Graduate Blog / Career Development

Innovating to Save Lives

By Burcu Aydin, MBA 2018

If you are planning to intern at a biotechnology company, I hope you consider Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Vertex is one of the most respected, innovative and patient-centric biotechnology company’s. Vertex creates new possibilities in medicine to cure diseases such as cystic fibrosis and improve people’s lives. They work with leading researchers, doctors and experts who share their vision. Their goal is to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases with an unmet medical need. I was lucky to do my internship at Vertex this summer where interns are encouraged to gain the necessary skills to succeed in any field of the biotech industry.

Burcu Aydin, MBA’18

I would be happy to share why I had a great experience during my summer at Vertex:

1. Fast Paced Environment

You will immediately fly through various assignments and projects. I have been fortunate enough to be involved with analytics projects focusing on payers and specialty pharmacies. It’s genuinely amazing to be involved in projects that will affect the future growth of an innovative organization like Vertex. At the end of the internship, all of the MBA interns presented their projects to the Commercial Leadership Team, a group of leaders including the CCO and VPs in the commercial department. It was a great opportunity that allowed us to show how each of us led and managed our projects.

2. Collaboration, Collaboration, Collaboration

Before starting my internship, I knew that Vertex had great collaborations with other companies, such as licensing their treatments or collaborating with gene editing companies. However, during my internship, I learned that the collaborative culture inside the company is a big thing. It is hard to feel lost or unsure when there is so much support provided to all MBA interns. Before you start any project, the work is explained and discussed with your manager and with your mentor, so that you feel confident approaching your projects.

3. Patient Centric

As a former dentist, interning for a patient-centric company was really important to me. Vertex’s resources were directed mainly to activities which patients consider to be important. I always feel that companies specializing in rare disease are often more patient-centric. For Vertex, the company’s culture and processes are conducive to dealing with patient’s needs and being flexible as the needs change.

You will feel the company’s patient-centric approach from the first day. Vertex gives grants to support various educational programs, establishes community support programs for their patients and provides funds in support of patient initiatives.

4. Innovative

Innovation is key to the success of the biotech industry. Vertex is a global biotechnology company that invests in scientific innovation to create transformative medicines for people with serious diseases. Vertex discovered and developed the first medicines to treat Cystic Fibrosis (CF) disease, which is a rare and life-threating genetic disease.  n addition to clinical development programs in CF, Vertex has more than a dozen ongoing search programs focused on the underlying mechanisms of their serious diseases. So Vertex keeps innovating.

I am thankful for the excellent opportunity I received this summer at Vertex. If you’re considering a career in the life sciences, I’d be happy to connect! Learn more about Vertex here:  https://www.vrtx.com/