Author: [AUTHOR] Published on 9/1/2019 12:00:00 AM
Ganesh M. Mugundu, MPharm, PhD, Director, Clinical Pharmacology–Oncology, AstraZeneca, Boston, MA
Being a member of ASCPT and getting involved through volunteering with ASCPT Networks and Communities has allowed Dr. Mugundu to meet incredible people from industry, academia, and regulatory agencies. Dr. Mugundu identifies these people as “key thought leaders in clinical pharmacology/pharmacometrics from across the world.” In his opinion, ASCPT is truly a premier scientific organization for scientists in clinical pharmacology and translational medicine.
Dr. Mugundu's favorite aspects of ASCPT membership are attending the Annual Meeting, volunteering in various capacities, and networking. In the case of the meeting, he points to the outstanding scientific sessions that address the cutting‐edge issues in clinical pharmacology as well as the important topics that span the continuum of drug discovery, development, regulation, and utilization. Dr. Mugundu counts himself fortunate to have the privilege of co‐chairing multiple workshops/symposiums with his colleagues at the Annual Meeting on various topics. Dr. Mugundu has also served as a mentor during both the Trainee Luncheon and Speed Mentoring events held at past Annual Meetings. At these sessions he got to interact with the next generation of scientists in clinical pharmacology and translational medicine: “I love to share my experiences, inspire, and provide career advice to budding clinical pharmacologists who are looking to start their career.” Dr. Mugundu feels this is a way to give back to the Society, and he counts himself fortunate to participate in mentorship opportunities such as these.
The field of clinical pharmacology and translational medicine was Dr. Mugundu's choice as well, and he states, “It kind of happened after my graduate degree.” He explains that he started working in the pharmaceutical industry conducting clinical pharmacology and clinical studies and performing PKPD modeling for dose/schedule optimization for various modalities (small molecule, antibodies, ADCs, ASOs), and enjoys working with early/late drug development teams in implementing quantitative analysis to improve decision making at critical drug development milestones.
Working in oncology drug development, Dr. Mugundu has had the privilege of impacting patient care by being a part of development teams and influencing key decisions around optimal dose/dosing schedule, quantifying the efficacy and safety of compounds, terminating compounds that were not helpful, and more importantly, helping to extend survival of patients. Some of the clinical pharmacology studies (food effect, formulation, route administration, DDI, etc.) that clinical pharmacologists routinely design, lead, and conduct are all aimed at making the quality of life better for patients.
ASCPT has started embracing novel technologies (artificial intelligence, machine learning, real‐world evidence, etc.) and has now well established itself as a premier organization for clinical pharmacology. Dr. Mugundu believes that ASCPT could help in transforming clinical pharmacology and translational medicine into a key function that can drive healthcare and drug development decisions. He believes that this could be accomplished by establishing collaborations with other leading oncology societies and holding workshops/symposia that can improve the visibility of clinical pharmacology at therapeutically related conferences. This will in turn help in educating practicing physicians, clinicians, and senior drug development executives on the work researchers do.
Dr. Mugundu has been a member of ASCPT since 2010. He currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Biologics Community.
