Turning research into real therapy: Veronika Verdonckt Smutná on science inside the private sector
A scientific career can take on many shapes and forms. For Veronika Verdonckt Smutná, this manifested as a transition from public research to clinical development in the private pharmaceutical sphere. Working mostly from her quaint home in the north of France, for a German company, and collaborating with teams all across the globe, her story epitomizes “Science without Borders” as well as a worldwide commitment to translating innovation into treatments that can make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
What initially inspired you to pursue a career in medical science and later on to pursue clinical development in the private sector?
“As you well said, I'm a clinical development scientist in the medical sciences disciplines, and initially, I always loved biology and the medical point of view. I also liked the fact that we could help patients directly and that we could develop drugs that would help them in their daily lives. And also, medicine and biology are just super interesting fields. It's moving every day and every year, there are lots of innovations that are bringing new ideas, and it's just really interesting to be part of it and help patients.”
Now you work out of France, but for a German company. I imagine there is a lot of coordination that goes on. How is it working at a distance from where the laboratory is located?
"It might seem weird that I work during the drug development of a product and I'm not actually there. But at the same time, during the development, you need lots of stakeholders from different fields who are currently located in different corners of the world. The clinical trials are in 40-50 countries or clinical sites around the world. So it doesn't really matter where I am. And concerning my organization of the days, most of the time I'm at home, but at the same time, every few weeks I'm going to the headquarters in Munich, I spend a few days there, and it's just filled with interactions with my colleagues."
How does this work in a private industry-based environment differ from previous academic experiences you've had at Gustave Roussy or other research institutions?
"The private sector is super controlled. Every step that we make needs to be really controlled, documented, and we cannot do whatever we want. Every project needs to make sense. There are strict timelines, and the quality needs to be verified. However, in the academic sphere, the research that is done there is very important for us. I think it's somehow a symbiotic environment. We need them in academic research, and they need us, so that we can take the projects and move them forward."
If I understand correctly, there are different stages to clinical development. What are they, and how is it for you as a professional to work through them?
"I had the opportunity to work at multiple stages of this development. It starts in the lab where the targeted molecules are discovered. Then there are pre-clinical stages - on cells, unfortunately also on animals - and once we are sure that this molecule is validated, it could go into the step of the patients. Then there are multiple steps in the clinical development, starting from phase one, where we concentrate mostly on the right dose and safety of the molecule. Then going to phase two, three, which is on a larger scale of patients. Then, if we are lucky, we can register the treatment. Afterwards, in the post-approval phases, study or real-world evidence collection is happening, where it focuses mostly on the long-term effects of the treatment."
From what you observe within ITM , but also globally, how far do you think oncology can come in, say, the next decade?
"Everything is happening so fast. A few years ago, we didn't even have immuno-oncology as a field; now it's everywhere. Radiopharmaceuticals are, right now, on top. Many big companies are acquiring these molecules, so probably in the next few years, it will be of interest. And then combinations, because sometimes we see that one treatment is not efficient enough and by lowering a little bit the dose and combining with other treatments it could benefit the patient much more."
Watch the video for the full interview
This interview was produced within a joint project by Radio Prague International, the Czech Centre in Paris, and the Czexpats in Science initiative. The Science Without Borders series with young successful Czech scientists working in various fields in France was recorded in Paris. It is a follow-up to the first series of ten interviews from Vienna.
