We are now in the Science Centre of Mérieux NutriSciences Italia, dedicated to complex activities requiring the coordination of several Project Managers. Enrico Ferraro and Margherita Monico are the experts dedicated to Extractables & Leachables studies on pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices.
Read the interview #BehindTheScenes.
Enrico Ferraro
Extractables & Leachables Project Manager
You joined Mérieux NutriSciences in 2005 and moved through various job positions …
Yes, I have been involved in environmental analysis and pharmaceutical quality control, both with operational tasks in the laboratory and on the customer service front line. Times of change is when you test yourself and learn to grow. When I needed new challenges, the management always listened to me and proposed new opportunities. That is the great thing about working in a big company; you can follow your own inclinations more easily.
Are you passionate about working as a project manager in Extractables & Leachables studies?
Yes, it is a very challenging area of analytical chemistry. Every study is different, identifying different substances or understanding the origin of a contamination requires a combination of basic chemistry, advanced instrumental technology, analytical expertise and investigative skills.
Margherita joined the E&L team three years ago from a completely different experience, how did it go?
Margherita is very smart, very skilled. She studies all the time, she is curious, and never stops at the first answer, or the most obvious one; she has an analytical mind, which is essential in our work. Moreover, I am someone who prefers to work in the lab and get involved in the investigative and analytical part, and Margherita has taken over project management, with both customers and the lab. I would say it went very well!
Margherita Monico
Extractables & Leachables Regulatory Affairs
A graduate in veterinary medicine, today you are the project manager of E&L studies…
Yes, I decided to change my professional career. After graduating, I worked as a veterinarian for 5 years and then chose to pursue a different career. I attended a Master executive post-degree in Management for the Biotech industry at CUOA Business School, and worked 3 years in a company specialising in veterinary diets. Finally, the Science Center division of Mérieux NutriSciences Italia was looking for a project manager and here I am.
You were therefore immediately assigned to the Extractables & Leachables project, not the easiest!
Yes, but I do not scare easily and I like to continue learning. I was lucky to be supervised by Enrico Ferraro from the beginning, one of the most competent people I have ever met. He listed for me all the standards and documents to study, the protocols we had already developed and those to be implemented, and today I am the Project Manager who manage a study completely independently.
So, are you satisfied with your choice?
I definitely would say so. The Science Centre is full of great people, when I arrived people told me I was in one of the best teams and I have to say that is exactly so. As Enrico said, there is no shortage of challenges. There are a lot of guidelines to follow but not an official legislation on how to perform E&L studies, so I am the one who decides how to set up the study: I have to carefully evaluate every choice and be ready at all times to support and justify them from a scientific point of view. This is exactly the environment for me!