SAINT JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY

Pharmaceutical & Healthcare

Marketing News
SECOND EDITION SPRING 2011

Turning the Corner
Kristi Goldstein-Taverno
New Title, New Department….A New Concept……
Engaging our Grad Assistant and Work-Study Students
With the Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Marketing Department’s
newly created newsletter, the thought of including our Graduate
Assistant and Work-Study students as associate editors is a work in
progress. It is meant to promote and enhance their creative
thinking, input and writing skills as well as provide a more in-depth
portal to understanding a professor’s research. All articles authored
by our work-study students include their names and the title,
“Assistant Editor”. Each student is assigned to work with a faculty
member; their writing assignment is either a research topic that the
Professor is doing or a newsworthy project being used in the
classroom. This method of constructing the Newsletter has been a
fun and beneficial way to include and develop the departmental
work-study students.
Chair’s Corner
The Pharmaceutical & Healthcare
Marketing Department continues to
conduct research that is relevant to
the industry, implement innovative
approaches in the classroom and
participate in meaningful service for Sillup
the university and community. We invite you to view these
accomplishments along with future plans and updated
industry information in this second issue of our newsletter
and on our new Facebook site (www.facebook.com).
Of the upcoming activities, SJU will host the 38th annual
Northeast Business & Economics Association on
November 3rd-5th, 2011. I will be the Conference Chair
and my colleague, Dr. Rajneesh Sharma, Assistant
Professor of Finance, will serve as the Proceedings Editor.
Submissions are to be received by April 26th and should
be e-mailed to nbea2011@sju.edu. For further infor-
mation and to view up-to-date information, please refer
to the website: http://www.nbea.us.

Dr. Jambulingam to Focus on Research during Sabbatical

Shane P. Kennedy
Check Us Out–
Associate professor Dr. Thani Jambulingam will be taking a sabbatical during the
2011 – 2012 academic year. He is planning to begin his sabbatical with a speaking Pharmaceutical
tour in India. He will speak at academic business institutions about the state of & Healthcare
the global pharmaceutical and healthcare market. Upon returning to the United Marketing
Jambulingam States, Dr. Jambulingam plans to work on two research proposals. In his first
NOW on FB!
proposal, he will be evaluating the impact of competitive/strategic thinking on
performance. During this study he will be observing pharmaceutical executive MBA students in a
controlled environment. Additionally, Dr. Jambulingam will be researching the issues influencing the
recent trends in pharmaceutical pipelines and research and development. He will be consulting with
multiple global pharmaceutical companies while conducting this research. Throughout his sabbatical,
Dr. Jambulingam plans to submit his research for publication where it will make a positive impact on
the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry.
 Student
News
Pharmaceutical Sales Enhancements
Management is Hands On! within the
Danielle Puccino
Curriculum
What better way is there to teach Pharmaceutical Sales than having Mark Fanelli
students actively engage in a first-hand selling experience? In Professor
Carolyn Choh’s Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Marketing Sales Manage- In fall 2010, the Pharmaceutical &
ment class, students are challenged to take on the difficult role of a Healthcare Marketing Department made a
pharmaceutical sales representative. Through role play, students are commitment to implement the Community
assigned three different drugs throughout the semester and given limited Health Data Base (CHDB) which allows for
time to prepare an in-depth understanding of each. Essentials learned are: the incorporation of technology and
in and outs of the safety and efficacy; side effects; mechanism of action; real-time data in the curriculum to
dosage and administration; and any other crucial information to promoting enhance our students’ learning experience
each drug. Professor Choh assigns many types of drugs and students are in the classroom. Since 1972, the CHDB
required to perform in-depth research about them, allowing students to has served southeastern Pennsylvania by
communicate their findings clearly to their medical audience. providing management and technical
assistance, delivering direct services in the
In the second half of each semester, the Pharma office is transformed into community, evaluating program
somewhat of a “mock doctor’s office.” Our Graduate Assistant serves as effectiveness, and collecting and analyzing
the mock receptionist and medical office manager, while outside guests health and social service data. The CHDB is
include real practicing physicians and pharmaceutical district/regional an impartial data source for investigating
managers. Students are exposed to the busy and hectic tempo of a issues and for monitoring progress toward
physician’s day. Students improve each role play as they become more public health goals, Healthy People 2010
comfortable and confident in their communicating abilities by and Healthy People 2020 benchmarks.
encountering a real-world experience in a selling environment that will Students can access this database
benefit anyone entering the pharmaceutical field. They learn that selling through mySJU by clicking on the
can be very “easy” when discussed theoretically, but tremendously Drexel Library’s e-resource link.
challenging when one has to execute the selling cycle.

DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL OF A NEW DRUG….

Alexa Disco

Data-Driven Decision Making
For New Drugs:
Collaborative Learning Experience
George P. Sillup (Associate Professor, SJU)
Ronald K. Klimberg (Professor, SJU)
David P. McSweeney (CEO, Healthcare Data Management)
The article illustrates how the pharmaceutical industry
determines the potential of a new drug. Two courses are
combined, Advanced Decision-Making and Pharma-
ceutical Marketing Research; this project allows students
from distinctively different backgrounds, to work together
and complete a semester long project. The Pharmaceutical
& Healthcare Marketing Department and Business
Intelligence (new name for the Decision Support Systems
Department) majors collaborate together in order to have
the experience and opportunity to apply the skills,
knowledge and expertise each has learned. Data from
Fortune 500 companies were supplied by Healthcare Data
Management and collected and “cleaned,” thus improving
the student’s experience working with data and sharing the
knowledge with other teammates. Results of this learning
experience showed students how collaborative learning
works. It also showed how the students learned from each
other by increasing their understanding, appreciation, and
discipline as well as expanded their business intelligence.
More about this article can be located in Sillup, G,
Klimberg, R, & McSweeney, D (2010). Data-Driven
Decision Making For New Drugs: Collaborative
Learning Experience. International Journal of Business
Intelligence Research, 1(2), 45-59, April-June 2010
Administrative News
Key dates to note for this semester are:

