Mark Hanna

Even though Mark Hanna comes from a family of healthcare professionals, it was a unique set of circumstances at a job in high school that put him on a path toward a career in the pharmacy industry.

“I worked at a local supermarket and, one day, someone in the pharmacy called in sick, so they asked me to fill in,” the native of Hillsborough, NJ, recalled. “I really enjoyed the experience, so I worked as a clerk in the pharmacy during school and then decided to explore the area in college.”

Now in his sixth year of St. John’s University’s Doctor of Pharmacy program, Mark spent the summer of 2018 working as an intern in the Medical Information and Communications department of Novartis in East Hanover, NJ. There, he focused on creating, updating, and formatting medical response documents (MRDs) for healthcare professionals in a collaborative team setting.

“My group fielded questions about different drugs from a variety of healthcare providers,” Mark said. “In most cases, my work involved inquiries about a patient’s ability to take a specific medication due to concerns over interactions with other prescriptions. My team created MRDs to provide the doctors and nurses with the correct information they needed to make informed decisions with patients.”

Mark also worked in the area of promotional review at Novartis. “We functioned as the experts on the different pharmaceutical drugs that Novartis had in their pipeline and on the market,” he said. “I worked on a new migraine drug therapy that had just launched, so there were many important questions about the product.”

In addition to his internship in New Jersey this summer, Mark traveled to Boston, MA, in late June to present his research, entitled “The Effect of Drug Shortages on the Price of Competitor Products,” at the Drug Information Association Conference Global Annual Meeting.  

“My research explored the various cardiovascular drugs on the market that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined to be on shortage. I wanted to see if there was a correlation between a shortage and prices,” he said. “I was surprised to learn that there was no effect on prices. It was actually a relief to hear that there was no evidence of price gouging.”

After he completes his final year in the Pharmacy program, Mark will pursue a postdoctoral fellowship, where he will receive further real-world experience before entering the field.

“Ultimately, I want to go into regulatory affairs and work with the FDA,” he said. “Because of my St. John’s experience, I will have both the classroom and real-world knowledge I need to hit the ground running.”

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Read about our other interns that gained valuable skills through experiential learning. 
Alexander de Rege
Jonna Scopellito