Celebrating American Pharmacists Month: Dr. Robert Wittenberg | Pharmacy Heroes
For American Pharmacists Month, the UIC College of Pharmacy is celebrating some of its pharmacy heroes for their contributions to the profession and for the top-notch care they provide.
Today we are honoring Dr. Robert Wittenberg (PharmD '07), Director in Regulatory Affairs, Advertising, and Promotion for Medical Specialties at Astellas Pharma US. An interesting fact about Dr. Wittenberg is that, after attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he actually started a career in radio production and sales! However, after getting a job as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens, he decided to pursue his Doctor of Pharmacy degree. He started pharmacy school at UIC in 2003 and took a particular interest in Regulatory Affairs (RA). During one of his P4 rotations at Lundbeck, he worked in RA labeling, advertising, and promotions, working in neurological rare diseases. He also completed a P4 rotation at Baxter where he worked in several therapeutic areas, including renal and surgical sealants: drugs, biologics, and devices.
Dr. Wittenberg realized that he truly enjoyed working in Regulatory Affairs and continued on that track after graduating from UIC College of Pharmacy in 2007. After working in various RA roles at companies like Lundbeck (formerly Ovation Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) and Baxter, he landed in his current position as the Associate Director of Regulatory Affairs, Advertising, and Promotion for Medical Specialties (all products outside of Oncology: urology, anti-infectives, cardiovascular, transplant, and women’s health) at Astellas, where he utilizes his strong knowledge of FDA guidance and promotion standards to lead new campaigns and launch strategies for therapies. "I help teams produce marketing materials, corporate communications, and sales training that are compliant with the FDA rules and regulations, and work to improve communication and understanding among our audiences: health care providers and patients and their families or caregivers," says Dr. Wittenberg.
Dr. Wittenberg is proud to still maintain relationships at #UICPharm, where he lectures every year in the Pharmaceutical Marketing class, and judges the annual P&T competition for the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) student chapter. The College is grateful for alumni like Dr. Wittenberg who continue to guide our student pharmacists, helping us achieve our mission of educating world-class pharmacists.