November 25, 2024
By Paige Benning
AUBURN, Alabama - When looking at ways to make a worldwide impact, the Harrison College of Pharmacy’s Shane Enriquez was inspired to look to industry pharmacy.
From a pool of Tennessee and Alabama pharmacy students, Enriquez, a member of the Class of 2026, was selected to attend a collaborative program between Gilead Sciences and the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP).
The two-day event took place at the Gilead U.S. Headquarters in Foster City, California and exposed students to the various functions of an international pharmaceutical company. Enriquez was one of 15 students to tour the lab and facilities as well as network with executive leaders.
Gilead Sciences is a biopharma company with the mission of discovering, developing and delivering innovative therapeutics for people with life-threatening diseases. The Gilead and AMCP student pharmacy program had its inaugural class in 2023 and plans to continue for the foreseeable future.
“The exposure and realistic perspective I gained across multiple functional areas in Gilead is my biggest take away,” said Enriquez. “From the speaker panels across Field Medical, Market Access, and Regulatory Affairs, I learned how each sector works collaboratively throughout the drug development process in a patient-centered approach. Not to mention, getting to speak to all the Gilead employees and meet AMCP student pharmacists from all over definitely made it an unforgettable experience.”
Enriquez was born and raised in the Philippines prior to moving to the United States at 9 years old. Once moving to Montgomery, Alabama from San Diego, California, she knew Auburn would be her next step. Enriquez spent her undergraduate years pursuing a bachelor of science in biomedical sciences at Auburn University.
“I always knew I wanted to work in health care and serve patients. Having lived in the
Philippines, I was really inspired to choose a career path where I can use my knowledge and personal goals to address gaps in patient needs and accessibility,” said Enriquez.
The decision to apply to HCOP through the early assurance program came to fruition in 2020.
“During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacy was the clear option,” said Enriquez. “I saw how unique and vital pharmacists were to the community in educating patients and making sure they got the medicine they needed.”
While working at PA Logic doing prior authorization reviews under the BlueCross BlueShield of Alabama, AMCP introduced managed care and payor pharmacy. While keeping her options open through rotation, a non-traditional path has caught her attention.
“Within industry pharmacy, I’m particularly interested in the Medical Affairs function because it allows me to make a global impact on patient lives while staying close to the science,” said Enriquez. “I know I want to go into a more specialized therapeutic area, most likely in oncology or rare diseases, because I get to contribute to a more tailored therapy for those patients in need.”
Enriquez is involved in a variety of areas at HCOP. Along with her involvement with AMCP, she serves as president of the American Pharmacists Association-Academy of student Pharmacists chapter and is the director of professional programming with the Industry Pharmacists Organization. Recently, she shared her experience with the HCOP AMCP chapter and at the 2024 AMCP Nexus, with over 2,500 attendees in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“With the new knowledge and perspective, I want to provide valuable insights on how to navigate AMCP opportunities,” said Enriquez.
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Auburn University's Harrison College of Pharmacy is ranked among the top 20 percent of all colleges of pharmacy in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report. Fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the College offers doctoral degrees in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and pharmaceutical sciences (Ph.D.) while also offering a master's in pharmaceutical sciences and a bachelor’s in drug and biopharmaceutical sciences. The College’s commitment to world-class scholarship and interdisciplinary research speaks to Auburn’s overarching Carnegie R1 designation that places Auburn among the top 100 doctoral research universities in the nation. For more information about the College, please call 334.844.8348 or visit http://pharmacy.auburn.edu.