"From the day I took my Pharmacy pre-pharmacy course at the University of Navarra, I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to Galenics. More specifically, to development or pharmaceutical production," says Eider Arana (Far + Nutrition 13 and 2nd year MDGFI).

So at the end of the Degree he decided to do the Master's Degree in design Galenic and Manufacturing in the Pharmaceutical Industry (MDGFI): "This postgraduate program offers the opportunity to combine, during the first year, a theoreticaltraining -internship. The internship part takes place in a pilot plant, where the theoretical knowledge acquired throughout the year is put into internship and the different functions that will be performed in the pharmaceutical industry are known, already during the second year of Master's Degree", details Eider.

In his case, in this second part of Master's Degree he chose laboratory Faes Farma -laboratory founded in 1933 in Biscay, which exports its products to 60 countries and employs more than 700 professionals in Madrid and at its Leioa centers - for his second-year internship: "They offered me a place of management at development pharmaceutical, at research and development+i, which interested me from the very beginning. And the expectations were fulfilled as soon as I arrived. They made me feel comfortable and fortunate, both for the attention that receipt from my tutor, as well as from all the people who are part of department of research and development+i and, of course, because they have given me the opportunity to take part in two strategic projects of research and development+i".

development of product and contact with companies

He has been working on both projects for 4 months. "I follow, day by day, the pharmaceutical development of both projects. I participate, together with the team, in the galenic development , the choice and compatibility of excipients and packaging material, as well as in the pre-stability study and even in the initiation of the pre-clinical development of one of them". "And not only that," he continues, "but I am involved in a variety of functions, such as contacting national and international companies to outsource a phase of the project, apply for budgets for future investments in the laboratory,selecting the packaging material and characterizing it, etc."

The "theoretical" training of the MDGFI students also continues at laboratory : "Together with other colleagues who started their internships on the same day as me, we have received training on good manufacturing standards, good documentation and registration practices, pharmacovigilance, and environmental and occupational safety," says the future expert.

And although she still has several months of internships to go, Eider assures that she has chosen the right place: "It's a great laboratory that is allowing me to specialize in one of the most enriching areas of the pharmaceutical industry," she says.