His future plan was research in the university field.He was a PhD in Pharmacy at the Complutense with Extraordinary Award under the protection of Professor César Nomella, Disciple of Severo Ochoa, and held a two -year stay at the Center for Cancer Research of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
But after almost a decade in the laboratories, Pablo Álvarez (Vigo, 1967) dared to "start from scratch" and completed his professional "recycling" at the IESE business school in Navarra.After passing through the consultant McKinsey, he made the leap to the pharmaceutical industry, first in glaxosmithkline and, since 2007, in Astrazeneca, which has almost 60,000 employees worldwide and with which the planet has traveled: Philadelphia, Miami, ShanghaiAnd, currently, Washington DC.
"I don't know if they will be the Galician genes but I am delighted to have traveled so much and very grateful to Astrazeneca for the professional opportunities and personal experiences that I am living," says this Celtist "Del Calvario."
He arrived in the US for the second time in 2009 with his wife Gloria and his two older daughters, María and Teresa, and from there he took over the entire product catalog for the Latin American region.Four years later Shanghai moved with the whole family to exercise as director of the Diabetes Business Unit in China.
"I toured the whole country. It is fascinating, with a gigantic scale and large contrasts. And as in all emerging markets things advance at a great speed. The adaptation capacity is very important and you must make decisions without having all the information andPaying attention to your instincts, "he says.
There the family expanded with the arrival of Casilda Zhanying, a girl who "is the joy of the house and has her sisters like crazy."His wife met her working as a volunteer for the American Baobei Foundation, which helps abandoned children, usually with medical problems, and no longer separate.
So in the fall of 2015 the five made their bags to move back to the US, this time to Washington, a "very quiet and international" city that Paul arrived to join the global diabetes team.
"It is one of the pandemics we face as a society and constitutes one of the priority area of our company. More than 400 million people in the world suffer from this cruel chronic disease that is gradually undermining the quality of life. AndThe company develops an intense research activity in search of new therapies, "he says.
Paul defends the role of the pharmaceutical industry: "It is part of the solution and active player in the fight against the disease. Today developing scientific knowledge to achieve new medications without the participation or collaboration of the sector is unfeasible for any health system.And patents are still a valid model.
"You have to run away from stereotypes. At our Washington headquarters some 2,900 people who want to contribute something to society work, find a new medication that helps people. While I was in Miami, an important part of the work focused on models ofAccess to make the most affordable treatments to the situation of Latin American countries, "he adds.
Throughout his vital and professional journey, Paul has learned that "no country is perfect and that everyone has many things to learn.""You cannot compare them with Spain or your vision of things. Over the years I have learned to adapt to different cultural environments without giving up my values andbeginning.And this is also part of the recipe that has allowed me that the company move from one place to another, "he emphasizes.
"I have also realized that making a better world around you depends on each one. You have to take the initiative, it is an individual responsibility. At present, offering time to others is a great sample of generosity. I would encourage everyoneTo think about this, "he reflects.
Whatever his destiny, Pablo returns to Galicia with his family every summer and have his house in Baiona to "enjoy the microclimate" because, in the end, "the Terriña is the Terriña."
