associate director

director

senior scientist

scientist

intern

Takeda Pharmaceuticals

Consider this place a stepping stone of sorts; you can work here and earn a paycheck, but that's about it. A sense of fulfillment or value quickly fades away after a year once you're doing the same thing over and over day after day. If you have any other skill of endeavor you'd like to pursue, work on that while you're here and leave ASAP.

You'll be on your feet walking up and down the building for 8+ hours a day and not allowed to sit on anything or lean because of "professionalism" and your measly 5 - 10 minute break or lunch isn't even mandatory since there are no labor laws protecting you. You can spend the entire day there without any sort of relief.

While job advancement is usually immediately available and the only source for a decent pay raise, training is at the discretion of management so if you're not one chosen from your group of new hires, you'll be left months behind while one single golden child is pushed too rapidly through other training to get them in a certain position in the left amount of time possible. 

The company is extremely strict about their metrics and numbers relative to other centers. Unfortunately though, the center here is one of the worst in the nation. Processing times are astronomically high, yield is dismally low, and the center is probably number one in the nation for employee turnover. Even transfers from other centers who have come down to help have entirely left BioLife / Baxalta after their experience with our management team. While not a quantitative measure, general employee morale is also disappointingly low as well.

The center is always run at bare minimum numbers of employees, which means unnecessarily large burdens places on the people already there, all in an attempt to keep a facade of productivity. The management team is lead by an idea, and direct quote, that "people who care about their jobs don't make mistakes" and so the problems we had with our center were only because of the lower employees and not the fault of the management team, that every time we mess anything up it's more paperwork for them and they are the ones in need of the sympathy. They can't ever have enough employees on the clock because they don't issue overtime, yet they allow an excessive number of donors to schedule appointments during our busiest times - 75 donors per hour at any time of day! We only have 72 beds, faulty out-of-service machine, and never more than half the staff necessary at once. Prepare to be a victim of terribly unnecessary and entirely avoidable burden in any department you work in, the struggle is spread equally across everyone below management, even through us supervisors. 

There are a LOT of regulatory agencies that keep plasma centers in check. And in order to make it seem like our center was more "efficient" and didn't need as many employees, they would on an almost daily basis have undertrained employees performing tasks that would endanger our donors and clients. For example, the FDA is very strict about maintaining a 6-to-1 donor-to-phlebotomist ratio. But instead of having phlebotomists watching over the donors and their sections, they would use new recruits to maintain that ratio, recruits that were forbidden to troubleshoot any donor or machine related issues. You would see a single phlebotomist being told to keep vigil over, at most, 3 sections! Effectively, it would be as much as a 14-to-1 ratio during busy nights! If anything were to go wrong and someone's health, safety, or LIFE was in danger, only one person on the entire half of the room would be trained enough to take care of a donor. Management argues that even though there may not be enough actual fully trained staff to meet the nationally mandated ratio, the unqualified recruits count towards the total, as well as anyone clocked in at the time, including the management team at the other end of the building sitting in their chairs 50 feet away in their offices. 

But if all you're looking for is just a place to earn some cash with a slightly higher than average starting pay, go for it. Just do not invest yourself emotionally into this place or you'll be rudely awakened by their lack of empathy and humanity once you become a commodity to them. Take advantage of their great health insurance and matching 401k plan, all while looking for a better place to work. After my many years with them and working many other jobs, this was the first and only one I've come to hate and the first I actually shed tears of relief once I was free and found somewhere else to work a long time ago. Not everyone leaves great reviews after leaving a good job, but trust me when I say I thought I'd never work somewhere terrible enough to make me want to say all this.

