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Voting for a new Member Trustee is now OPEN!
The candidates are:
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- Dr Emad Siddiqui BSc MBBS MRCS MD MFPM(Dis)
- Dr Jina Swartz MB BCh MSc Med (Neurol) MFPM(Dis) PhD (Cantab) FMedSci
Candidate statements are published below (in alphabetical order).
You are reminded that Fellows and Members, but not Affiliates, Associates, Honorary Fellows and Honorary Members are eligible to vote in this ballot.
The statements have been prepared by the candidates and do not reflect official FPM views or the current status of FPM. Candidates’ statements are presented as submitted and have not been edited by FPM.
Voting closes at 17:00 (UK time) on Thursday 12 December 2024
Dr Emad Siddiqui
I am an experienced Pharmaceutical Physician currently working as Vice President Medical Affairs (MA) and Global Therapeutic Area (TA) Head for Speciality at Astellas Pharma. I have 18 years of experience in Pharmaceutical Medicine in country, regional and global roles. I have covered several therapeutic areas including Urology, Oncology, Organ Transplantation, Dermatology and Women’s Health. I have been a member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (FPM) since 2006.
I graduated in 1999 with a Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree. I also hold a Bachelor of Science (BSc). I completed my surgical training in 2003 and was awarded the Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS). I then pursued my research interest in Prostate and Bladder Cancer at University College London which led to the award of Doctor of Medicine (MD). In 2006, I decided to pursue a career in Pharmaceutical Medicine and joined Astellas Pharma. I enrolled in the Cardiff University post-graduate course in Pharmaceutical Medicine and completed the course in 2008. I am a member of the FPM.
Over the years I have held various positions of increasing responsibility at Astellas including Head of Medical Affairs (MA) in the UK, European Medical Director, Global MA Lead for Urology and Global MA lead for Women’s Health. I led the MA team for the launch of the first in class non-hormonal treatment for vasomotor symptoms (VMS) associated with menopause.
I have a keen interest in clinical development and have been the Medical Lead for several P3 and P4 studies which have resulted in new indications, label updates and have informed treatment guidelines across the globe. I have significant experience of interacting with Regulatory Authorities and HTA bodies including FDA, EMA, NICE, GBA. I am interested in collecting patient reported outcomes (PRO) in clinical trials and have led the development and validation of a comprehensive PRO questionnaire for Overactive Bladder (OAB). My academic and pharmaceutical research is widely published. I have authored over 60 peer reviewed manuscripts and more than 150 scientific congress presentations.
I possess strong leadership skills and have completed leadership courses at Insead and Duke Business Schools. I am a strategic thinker and have led several major change management projects. I have experience of teaching and training doctors, medical students, nurses and mentoring research fellows and pharmaceutical physicians. Whilst pursuing a career in Pharmaceutical Medicine, I have continued to support the NHS and was Honorary Fellow in Urology at Ealing Hospital London between 2009-15. During the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-22), I supported the NHS North West Surrey mass vaccination program as a clinical lead at the vaccination clinics. I believe I have the knowledge, expertise and leadership skills to serve as a member trustee at the FPM and will be honoured to be elected to the position.
Dr Jina Swartz
I trained in Internal Medicine and Neurology in South Africa, obtaining my MBBCh (MD) cum laude and an MSc Medicine (Neurology). Following the award of a post-doctoral research fellowship, I obtained my PhD at the University of Cambridge, exploring molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration in Huntington’s disease. In 2020 I was elected as Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences for my global expertise in neuropsychiatric drug development and, in 2022, made a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine (by Distinction).
In previous roles of increasing seniority at four multinational pharmaceutical companies, I’ve developed and directed regulatory approval of novel drugs, including donepezil, lecanumab, perampanel, zonisamide, suvorexant, sugammadex and gefapixant. I possess outstanding translational medicine expertise, spearheading extensive relationships with academic Neuroscience experts in the UK and world-wide. I maintained academic clinical practice as Honorary Neurology Consultant at Imperial College London. For my ongoing global health policy work with IDPs, see my forthcoming Nature review with two leading academics. I was also an impact assessor for UK Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021.
In light of my unique mixture of industry, academic and policy-based expertise, with ongoing board experience at numerous charities (e.g. ARUK, Parkinson’s UK, Arts4Dementia, Ataxia UK, British Neuroscience Association), I welcome the opportunity to join the FPM as a Trustee. I aspire to build the interface between academia and industry, fuelling innovation in drug development and clinical trial conduct. The UK has a fantastic opportunity to provide excellence in translational and clinical research, but as the crisis in health care threatens its fabric and clinical stage companies (large and small) withdraw from later-stage development in multiple disciplines – particularly Neuroscience –the Faculty can take a lead in working to reverse this decline.
Engagement with the current membership to better understand and address the challenges we face, outreach to younger, emergent clinicians to promote working in drug development and clinical research, whilst simultaneously bringing them into a Faculty that is open to innovation and diversity, as well as engaging with the general public to educate and encourage them to actively participate in clinical research, are key areas in which I believe the FPM can make constructive changes. As an FPM Trustee, I would help drive these initiatives, in concert with my activities at the Academy of Medical Sciences, where I mentor emerging female scientists and engage in cross industry-academic activities via the FORUM network.
