Career Profile: Amy Smith (Analyst, Health Technology Assessment)

I applied to Costello Medical immediately after graduating from the University of York in 2022, where I earned a first class integrated master’s degree in Natural Sciences.

I studied a broad range of subjects as part of the Natural Sciences degree, initially studying chemistry, maths and physics in my first year. I later specialised in physics, focusing on biological and medical physics in my final year. In my final year project, I studied prompt gamma imaging for use in proton beam therapy, a highly specialised type of radiotherapy. Taking these modules in my final year led me to pursue a career in the healthcare industry; I particularly enjoyed writing my thesis which started an interest in medical writing.

I joined Costello Medical as an Analyst in October 2022; my time is primarily spent in the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) division, but I work cross-divisionally with the Rare Diseases (RAD) division too. I work with a diverse range of clients in the pharmaceutical industry on a broad range of project types: in HTA, I typically work on submissions to the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for England and Wales and the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for Scotland, producing evidence dossiers which demonstrate the clinical and economic effectiveness of my client’s technologies in order for them to be made available to patients through the NHS in their respective geographies. However, I have also worked on systematic literature reviews (SLRs), which look to identify all available clinical evidence, economic evidence or health-related quality of life (HRQoL) burden associated with a disease area; I have strategically reviewed other HTA submissions and I have also worked on multiple clinician validation interviews such as advisory boards, which are exciting opportunities to interact with clinical experts in a given disease area.

As an Analyst, I work with data from clinical study reports, published clinical trial manuscripts, real-word evidence studies and indirect treatment comparisons (statistical analyses used to compare treatments to each other when there are no clinical trials that directly provide this comparison). I also work with and write about economic models, which assess the cost-effectiveness of a technology to alternative treatments available in the disease area by considering the relative efficacy and costs associated with each therapy. In particular, I enjoy providing strategic insight to my clients regarding their submission strategies, based on my prior experience.

I had not come across HTA nor the concept of health economics prior to applying to Costello Medical, only having limited experience in economics at GCSE level. I applied specifically to the HTA division at Costello Medical due to the job description for HTA, as I was interested in the strategic aspect of the submission development process and wanted to work in an area directly influencing patient access to novel and innovative therapies, which I now work with daily. Upon joining I was reassured to know my team was comprised individuals from a broad range of scientific backgrounds; the position requires learning a whole new set of skills and I did not feel disadvantaged coming from a non-biomedical/biology background. Scientific degrees develop a broad range of analytical and technical skills that you will likely find are transferable to a huge number of roles – don’t assume that a certain role is unachievable just due to a lack of experience in the specific field!

I enjoy my role at Costello Medical because of the impact my work has on patient access and outcomes. Furthermore, there are a wealth of opportunities available when working at the company such as funded training opportunities and internal research opportunities. I am regularly involved in research in the HTA and RAD divisions at Costello Medical, having worked on a manuscript investigating measurement of HRQoL in patients with rare diseases, I am also currently working on a research abstract for the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) 2024 conference. Looking ahead, I hope to continue my research efforts in the company and continue to develop my skills in HTA.

My advice to anyone soon to be or recently graduated is to not be overwhelmed by the number and range of jobs available following university; exploring graduate-specific job advert websites, attending career fairs and keeping an eye out for adverts or job descriptions on LinkedIn are great ways of discovering new roles and getting a feel for the type of career opportunities that interest you. A number of employers (including Costello Medical) provide internship opportunities if you aren’t sure whether a particular field is for you; these roles provide excellent experience that will improve your CV and skillset.