Alumnus Reflects on Mentorship from MCW Professors Who Guided Him to Pharmaceutical Industry Career
During the beginning of his pharmacy school journey, Alex Sperry, PharmD was interested in pharmaceutical compounding. "The mentors I developed at MCW – which I don’t believe I would have been able to access at various other institutions – pointed me towards a career in industry. That is where I found the love of pharmacy more than anywhere else,” he recalled.
He was drawn to pursue industry due to the broad positive impact he could have on patients. Giving the example of existing migraine medications that don’t work for everyone, he explains that pharmacists in industry design products for patients with unmet need.
“MCW was an amazing experience for me, going to class and learning from professors that have been in this industry for a long time and are very knowledgeable and welcoming,” said Dr. Sperry. “I can’t think of another institution where I could meet with professors in their offices at essentially any time. I also had the unique opportunity to participate in benchtop research.”
One of his mentors at the MCW School of Pharmacy was Abhay Chauhan, PhD, MPharm, BPharm, associate professor. The two worked together on drug delivery products via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) — a chemistry technique involving separating compounds to determine how potent a product is. Drs. Sperry and Chauhan wrote abstracts on two products – one thermal gel and one oral nanoemulsion – which were published in the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
Dr. Sperry earned his PharmD from the MCW School of Pharmacy in 2021 and later accepted a formulation scientist position at Nexus Pharmaceuticals. There, he gained an understanding of the processes required to get FDA approval of a medication.
“I would look at medications currently on the market and essentially reverse-engineer them – taking it from the lab countertop making a small batch of a solution, then scaling it up to administer it as a generic injectable for patients in critical need,” explained Dr. Sperry. These medications would be fast-tracked through the FDA to meet patient needs.
In this role, Dr. Sperry also served as a preceptor for the MCW School of Pharmacy, mentoring third-year students during experiential education rotations. He said this is his way of giving back to the school, and he’s proud to see several students he mentored achieve postdoctoral positions or begin careers in industry.
“One of the things that really sets the MCW School of Pharmacy apart is its ability to prepare students for industry,” explained Dr. Sperry. “In my class, there were three people including myself who applied for and all obtained fellowship positions. The School being able to provide those opportunities and support from faculty is what set us apart from other applicants.”
Dr. Sperry recently became director of research and development at Meds Healthcare in Elmhurst, Illinois. The organization currently outsources its research and development efforts for medication compounding and distribution. Dr. Sperry is working to bring research and development in-house – establishing a lab, obtaining manufacturing equipment and developing compounding standards.