Meet our Industrial Pharmacy Expert Advisory Group
Sunayana Shah (Chair)
Sunayana Shah (Chair)
Sunayana is a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), Chair of RPS Industrial Pharmacy Advisory Group, Ambassador, RPS.
An experienced Head of Policy, she has a successful history of working in the Pharmaceutical industry trade associations.
Sunayana is skilled in Pharmacy, Global Health, Regulatory intelligence, Pharmacovigilance, Innovation, Scientific & Medical, High Profile Stakeholder Engagement and Management.
Tazneem Anwar
I am an experienced pharmacist with a strong background in the UK pharmaceutical industry, covering medical information, final signatory responsibilities, and medical advisory roles. With prior experience in the NHS and community pharmacy, I bring a well-rounded perspective on the challenges and opportunities within the pharmaceutical industry.
I am currently the Head of Medical Information & Medical Compliance at Johnson & Johnson, where I lead a team ensuring high-quality, compliant medical information services Passionate about career development, I'm a mentor within and outside my workplace.
Outside of work, I'm a busy mum to three boys (two teenagers and one almost a teenager) I'm also the Event and Run Director at my local park run. I enjoy running (having run five marathons, and two ultra marathons) as the challenge it provides is something I thrive on.
Neel Bhatt
Neel Bhatt MFRPSI MRPharmS CMgr FCMI is a Medical Advisor at Sanofi with over five years of industry experience spanning across medical affairs, health economics & outcomes research, market access and marketing. This experience covers an array of therapy areas which include immunology, neurology, oncology, rare disease & rare blood disorders and vaccines.
Neel gained his MPharm from the University of Nottingham and recently completed the Senior Leadership Apprenticeship with Henley Business School & Charted Management Institute and is currently undertaking an MSc in Management for Future Leaders. Committed to professional development, Neel also is a Faculty member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.
Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Neel briefly practiced in the community after completing his pre-registration training at Boots and obtained experience in the industry sector at GSK in Drug Development & Product Design during a summer internship.
Annika Boloz
Annika has a very unique dual registration as a Pharmacist and Clinical Scientist (Pharmaceutical Science), paired with a business degree (MBA), an MSc in Pharmaceutical Science, and a PGDip in Pharmaceutical Law and Regulation.
In addition, Annika is an experienced RP and eligible QP. Annika completed STP training on graduation she worked as a Production Manager before progressing into a Quality Role.
Annika currently works as Associate Director of Pharmacy, Radiopharmacy and Technical Services Lead in the NHS in addition she is involved in multiple national projects and committees.
Annika also works closely with the National School of Healthcare Science as an Assessor for STP trainees.
Hari Harrar
Ali Jaffer
Ali Jaffer is a global medical science director in GI oncology, specializing in liver cancer. He graduated from Portsmouth University and began his career as a hospital pharmacist, completing his residency at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital. He then specialized in heart and lung transplantation at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust before transitioning to the pharmaceutical industry.
Ali joined Roche as a medical science liaison in cancer immunotherapy, covering lung, bladder, and liver cancer. He later became the UK Medical Lead for GU cancers, before expanding his role to include GI cancers. His then transitioned into a global role at Roche, where he now drives the liver cancer medical strategy, engages with key therapeutic area experts, and leads real-world evidence initiatives.
With a passion for advancing oncology care, Ali is committed to shaping the future of cancer treatment through scientific collaboration and innovative approaches. Outside of work, he enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Yetunde Kolade
MPharmRS, PhD
Yetunde Kolade is a pharmacist with a doctorate degree in Pharmacokinetics and currently works within Cencora Pharmalex where she provides consultancy services to pharmaceutical industries.
Prior, Yetunde was a Regional Medical Affairs Director at Reckitt where she was accountable for the medical leadership of diverse teams covering Europe, Russia, Australia and New Zealand. She worked for Reckitt for over 15years, within which she initiated and launched the Reckitt Pharmacist Foundation Programme and the Pharmacy Graduate Scheme, thereby providing opportunities for young pharmacists wanting a career path in the industry.
Yetunde has also worked across several sectors, including hospital, community pharmacy and in the academia as a university lecturer with publications in international scientific journals. She has served within UK self-regulating committees, including as part of the roll-out of the first PAGB Medical Devices Consumer Code & the second version of the PAGB Consumer Code for Medicines.
She is in addition, currently a member of the Industrial Pharmacy Expert Advisory Group.
She has been a speaker at many events, including the Faculty of Pharmacy University of Romania 100yr anniversary, World conference for the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation and career talk at the University College London. Yetunde was a yearly award presenter at the Faulty of Pharmacy, University of Bath UK and had a private invite as attendee to the House of Commons for the celebration of brilliant pharmacists in UK.
Yetunde is married with two children.
Stephen Makin
Steve qualifi
ed as a pharmacist in 1990, and subsequently completed a PhD at Manchester University and post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Guelph.
He joined industry as a scientist with Unilever, a role which he held for 6 years prior to joining GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as a Group Leader in new product development. In GSK he subsequently took on roles of Vice-President Oral Healthcare Research and Development (R&D), Vice President Skin Health R&D, and Vice President Pain Relief R&D in Switzerland. He left GSK in 2019 to become Vice President for Consumer Health R&D with STADA, a company specialising in generics and consumer healthcare products.
In 2024 he joined Mars as Head of Research at Waltham Petcare Science Institute, and in July 2025 he took on the role of Vice President and Head of the Waltham facility.
Steve is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London and an Honorary Professor at Keele University. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2012, and as a fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in 2018.
