Join the Process Development Division, December 5th at 03:00 PM EST for our live webinar presentation, "Innovations in the Process Development of Small Molecule Pharmaceuticals," hosted by Jean Tom, Professor of Practice in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at Princeton University. Registration is open to all and can be accomplished here as well as via the button below.
Presentation Abstract:
The diverse and complex molecules that are now being discovered and developed in today’s pharmaceutical industry require innovation across multiple dimensions. Innovations in synthetic chemistry and chemical engineering are critical to solving the technical challenges to enable and to scale up new molecular transformations. The goal of process scientists in a chemical process development organization in this industry is to design safe, sustainable, robust, and cost-effective routes to deliver high quality drug substance. A systematic approach to this work is staging the work as route invention, process invention and process characterization. Process chemical engineers are key drivers and implementers of innovation approaches to accomplish such goals. How we work, how we develop people, and how we attract talent to the chemical sciences will be paramount to the continued success of modern pharmaceutical industry. This talk will tie together these elements to provide a view on the current state of innovation in the development of complex small molecule pharmaceuticals.
Speaker Bio:
Jean Tom is currently a Professor of Practice in the Chemical and Biological Engineering Department at Princeton University. She retired from the pharmaceutical industry early in 2024, after a 38-year career with Merck, and then Bristol Myers Squibb. In Spring 2024, she was the Brenton Halsey Distinguished Visiting Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Virginia.
At BMS, Jean led a group of chemical engineers focused on development of chemical processes to synthesize small-molecule drug candidates for new therapeutics. Prior to joining BMS in 2006, Jean spent 19 years at Merck Research Laboratories. She has been a strong advocate for increasing the role and impact of chemical engineering in the pharmaceutical industry, bringing new approaches to accelerate the generation of process knowledge needed at the different stages of development, and increasing the role of pre-competitive collaboration to advance new technologies for the development of new compounds.
She received B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering Practice from MIT. After several years in industry, Jean returned to academia and received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Princeton University. Jean is active in the AIChE as a Board of Director member, Fellow, and recipient of the Industrial Leadership Award (2018), and in the NAE (National Academy of Engineering) to which she was elected in 2019. She contributes to the chemical engineering community through her service as an ABET program evaluator, external advisory committee member for several departments, and through STEM outreach programs.
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