June 15, 2020, by Mei Kee Lee
Alumni Testimonial: Yip Yan Sze (2019)
Biocon is a well-established biopharmaceutical company in its homeland India, where it manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and generic drugs. In Malaysia, Biocon is a relatively new biosimilar manufacturing plant located in Johor focusing on insulin production.
After graduating in May 2019, I took some time off to freshen up my mind and to contemplate what I would favor as my first job. Then, I decided that it would be a job that allows me to understand drug production, and hence I stumbled across Biocon. My job hunting began in mid of July and I was fortunate to be referred by an alumnus of UNM to work in the insulin pen assembly and packing department. Working as a Junior Associate in Biocon, I am in-charge of the Batch Manufacturing Record (BMR), Batch Packing Records (BPR) and also other current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP)-related documents. We put extreme stress on the integrity and contemporaneous of data on the documents, which have to go through several reviews from departmental qualified reviewer, Quality Assurance, cross-functional teams and in some cases, a consultant. In Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, we have been taught the basics of BMR in our first year. This has allowed me to easily pick up the much complex content of an actual BMR. Besides, I am also in charge of drafting risk assessment of processes and products, e.g. insulin pen. The Drug Design module has really helped me detect the fault in these pens during the production, allowing me to tackle critically the risk of change in designs or materials in the pens when making an assessment. Occasionally, I also involve in production line when there is a sudden short of hand and it is always exciting! It has overall strengthened my soft skills like teamwork, communication and commitment.
Lastly, as a piece of advice for my juniors who might be anxious about future career prospects, I hope that you do not rush things. Give ourselves a transition time to figure out what would not bore you if you were to work for the next two or three years or even longer, i.e. what you are comfortable working as. Next, when you are invited for an interview, it is your chance to understand the company and the people you will be working with. This is important as communication and culture in a workplace will undeniably affect your performance. Thus learning the background allows you to be prepared.
This is the aerial view of Biocon. On the right is the Drug Product department that I work at.
(Featured image: Photo of me dressing in blue smock. All employees are required to wear a gowning in Controlled, None-Classified areas to minimize dust and contamination on products.)
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