Jan Tomas

Honza graduated from the “Synthesis and Production of Drugs” program at the University of Technology and Chemistry in Prague (Bc. and Ing.). During his engineering studies, he sought cooperation with the corporate environment, and he managed to write his diploma thesis in cooperation with Zenitva k.s. There he had the opportunity to look into the transfer (re-formulation or transfer of products between individual production locations), development or patent department and also into production.

During his PhD studies in the Chobotix laboratory, under the leadership of Prof. František Štěpánek, he had the opportunity to continue his cooperation with Zentiva. This time as part of the preformulation department focusing on the development of an analytical method with a complex preformulation strategy. At the same time, it is expected to simultaneously manage multiple projects, with the aim of setting and implementing the correct preformulation and formulation strategy for new molecules/projects.

In 2021, he managed to succeed in the selection process for Sandoz GmBH (Tyrol, Austria), for the position of Project lead scientist – Pharmaceutical development aka formulator, where he still works. The complexity of the work could be summarized with this example:

Your management comes to you and says: “I want Ibuprofen in a heart-shaped tablet with the inscription “WE LUV U” in XXX strength. The tablet must have a slightly red coating and be of comparable quality to the competition and must maintain the status of a generic drug.”

And my task is to fulfil it. Or to ensure and be responsible in this order for: pre-formulation (material characteristics and its behaviour) -> test laboratory development (proof of concept, a few kilos) -> scale up (laboratory, tens of kilos) -> Technical batches (full-fledged test production) -> Registration batch (final test production) -> Submission of registration documentation (“Dossier”) -> support, preparation and negotiation in the comment procedure ("Deficiency letter") -> support during product launch.

All these steps must be constantly under control, must be built on a logical basis, must be correctly communicated at all levels and, most importantly, must be correctly documented.

Honza’s main advantage as a mentor lies in his strong knowledge of the so-called technical project management in large companies or corporations. This means: how and when to make the right decision, how to organize and prioritize individual tasks, how to correctly delegate work and cooperate with people in Matrix management. And finally, it is necessary to say everything to those around you in the right way, which is why it is necessary to know your communication and presentation style and how to use it correctly to your advantage.