I started off being very optimistic about this place, but at the end of this long road, I'm very much over being here. 
The benefits are fantastic, but they don't pay well for what you do. It's like corporate wants to compensate for the pay by giving you amazing benefits. 
Besides the pay, the culture is spoiled. Everyone feels overworked and tired so because of that, no one picks up any slack and ends up blaming everyone else. I have been here 2 years and we have always been understaffed. It feels like new hires quit after a couple days once they see it's hard work. Those who make it past that either get fired for being late or calling in sick or they get treated so bad they quit. There is no in between. 
Upper management doesn't do anything to resolve issues between employees. Actually, upper management doesn't do much of anything. If you report the employee conflict with HR, nothing will happen either even though it affects production. 
QMR and the center manager are the worst. They go around in circles and still cannot give you a straight answer on why something trivial is the way it is. No matter how much you try, you can never get caught up on the workload and you will get 5 QPIs even if you really did not have any time to complete it. QA doesn't have any sympathy and why would they? They can't understand what you go through on the floor since they're not allowed to help at all, just nitpick at every single (small) thing.
Overtime? Forget it. If someone calls in, they don't bother replacing them and you can't stay late to help your remaining coworkers. 
Overall, if you want to be patronized by donors for not going through the line (that goes almost out the door) fast enough, this is the place for you. If you want to have the same conversation all day with donors who have bad veins, here you go! If you want to stand for almost 8 hours straight and still be underappreciated for all that you do, please apply. I promise you they hire just about anyone. 
The sad thing is that BioLife is actually a great company. They help so many people around the world with their regular drugs and now with COVID. I really like working for the company itself, but not in Sioux City. This location has often been the worst according to our various stats we go by. I would definitely seek other locations in the nation if you want to work for them. Stay away from the Sioux City center.

Like most who worked here, I found BioLife to be tedious and hated waking up in the morning to go to work. 
Management/Supervision: 
will train and promote based on personality and friendship rather than work ethic and performance. 
They create an inner circle that ignores the problems of the center and will do very little to help resolve issues. 
Will write up employees based on extremely minor infractions. (Be prepared to sit in front of 3 supervisors during your "scolding". And no, you won't have a chance to speak.)
Understand that you are statistic. You have no value beyond that unless you can win the friendship of management. 
Turnover rates are extremely high due to poor treatment of employees, high demands, and varying work schedules, (you may end your shift at 10:30 pm and be required to be in the next morning at 5 am). With that said, expect a varying sleep schedule where you may lack in sleep. 
Stress levels run very high due to the demand of yielding high numbers. 

Breaks are a luxury that you may or may not get. Be prepared to work 8+ hours with no break. 

Raise/Bonus:
Expect about a 1-3% raise per year. Possibly a small Christmas bonus (typically around $500)

Job security: Minimum. You really can get fired easily here. I witnessed another girl get put on final notice (meaning they will fire you for any misstep at this point), for reporting Post Donor Information too late. She found the PDI out the night she closed, researched to see if it was legit PDI, and reported it the very next morning. 

H.R. Support: 
They will typically act as a defense for management before supporting any lowly employee. Don't expect much help from them. 

Long hours standing: 
Because they claim sitting looks unprofessional, you will be on your feet all day. Remember, you may not even get a break. 

Last bit of advice: Don't be deceived by management. They will make it seem like a great place to work and do everything they can to draw you in to fill the void of others quitting. They will play nice until you get in, then you will be under a very heavy thumb. They will attempt to play mind games, play on your emotions, and to your weaknesses to get what they want. So beware. If you want a good idea of what it's really like, talk to the employees and ask for their honest opinion. Do this away from the management.

District Manager, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Deerfield, IL
(12/2007 to 8/2010) (* Corporate Restructuring)
Managed 10 representatives within the Boston District, that consisted of RI, all of MA minus Springfield
West and Hartford East. Product lines consisted of Uloric (March 2009 Launch), Rozerem and Provigil.
These products were marketed to Rheumatologists, Pulmonologists, Psychiatrists, Neurologists and Primary
Care Physicians.

Situational Leadership Training and Managerial Style; Develop and Coach representatives via training platforms and Marketing Programs; Manage budgets effectively- *I did not exceed one budget parameter in fiscal 2010; Execute Sales initiatives-*each representative had a business plan in place, as well as a managed care template, in an effort to maximize sales and profits for Takeda; Regional Achievement Award for highest average number of Uloric prescribers per territory; Highly Favorable Appraisal Ratings over the past 3 sales years with Takeda.

" Uloric launch trx volume growth fiscal 2009- Q1-393, Q2-850, Q3-1115 scripts
" Rozerem Goal Attainment for same period at or above the national average- Q1- 96.3%, Q2- 93.9%, Q3- 100.3%
" Average territory bonus payout more than doubled from (January - March 2010- $1,614) to $3,956 for the time period of April 2010 - June 2010- *this was the last reporting period before restructuring
" All of this was accomplished without a full team in place and with multiple vacancy points. Furthermore, the team accomplished these sales markers within the challenging New England marketplace