3/5 Last day before Spring Break

3/7 7 days Spring Break
Kristi Goldstein, Admin. Assistant Joanne Bonsall, Admin. Assistant
3/17 Mid-Term grades due
4/6 Start of Fall Registration 8/29 First day of classes
4/11 Last day to withdraw from courses
9/5 Labor Day (no classes)
4/22 3 days-Easter Holiday
9/6 Last day of Add/Drop
4/25 Easter Monday (no classes start until 4:30)
(All traditional offerings)
4/29 Last day of class (Day)
4/30 Last day of class (Evening/Grad classes) 9/10 First Day of Weekend Classes

5/2-7 Final exams 10/15 Last Class before fall break

5/13 Commencement Weekend (not Mother’s Day) 10/17 2 days-Fall Break-no classes
5/16 First day of classes 11/3-5 Northeastern Business &
5/30 No Classes-Memorial Day Economics Association Conference

Interview with PILOT Happenings

Shane P. Kennedy ‘11
by Danielle Puccino
What made you choose Pharm Marketing as your
major?
After doing some research, I realized that the
pharmaceutical and healthcare industries are rapidly
evolving and present endless opportunities for careers. \
SJU’s combination of science and business is especially 2010
attractive because it fosters a more dynamic approach to PILOT
education and challenges the way we think. OFFICERS:
What do you like most about Pharmaceutical & ■ President: Julie Cunningham ■ Treasurer: Katie Capaldo
Healthcare Marketing? (jc452776@sju.edu) (kc448086@sju.edu)
The experience the professors bring to the classroom
makes what we study in Pharmaceutical & Healthcare ■ Vice President: Mackenzie Crawford ■ Secretary: Elisabeth Tiffany
Marketing very real and applicable to what is happening (mc441893@sju.edu) (et499186@sju.edu)
in the industry. Instead of focusing strictly on trying to
learn theories and concepts laid out in textbooks, we are

PILOT
challenged with current, real-world scenarios.
Who did you internship for the summer before
your senior year? What did you gain from this
experience? PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY LEADERS OF TOMORROW

I worked for Cline Davis & Mann, the world’s leading

healthcare advertising agency in New York City. The This spring PILOT will host three meetings during the SJU
opportunity to work for such a company was an Free Period (11:30AM-1:00PM) on three Thursdays during
incredible experience. I was able to gain invaluable real-
the spring semester featuring talks by industry executives.
world experience in pharmaceutical advertising, an area
We welcome students from all departments to attend.
I am pursuing for my career.
What is your advice to underclassmen to make
the best of their time at St. Joes? Save The Dates:
It is never too early to start thinking about your future ■ February 24th: Meeting with Dr. DelConte
and your career. Start networking and get involved in as
■ March 24th: Friends of Pharm Night
much as you can early on (PILOT, Networking Night, etc).
Start thinking about how to utilize your skills to do what ■ April 14th: Field Trip to NYC
interests you.
 Our Featured Alumni
Interview with Andrea Geppert ’09
Kristi Goldstein-Taverno

What do you think is the most
beneficial aspect of the
Pharmaceutical & Healthcare
Marketing program?
The best part of the program is truly
the curriculum that the professors
have created. It’s unique to have a
department in a business school that
is compromised of extremely success-
ful business men and women who
flourished throughout diverse careers
Andrea Geppert in the pharmaceutical and healthcare
field and then went on to create the graduate and
undergraduate programs. Their passion as well as their
industry knowledge lends something so special to the
classroom experience that I’ve rarely found in another
college course. Courses are created to provide a strong
foundation for those entering the industry and rather than
memorizing textbooks, we created promotion plans for
new drugs or analyzed a new disease state. This type of
insightful coursework aided me in my job interviews. The
skills I learned while completing projects and
understanding case studies in the classroom has served as
the foundation I rely upon while learning and excelling in
my career.
What were you involved with on campus at SJU?
In addition to participating and eventually leading PILOT
as president, I also served as an SJU Telehawk for the
Office of Admissions. I participated in Hand in Hand
and worked at the SJU Bookstore.
Looking back, what did you gain from your experiences
in Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Marketing that led you to
where you are today?
Another important piece I took away from the PMK
program and SJU experience was the power of
networking. The department’s relationship with IMS
Health opened the door for my first internship. The
relationships I cultivated with my team at IMS, as well as
hard work and motivation eventually led to my first
position at IMS Health immediately following graduation
in 2009. I was promoted in September 2010 to the Client
Service department, specializing in Managed Markets. I
currently serve on the IMS-SJU Executive Sponsor
Program in which we foster a relationship between IMS
and the SJU community. Especially within a difficult job

Quick Fact: Sudler and Hennessy, IMS Health,

market, never underestimate the power of networking.

Pfizer, Galderma, Cline Davis & Mann are some

of the many employers where our graduating seniors
obtain employment opportunities.

PROFESSOR CONTACT
Dr. George P. Sillup, Chair 610 660 3443
Dr. Thani Jambulingam 610 660 3382
Dr. William Trombetta 610 660 3159
Prof. Carolyn Choh 610 660 3241

ADMIN. ASSISTANTS CONTACT

Kristi Goldstein-Taverno 610 660 3380
Erivan K. Haub School of Business Editor-in-Chief
Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Joanne Bonsall 610 660 3380
Marketing Department ASSISTANT EDITORS
Alexa Disco Shane Kennedy
www.sju.edu/academics/hsb/pharmmarketing/ Mark Fanelli Danielle Puccino