Richard Mullan graduated from Queens University Belfast with a BMedSc (Hons) in BioMedical Science and has over 15 years experience in the Pharmaceutical industry. Beginning his career in the manufacture of Veterinary products, he subsequently moved to Clinical Research at Bio-Kinetic Europe and specialised in data management, protocol writing and project management of Phase I and IIa clinical trials. Since joining Almac in 2007 he has worked with Pharma and Biotech companies to manage supply chains across the full range of sponsors and trial designs.

1. Why did you decide to do a webinar with Business Review Webinars?

Webinars are a fantastic tool which enable us to communicate with a global audience.  Business Review offers a great platform from which can share industry experience.

2. What was the most informative fact of the webinar?

That’s a great question and one that’s very difficult to answer, however I would say it’s the message underpinning the webinar: an experienced Supply Chain Manager has a significant impact on the successful financial and clinical outcome by building visibility in the supply chain through demand management, then integrating this into real time production/distribution strategy through tools like Supplywise and IRT.  Our case studies help to demonstrate this by putting the theory into practice with what happened in real trials.

3. What do you wish other people knew about ALMAC?

What our customers have come to recognise in Almac is our total commitment to providing exceptional customer service, this is demonstrated through some of the examples given in the webinar. Our team thrives on the challenges given to us by our customers, as this is how our service offering develops in line with our customer’s needs.

4. What do you most enjoy about your role?

I thoroughly enjoy the constantly changing environment in which the Supply Chain Managers work in Almac. Each trial (even when inside a program) brings its own unique requirements/success criteria and being able to work with the multidisciplinary teams to develop effective solutions is very rewarding.

5. What has been your best holiday and where would you recommend visiting?

I’ve been very lucky as this job has taken me all over the world, however my favourite place is a little quiet fishing village called Portballintrea which sits on the North Antrim Coast of NI, near the famous town of Bushmills. It’s a fantastic place where time stops and you can just relax with family and friends. A walk along the beach towards the Giants Causeway in winter is simply brilliant.

6. What might someone be surprised to know about you?

What could I say that won’t get me in trouble! I have been a competitive strength athlete for 20 years and in that time I have been successful in Highland Games, Strongman and Powerlifting events, winning 2 world powerlifting championships! There’s nothing like the feeling of pulling a truck or tossing a caber to keep things in perspective (and help you stress a priority in the office)!