**Notables beyond Standard Job Duties: 1. 125 field days in fiscal 2010 (*corporate expectation was 104); 2.
Represented the Region at both a Managed Markets Meeting (SAM, 11/09) and the Area POA Meeting in
Boston, 1/10; 3. Received a Recognition Award from a Managed Care RAM for supporting a strategic
Action for Atrius Healthcare; 4. Was 1 of approximately 12 management level (DMs, RSDs and
Leadership Development) team members that took part in the creation of a future National Program called
"Crucial Conversations". *This program will be rolled out to the entire sales force; 4. Had 1 representative
Promoted to a Senior Level sales representative during the year and 3 representatives who achieved Cresset
(A.K.A. President's Club) over the past 2.5 years, in different geographies

Takeda used to be a great company that valued its employees and exemplified a great company culture. Takeda WAS an amazing company to work for...but that is no longer the case. Takeda has become a company that places little value on its employee morale and micromanages employees on all the little details. Your direct manager plays a significant role in your job morale, work-life balance and level of micromanagement. The core values which defined Takeda have eroded through the years of changes to upper management.  

Low employee morale can be seen across the company. The employees are what made Takeda a great place to work in the past. The company used to put emphasis on the importance of its culture and there was a lot of excitement, pride and positivity in the salesforce. I haven't heard anyone in management even mention the word culture in the past 3 years.  

I am concerned about the sustainability of Takeda's salesforce. The new product pipeline is weak and the current products being marketed are not covered very well by insurance companies, are niche drugs, "branded" generic, or are not very profitable due to co marketing deals, and patient refunds/reimbursement. The current "US leader" who is fairly new to Takeda, has a reputation to cut costs and reduce headcount. This translates into ongoing deep budget cuts for the sales team and serious concerns over job security and job stability over time. 

I wouldn't recommend Takeda, unless you're unemployed and/or its a stepping stone to advance your career. Advancement opportunities are limited and the vast majority of promotions require employees to relocate (for 2+ years) to the home office near Chicago.  

Most employees are unhappy here, the overall morale is terrible. The ones who are happy with their job have a good manager, but job security, micromanagement, work life balance are still a concern for the majority of employees.

*Pretty much daily rotating shift hours through out the week.  (i.e. one day you can open at 6:00 AM and the next day you can be on a closing shift starting at 2:00 PM until 9:30-10ish, then be expected to reopen the next morning at 6:00 AM.  (If you are willing to brown nose with the scheduler you can work out better shift hours.)

*Impossible to have a life outside of work.  

*Very clickish work environment.  

*Very strict attendance policy.

*Majority of the employees there will stab you in the back to get ahead.

*Advancement is due favoritism, not merit.

*Depending on your management (whom is never there it seems) you can be stuck in the same position indefinitely.

*If you are unwilling to relocate your chances for advancing to anything beyond Master Tech to Supervisor or upper management is basically nonexistent. (i.e. co-worker worked for 10 years with company and had to relocated half way across country just for promotion to supervisor from Master Tech).

*Majority of floor supervisors (consist of Master Techs and Supervisors) are very unhelpful.  (i.e. ask a Master Tech or Supervisor a question, most common response is, "what does your SOP [company term for instruction manual]  say.")

*Training program consist of reading policy manuals then being dumped on the floor with a supposed trainer and expected to perform phlebotomy while working in the same area as the trainer.  The trainer is expected to do their work and keep their production levels on par with everyone else while training.  (Being signed off on phlebotomy techniques is pretty much a supervisor or master tech. seeing you stick a donor and getting blood and then answering a few random questions about your reading).  In a formal Phlebotomy certification training program it can take anywhere from 1-3 months given the school.  Baxalta will sign you off under there company guidelines in about a week to perform the procedures unsupervised.

*Nothing in regards to training on aseptic technique.  Scary given you are conducting medical procedures.

*If you are a free thinker and refuse to be indoctrinated by their coercive persuasion A.K.A. ethics training this isn't the place for you.

