Interview of Mr. Deepak Singh - About career in Pharma industry and allied sectors

Pharma Literati is pleased to present the interview of Mr. Deepak Singh, Head, R & D (Sales) at Gansons Ltd. Thane, Maharashtra.

Mr. Deepak is a mentor for Pharma Literati team and has been active in various activities. A great orator who speaks from his heart, business with ethics has been the motto form him. We are privileged to be have Mr. Deepak associated with Pharma Literati.

Mr. Deepak is an M. Pharm from Mumbai University and later on worked with formulation R & D with a major pharmaceutical organization in India. He is currently Responsible for Sales activities of complete granulation lines namely Sifters; High Shear Granulators; Particle Size Reduction Mills; Fluidized Bed Dryers; Blenders; Material Transfer System; Tablet & Pellet Coating system; Polymeric Solution Mixers for Gansons Ltd. 

The excerpts:

 • Tell us how your career progressed from joining the pharmacy course?

According to me, pharma as an industry is growing rapidly. When I joined this industry, I started as a Research Analyst and now I am Head of R&D sales. This journey took my 5 years. So within pharma industry a person needs to find his or her own niche segment and then strive for it. Overall, pharma is really vast and it is diversified so it becomes important to understand where you want to reach and then make the roadmap. One major shift seen these days in pharma is the techno-commercial role which is the exact blend of research and commercial sales. It is a very promising profile in the pharma market currently.

• Had you decided to work in industry during your college days?

I believe I saw it at a very early age that I wanted to work in the industry. Of course, peers being a major influencer factor. However, as I mentioned earlier I drew my road-map as early as I could. I was curious to understand the business, to understand the working and functioning of the industry, to understand the challenges and see how companies approach each challenge in a strategic manner. I strongly believe it’s a learning curve and it comes with time and experience.

• Tell us something about your current organization.

Currently, I am working in Gansons, thane at a techno-sales role. Gansons is pharmaceutical machinery manufacturing company. My organization designs and builds machines for granulation, coating, drying, mixing and even transfer systems and milling. The company was established in 1947 and has been evolving with changing trends in the pharmaceutical industry.

• What is your profile at the organization?

I am heading the R&D equipment sales department for domestic as well as global market. I look after the market demands in Egypt, Turkey, and Bangladesh. I have strived to excellence for sales activities of complete granulation lines. These include Sifters, High Shear Granulators, Particle Size Reduction Mills, Fluidized Bed Dryers, Blenders, Material transfer System, Tablet & Pellet coating system, polymeric Solution mixers. Basically, you need to know your tech very well and that’s how you go for sales to help your client do need analysis and sell your machine. It’s like bridging a gap.

• How did you move from Pharma R&D to in the equipment manufacturing industry?

I started off as Pharma R&D research but there was always a desire within to move to market. Moving to market had a sole reason, which is client requirement understanding. So generally people interact with clients- understand their need- get feedback- and then research to develop a product. I back-tracked the cycle. I gained knowledge in research, I learned how the research works and then moving towards sales helped me understand market better. However, this wasn’t an easy transformation. There is lack of opportunities but you have to wait for the right time. There is always someone out in the market who needs your expertise. So that logic worked well for me. My experience in process understanding for granulation, coating, mixing and formulation helped my current job as well.

• According to you, which factors plays major role in enhancing sales of R&D equipment?

It’s a pattern- firstly, know your expertise well in this case know the R&D equipment well, know what your company is selling, what is the differentiation factor. To be honest, it becomes equally important to know what your competitor is doing, where is the industry heading. Once you start looking at bigger picture, understanding the business becomes easier. Now, sales happen majorly because of two factors- differentiation factor and the relationship you maintain with your clients.

• What is that one thing from Pharma R & D which you have utilized in your current role and you believe has helped you a lot in this area?

As I said before the knowledge gained during development of products and the exposure to various processes like- mixing, coating, granulation etc. has greatly helped me in extrapolating the same knowledge in the sales of equipment at Gansons.

• According to you how one can enter in your profession?

It’s a simple roadmap- Graduate in B.Pharma and then pursure either M.Pharma or MBA in pharma or healthcare.

• What’s your opinion, should budding generation start their profession in your field?

Yes absolutely. Its very important and a growing profession where we are directly involved in the sales. Sales gives you an insight of current on goings in the industry and dealing with different clients and their mindset.

• Do you really think your field provides more opportunities and is advantageous in comparison with core pharmacy?

Yes. Core pharmacy can be starting point of your career, but eventually moving on to sales and marketing fields give you more opportunities in terms of work and even growth monetarily and has good perks and exposure. Hence many of the pharma professionals are moving into sales and marketing these days.

• What if one is having poor knowledge regarding core pharmacy, but still want to be in the same field, can he/she sustain as a R&D equipment sales person?

Totally, at the end of the day, its selling and according to me selling is an art not science. So even if he or she doesn’t know it can be taught to them.

• Any message for the budding pharmacists.       

Pharmacy is a great profession to be in. Recently the advances have been tremendous in the industry and it’s growing exponentially. People all over are aware of the importance of this field. There is something new to learn each day. The learning curve will keep molding and not become stagnant. For such a vast and growing industry there is always need for young and enthusiastic people, so I encourage all to pursue career in pharmacy and explore the options it provides.