Marketing Department, Valeant Pharmaceuticals
Class 2012
During the MBiotech program, Yusuf Ibrahim became interested to join the pharmaceutical community as he learned more about innovative medicines help enhance patient health outcomes and contribute to the overall society. As such, Ibrahim joined GlaxoSmithKline Inc. as an intern in the Public Affairs and Reimbursement department where he provided valuable contributions to the Public Policy team. At the end of his role as a Policy Associate, he decided to explore opportunities in the commercial stream of the pharmaceutical industry eventually leading him to a sales role.
Ibrahim began his commercial experience as a Respiratory Sales Representative, where he was selected to promote GlaxoSmithKline’s most successful brand, Advair, to key physicians in the Southwestern Ontario regions. During his time in sales, he was selected to join a focus group that was determined to represent the Ontario sales force and explore ways to create strategies to enhance the engagement level of sales representatives at GSK. In addition, Ibrahim decided to explore a new opportunity in a different therapeutic area as a Specialty Sales Representative with Valeant Pharmaceuticals in their Dermatology Pharma business unit. As a specialty sales representative, Ibrahim was responsible for collaborating with the top Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in Dermatology. His experience in sales as a primary and specialty representative provided him with the foundations to understand the fundamental concepts that will lead to a successful strategic thinking and decision making in the future.
After his extensive and proven track record as a pharmaceutical sales representative, Ibrahim is currently now working in the marketing department at Valeant Pharmaceuticals, where he is responsible in developing the strategic and tactical plans for the Dermatology brands. Ibrahim would like to continue to gain extensive experience in marketing and other commercial roles in the pharmaceutical sector and eventually aspires to hold management positions where he can utilize his experience to enhance patient outcomes and lead high performing teams.
The MBiotech program provided Ibrahim with the environment to cultivate his business skills and network with industry partners. The program allowed him to understand how he can leverage his experiences and skills with academia and industry partners which have shown to be an imperative aspect for his career development. Lastly, the program provided him with the support to understand team dynamics, and how to become a leader in the professional and societal level.