Vision, Courage, Integrity, Focus, and Humility are the founding stones of a business leader. These are the words of someone who falls in line with what we at Insights Success would undoubtedly designate as a visionary. This is Jenny Lin, the Chief Operating Officer and Board Director at CMIC, Inc. With approximately 25 years of professional experience in executive/lab management, bioanalytical and analytical laboratory operations in support of drug research and discovery, pre-clinical and clinical drug development and a plethora of other spheres of expertise, Jenny has acquired a place in the list of exceptional women who’re making a difference in the business world.
Jenny has been a selected member for Global Bioanalysis Consortium (GBC), making recommendations for global Bioanalysis harmonization. She serves as an editorial board member for peer reviewed journal and chair for international conference. She has authored and co-authored more than 30 publications, white papers and presentations. She is also the inventor of 7 issued US patents.
Jenny earned her BS in Analytical Chemistry at Peking University and her MS in Medicinal Chemistry at University of Connecticut. Jenny is a member of the American Society of Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), American Chemical Society (ACS), National Association of Professional Woman (NAPW) and Global CRO Council (GCC).
Ascending Zeniths of Success
When asked about her opinion on how the changes in technology utilization, volatility of the market and talent recognition, affect the overall development of any business/organization Jenny asserts that, as ever rapid technology innovation and as a service provider, a CRO (Contract Research Organization) must be responsive and ‘ride ahead of the curve.’ For decades, analytical/Bioanalytical testing has played a critical role at multiple stages of drug development.
Pharmaceutical companies have to perform a comprehensive battery of tests to ensure product quality, safety, efficacy, purity and stability through qualitative and quantitative characterization of their compounds. These insights are vital in shaping and facilitating the long journey from identifying drug targets and mechanisms, through formulation development, manufacturing, preclinical and clinical trials, and on to regulatory submission, market entry and beyond.
With unrelenting pressure to enhance the speed, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of drug discovery and development, CRO companies need to be confident that their analytical/Bioanalytical testing is not only tailored to these translational goals, but fit for purpose, and delivers added value in an environment in which scientific innovation, commercial imperatives and unmet patient needs are rapidly transforming the drug-development paradigm.
Jenny states that talent management and talent development are key elements of CMIC. Both the terms are not just a simple human resource key phrases, but a part of the business strategy to stay committed to hire, engage, motivate and develop the most talented and excellent employees in the industry. “People always are the most important assets of any business,” Jenny emphasizes.
Sustaining Excellence
CMIC, Inc. delivers its Bioanalysis services in four distinct areas—small and large molecule, biomarkers, and oligonucleotides—in an agile and flexible manner. The company has been carrying along the heritage that it built in Japan by including craftsmanship and spirit in its business. Built in that way, it has ensured that its talents are diligently trained, and every system and detail would reciprocate into high-quality data. The company has invested energy and time to offer a top-notch lab environment and work execution. While on the small molecule side, CMIC delivers accuracy and flexibility across multiple platforms including LC-MS/MS, UHPLC-UV, and UHPLC-FLDR just to name a few.
For large molecule, the company’s tool-box contains the latest bioanalytical technologies such MSD, ELISA, NGS and qPCR providing versatility for a sponsor’s programs. For Biomarkers, CMIC supports a range of projects from exploratory research to fully validated assays covering pre-clinical and clinical studies. It routinely develops robust in-house assays using vendor supplied high quality antibodies which are either singleplex or multiplex in design. It also supports various studies for oligonucleotide-based drugs including qualification, full method validation, and GLP sample analysis studies. CMIC has partnered with recognized global leaders in RNA-targeted discoveries and have successfully validated nearly 100 individual leading compounds that steer CMIC, Inc. ahead from the other competition in the marketplace.
Jenny’s strategy of continually up-scaling CMIC’s market competency includes constantly improving and gaining better understanding of sponsor’s needs, being flexible and being sensitive to global market trends/demands, and being agile in implementation. Jenny says that the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are increasingly adopting novel, “one of the kind” and science-led approaches to improve the efficiency of drug discovery and development.
Jenny is of the opinion that drug research and development parading is switching from traditional small molecule therapeutics to others such as Biologics, Oligonucleotides and Biomarkers. Novel strategies and technologies are leading to considerable improvements in the ability of non-clinical safety studies and faster development cycle into human clinical trials. “As CROs, we need to focus on not only building solid talent pools, but introduce new technologies and closely monitor ever changing regulatory requirements and in compliance with global standards,” states Jenny.
Surpassing Challenges
According to Jenny, the most prominent challenge for women in the business world is balancing business and family life. Jenny is of the belief that with dual responsibilities to businesses and to families, finding ways to devote time to both can be challenging at times. However, she does think that the culture of work is shifting to allow women more flexibility, which is a welcoming change.
When it comes to encouraging women to take up more of leadership positions, Jenny emphasizes the importance of never stop learning; keep developing necessary knowledge and skills; maintaining positive attitudes and focus; Valuing team success and preparing self (never a believer of glass ceiling); not being afraid to take on additional responsibilities; and Conscientiousness.
Beholding Prominence
In her advice to the aspiring and already emerging influential leaders, Jenny says, “Do not be afraid of being stereotyped. There will always be obstacles and failures, man or woman. Believe in yourself. If you know that you are doing the right thing, be persistent. It is also critical to understand big pictures, value team success and be conscientiousness.”
Talking about her prospective future, Jenny says, “You always grow when the business grows.” Her primary focus is still business. Her goals are to support globalization of CMIC’s business, making it more diverse and robust, a place where the company’s talents can enjoy and contribute, and a leading Bioanalytical CRO that its sponsors would fully trust and truly like to partner with.
