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What would happen if the personal assistants in your organisation were away for a week? How would it affect the running of your business or department? How would it affect you…personally?

If you are fortunate to have a personal assista

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

nt whom you heavily rely on to assist you, in most instances you would find yourself run ragged if they were absent for longer than a day.

This week I spoke with two clients who were in the situation where their p.a.'s had been on holi

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

day and these clients' lives were super-stressed as a result. Although they had other people in their organisation helping out, it wasn't the same as having an assistant who knows you very well and can get things done without you having

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

to even ask.

If you are fortunate to have a great p.a. then I hope you appreciate and look after them. Often they are undervalued, yet are the key people who keep the wheels turning in your organisation.

I know there are many p.a.'s o

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

ut there who love what they do and have great bosses, however there are heaps of others who don't.

These women (and there is the odd male p.a.) do their utmost best , start early, stay in at lunchtime, work late and yet are undervalued

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

unappreciated and underpaid.

Marion's Story

Marion is a hardworking, reliable and competent p.a. She had worked for the same company for 8 years. That's a long time in today's work environment. I bumped into Marion this week, when sh

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

e attended a presentation I gave for the Victorian Office Professionals, a network for p.a.'s.

I asked her if she was still at the same company and this is what she said…"I was beginning to tire of my job. My recent boss was not easy t

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

get on with. He was quite uncommunicative and did not fill me in on issues that affected my work for him. Information was only forthcoming if I prompted for it. Then I had to guess the right questions to ask. He never made me feel acce

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

pted or supported. It made it really difficult to come to work. I arrived at work one morning recently, and he informed me that my services were no longer required. Within two hours I had packed up my belongings, said goodbye to several

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

close associates and drove home in a state of shock…and that's what I got for all the hard work, extra hours and loyalty."

Helen's Story

Helen started her own business. What motivated her to take such a brave step? Her last position a

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

s a p.a. was extremely stressful, mainly due to the person she worked for. Helen told me that every Sunday afternoon around 4.00 p.m. she felt a dark shadow cast over her as she began to think about the forthcoming week. Her decision to

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

quit her job came directly after she visited her doctor. She had developed a lump on her breast. Fortunately, it wasn't breast cancer, it had formed due to her stress levels!

Tips for the Boss

Treat your p.a. with respect

Ask them h

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

w they are each day

Invest in their personal and professional development.

Listen to them

Say 'thank you'

Realise that your p.a. has a life outside of work and needs time out just like you do

Be flexible - many p.a.'s have a family

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

to care for, if you are flexible they will be extremely loyal and work even harder

Understand that when you give them tasks to do, although you many have taken 2 minutes to discuss with them, it could take them 2 days, particularly wi

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

h the many interruptions they have to deal with.

Keep your p.a. in the loop. Organise a regular time each day to 'catch up'.

Share your successes with them.

Tips for the P.A.

Look after your health and fitness first. You'll feel goo

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

d, look good and be more confident. NEVER SACRIFICE YOUR HEALTH AND FITNESS BECAUSE OF YOUR WORKLOAD.

Avoid the martyr syndrome. Ensure you take time out at lunchtime and get out of the office. The place will survive without you.

If t

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

e workload is too much, let the boss know. It's no point whinging to everyone else and doing nothing about it.

If saying 'no' is hard for you, then do an assertiveness course.

When communicating with a male boss, get to the point.

Jo

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

in a professional association for office professionals. Share ideas and resources.

Develop your skills, attend courses and seminars and read books to help you grow. Remember the more valuable you are, the better person you become and t

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

e more you can earn.

The Final Word

For many managers and business owners, having a good p.a. helps them to leverage their time and enables them to focus on what they need to be working on. When you find the right person, treat them l

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ike gold, do not take them for granted. If you look after them, they will look after you and make your working life so much more manageable.

When you look after your people, they will look after you…just make sure you never forget that

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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