed or at the very least rendered more efficient and amenable to scale up.  This requires ingenuity and the application of synthetic organic chemistry, usually within tight deadlines.  I have learnt a great deal about the design and scale up of chemical processes from the many experienced chemists in the department and through interactions with people from other functions.  

Working on projects here is very much a team effort so the job requires me to interact with people from many departments.  These include Engineers, Analysts, colleagues from Development Manufacturing, Project Managers and individuals from numerous other departments such as Intellectual Property and Regulatory Affairs.  I’ve also been able to spend time working in our Development Manufacturing facilities to gain some first hand experience of the operation of our large-scale equipment.  

I love the variety in this job, both in terms of my scientific input to projects and the broader interactions that working in PR&D requires.  Knowing I have played my part in developing successful syntheses and processes and therefore delivering kilograms of a candidate drug, which in turn enables clinical trials to proceed, is tremendously rewarding.