I supported four scientists and physician/scientists traveled extensively and, even when in Chicago, had frequent video-/teleconferences across the globe spanning early morning to late evening. I was at the hub of all this activity, closely managing all of our travel and meetings. For all of these requirements, I was able to be highly efficient, effective, and independent which is why they trusted me. In addition, I accurately managed, filed, and tracked volumes of complex expense reports, often involving multiple currencies. In addition, I was able demonstrat my initiative on multiple occasions, such as organizing team building meetings; developing a better internal tracking system for project expenditures; to cite a few examples.
In doing all of the above, my strong loyalty to our team and being an effective ambassador for us when I interfaced with other organizations in Takeda only generated effecitive work preformance and valued relationships between us. Another attribute worth reiterating my V.P. and team contunously communicated my ability to perform my duties independently and responsibly without much active management-essential for a group so frequently out of office. On a daily basis, I approached her job with energy and enthusiasm helping to foster an overall motivational environment. I was a consummate team player, being helpful and supportive of other Takeda colleagues outside of our group.
Based on this experience, I regard this is one of the best companies I have had the pleasure of working for. Again I was constintely thanked for my work and told that I was talented, technologically savvy, trustworthy, and dedicated to making the persons I supported more successful and effective. I have every confidence that I enhanced my team morale, environment and that i was considered a value to their organization.

I have 90 targeted physicians I call on which are ranked from 1-90 based on call priority. I set up a detailed, daily itinerary based on factors such as the best times of day to see my physicians/staff and the geographic part of town I'll be in that day. Even though I stick to this itinerary as much as possible, I am constantly updating and revising my schedule based on my target office needs. On every call I am discussing different patient profiles which would benefit most from our medications along with success or limitations of the products that the physician is experiencing. I do this only with FDA- approved resources and visual aids. Also, I present this information to the staff as well. Naturally, I have to adjust my presentation depending on which position I am speaking with. Setting up lunches is a vital part of what I do. Having lunch with the physicians and staff provides significantly more time with them and I feel this is when I am at my best as far as driving results and building rapport with my offices. The hardest part of my job is finding new and creative ways to discuss the same information while staying compliant. The most enjoyable part of my job is that I get to build and maintain relationships with everyone in my target offices. This is something I am truly passionate about and a very enjoyable part of my job. My co-workers and I see each other only a few times a year (professionally) at quarterly meetings but keep in constant contact via conference calls and phone conversations. My employer knows about my relocation to Seattle and my current manager is included in my references.

Nurses at Biolife Plasma Services, a division of Shire, are managed by supervisors/management with non-nursing degrees who lack the education, knowledge, qualifications and experience that a Nurse Manager would possess.  Nurses at the location I worked at were not respected for their knowledge or experience and were told how to do their jobs by lay people. When concerns were voiced about nursing issues, the nurses were not taken seriously.  Managment felt they were qualified to resolve issues that should only be evaluated by other health care professionals and were ignorant regarding regulations that govern the practice of nursing. For a business that is required to have a licensed nurse on duty in order to open their doors, the nurses were often taken for granted and told to perforn non-nursing duties, including mopping the floor of the clients restroom when the plumbing backed up. There was no financial compensation for cross training in other areas and typical annual pay raises were only 1-2%.  Annual bonuses were based on productivity of the entire center and with high turnover rates, due to unhappy employees, working short staffed was common.  Employees were frequently written up for calling in sick and doctors notes were mandatory if you were absent for more than one day.  Biolife is considered a manufacturing concern, not a heathcare company, and the employees/nurses were treated like factory workers in white lab coats.  Counseling and memos to file were common, while praise and promised rewards, like company lunches, were late to arrive.  The only saving grace were the amazing co-workers who were all in the same boat together.

•	Coded clinical trial adverse event reports in ARISg database.
•	Received and reviewed adverse event forms for completeness, recognizes discrepancies, enters data into ARISg safety database, obtained follow-up information and assessed causal relationship of event to company drug. 
•	Triaged incoming cases to determine seriousness for prioritization of daily workflow.
•	Represented pharmacovigilance department internally and externally at a global level and functioned as an authoritative and professional member of relevant teams.         
•	Identified methods to improve quality of safety data.  Assisted in the design and implementation of safety data management processes to ensure completeness, correctness and consistency of safety data.
•	Generated medical narratives derived from the collection of adverse event information and verified medical coding in the safety database system.
•	Assisted medical reviewer in QC and reviewed case narratives for other colleagues and other team members and also assisting in issuing sponsor query in medical point of view by utilizing my medical knowledge.
•	Generated and sent data queries with clinical database EDC (Medidata Rave).
•	Led signal detection/safety monitoring activities for pharmacovigilance operations. 
•	Participated as Pharmacovigilance expert in the Global Safety Teams for designated products
•	Reviewed safety reports for accuracy of data and MedDRA and WHO coding
•	Worked on SAE reconciliation to check information, and ensured it matched in both clinical and safety database.  Provided data correction if needed. 
•	Worked on data correction, lab review, and non-product compliance.

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