Jane Nicholson
BPharm, FRPharmS, FTOPRA
Executive Director EIPG
Graduated from Chelsea School of Pharmacy (now Kings) and after working in formulation development at Beecham Research Laboratories, joined E R Squibb to establish a registration department and later became the Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Bristol-Myers Squibb.
A former executive member of BPSA and Chairman of Information and Education and President of the International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation. Vice-President of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) from 1995-2002 and past President of the FIP Industrial Pharmacy Section.
Has served on several ABPI Committees, Working and Study Groups and is a Fellow of TOPRA. She is currently the Executive Director of EIPG (the European Industrial Pharmacists Group).
Proprietor, independent community pharmacy 1993-1995. Panel member NHS Appeal Authority for the opening of community pharmacies 1992-2013. Member of Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of G.B. (1987-94), past Chairman of the Science and Practice Committees.
Appointed by the Minister of Health as a non-executive member of the MHRA's Supervisory Board (1991 to 2001). Member of Transcom 2008. Has served as a member of the Industrial Pharmacists’ Group Committee for more than 25 years and for three years as Chairman of the Group. Member of the IPAG from its formation until to date.
Ciara O'Brien
Mine Orlu
Professor Mine Orlu is a globally recognised researcher in patient centric drug delivery systems design.
Her research team focuses on the use of novel emerging engineering, machine learning and digital health technologies for optimised therapeutic outcomes. Her research has been funded by EU funding schemes, UKRI EPSRC, charities and pharmaceutical industry.
She has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers, seven book chapters and taken a co-Editor role for one book. She is currently Professor of Pharmaceutics and Chair of the Devices & Diagnostics Therapeutic Innovation Network at University College London.
Kendal Pitt
Kendal Pitt, Ph.D (London University), B.Pharm (University of Nottingham) is currently a Visting Professor at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde and an Honorary Professor at Leicester School of Pharmacy, De Montfort University.
He worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry for over 30 years, most recently as Senior Technical Director, Global Supply Chain for GlaxoSmithKline based at Ware, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (FRPharmS), Associate Fellow of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (AFIChemE), and a Fellow of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences (FAPS).
In addition he has worked at the Wellcome Foundation Ltd., Roche Pharmaceuticals and for Merck. He has headed groups in both the United States and Great Britain and has led project teams responsible for the successful filing and launch of both tablets, capsules and freeze-dried oral dosage forms. Primary research interests are in powder compaction, powder flow and granulation process optimisation, including the use of compaction simulators in tablet and capsule product development.
Additionally he has published in the areas of formulation and design for nasal delivery of pharmaceuticals and on statistical design of experiments, and has authored chapters on pharmaceutical formulation, on tabletting, and on mechanical strength testing.
Robert Smith
Rebecca Stanbrook
BPharm (Hons), MRPharmS, FFRPS, DipRQA, FRQA
Currently Rebecca works as GCP Strategic Lead in Process & Risk Surveillance, in the Strategy, Portfolio and Programme Operations Group of Development in Novartis Pharma AG. In this role she supports the implementation of the revision to ICH GCP and provides guidance and training on Good Clinical Practice.
Rebecca is the EFPIA Topic lead for ICH E6(R3) Expert Working Group, the group responsible to rewriting the Good Clinical Practice Guideline, the global standard for the conduct of clinical trials.
Prior to joining Novartis, Rebecca was Group Manager, Inspections (GLP/GCP/PV) at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Since she joined the Agency in 2003, Rebecca held a number of positions within the fields of GCP and Pharmacovigilance. She helped shape the GCP and Pharmacovigilance statutory programmes in their early stages and was a member of one of the teams conducting the first statutory GCP inspections in the UK. Rebecca’s group at the Agency wrote the Good Clinical Practice Guide and the Good Pharmacovigilance Guide.
Prior to joining the Agency, Rebecca worked at a number of pharmaceutical companies in various roles across all aspects of the industry. To date she has over 30 years’ experience in the industry or as a regulator.
Rebecca has been based at the Basel Headquarters of Novartis since May 2014.
In her spare time Rebecca enjoys skiing and is a member of the Novartis ladies football club.
Rebecca is delighted to be a member of the Industrial Pharmacists Expert Advisory Group.
Pratik Thakkar
Pratik has broad biopharma industry experience across Medical Affairs, Pharmacovigilance, Quality Assurance and supply chain. He currently works at Bristol Myers Squibb as the Worldwide Medical Oncology (WWMO) Strategy & Operations Lead, and is based in Princeton, New Jersey.
He specializes in Oncology and is a member of the BMS WWMO Leadership Team serving as the strategic partner to the head of WWMO and operational team lead, driving functional and enterprise-wide initiatives in advancing the BMS oncology pipeline and commercialized assets around the world. He has oversight of the team’s annual operating budget of over $100M spent across initiatives involving medical strategy, publications, medical education, advisory boards, and medical evidence generation work.
Pratik has previously served as the worldwide medical lead for pan tumor, safety and patient focus lead for WWMO overseeing cross tumor and cross functional strategies in advancing therapies for patients. He has also been the worldwide and UK medical lead for melanoma at BMS, playing a critical role in product launches and optimizing the use of immunotherapies in skin cancers across the globe.
He has previous UK medical affairs experience in hepatocellular carcinoma, colorectal cancer and immunology. Prior to joining BMS, Pratik worked at Mylan Inc in Global Pharmacovigilance, Unimed International as the Quality Assurance lead and has worked at the UK health authority - MHRA in the post authorisation safety unit.
Pratik graduated from London School of Pharmacy (now UCL), completed his pre-registration training at Great Ormond Street Hospital gaining specialist pediatric clinical pharmacy and manufacturing experience in the NHS.