All about regulatory affairs jobs

The potential legal implications, and indeed human implications of pharmaceutical companies getting it wrong can be catastrophic, with history bearing the some well known cases such as the Thalidomide in the 60's.

As a result the pharmaceutical industry has built up rigorous processes for the licensing and compliance of the drugs it uses. Hence  Regulatory affairs jobs within pharmaceuticals centres around coordinating and managing licensing processes for everything from the approval of new Medicines, chemicals, pesticides, medical devices and other products used in healthcare in the UK. A company's regulatory affairs department provides the link between various regulatory authorities and their company.

Regulatory affairs jobs require technically minded people with an eye for detail. A company's products can change on a regular basis. Even the products themselves can acquire new dosages, new licenses for new indications. The speed with which these can pushed through the regulatory process can have hard hitting commercial implications. Until a drug is properly approved, it can't make any money!

To enter a career in regulatory affairs, typically you will need a science degree, ideally a life science such as Biology, Biochemistry or pharmacy, although others such as Maths, Physics and Chemistry may also be acceptable. Starting salaries are usually around £20-£25K with career potential to rise up above £70K for time served people in larger companies. Most companies will provide training for newly appointed people in regulatory affairs, although if you wish to be proactive, training can be sought via The Association of Professionals in Regulatory Affairs (TOPRA).

Once established in regulatory affairs jobs there is are good career structures available which can be pursued within companies, and in addition the pharmaceutical industry is a large pond within which careers can be pursued cross company if necessary.

In comparison to sales and marketing roles, there are not huge volumes of regulaotry affairs jobs around so you may need a regulatory affairs recruitment specialist to help with your search.

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