UNAIR NEWS – Good news came from Faculty of Pharmacy (FF) Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) whose students just won an international competition. Gerry Yahya Suryanto, Kirana Sekar Laras, Tania Permata Putri, and Alika Sabrina Mahalaksmi participated in the Industrial Skills Event (ISE) competition organized by the International Pharmaceutical Students Federation (IPSF). They were announced as winners on Saturday, May 4, 2024
“This competition tested pharmacy students’ insights into the roles and responsibilities of pharmacists within the pharmaceutical industry. Participants were given a case to analyze and they had to provide innovative solutions,” said Kirana as the team representative. Kirana and her team competed with more than 30 teams from countries across Asia Pacific.
Outperform teams from various countries
In this competition, each participant gets the same case. The topic was the trend of using GLP-1 RA medicine for weight management therapy. Each team was required to provide solutions regarding how to market the product.
“We developed a proposal to promote GLP-1 RA as a therapy for weight management. Our focus is on overweight management in Indonesia, but unfortunately not all GLP-1 RA medicine is approved by BPOM,” Kirana explained. From a total of 39 proposals, her team made it to the top 5 and was entitled to continue to the online presentation stage.
Valuable experience at international level competition
Competing in the international level and solving the same problem gave Kirana and the team a lot of new insights. The topic of the competition was medicine marketing in different countries with different regulations. “Limited marketing methods due to regulations require us to find strategic marketing methods for our proposed product,” said Kirana.
Through the competition, Kirana and her team gained many new experiences and insights, especially about pharmacy. “Global competition with pharmacy students across Asia Pacific opened up new perspectives for us, especially regarding the intricacies of new drugs in a country,” said Kirana.
Author: Afifah Alfina
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
