For our last day at Tergus Pharma, Liya and I were with the Analytical R&D team. Their group uses analytical method development to test topicals and semi-solid dosage forms. For most of the day, we were with Praneetha who gave us a full run down on what she does with the HPLC’s. Before she used the machine, we watched as she made a sample that tests a gel substance. After calibrating the scales (it can go to the 100,000 thousandths place!) and massing the amount of the gel, she made the solution. Even though the gel was miscible in water, she still had to use sonicators, centrifuges, vortexers, and tons of shaking to make sure the solution was entirely homogenized. This process alone took over 2 hrs, much of which was waiting.
After lunch, we got a demo of more HPLC work and the multistep process for all testing. We met more people (Ravi, Ranjita, Ranbabu, and Andy) who taught us more about their methodologies as well. From everyone in the analytics team and those I met this past week, I think the big takeaway is the huge importance of documentation. Everyone said, “If you didn’t write it down, it never happened.” I never realized that the pharma industry requires incredibly precise and thorough detail.
At the end of the day, we briefly met Vijendra Nalamothu, the CEO of Tergus Pharma, and had the pleasure to speak with him about our experience. This week has been jam packed with new material, but I had fun learning details about pharma. Some details were too esoteric to comprehend, but the team did a great job simplifying everything in ways Liya and I could understand. I’m really grateful that each branch (formulation, IVPT, IVRT, and analytics) took a day to show us their work. Additionally, thanks to Duffy and Wendy who organized this experience for us!
