1. What is your name, role, and location?

I am Raghad Saleh, and I work as a senior associate scientist at Hikma Pharmaceutical in Amman, Jordan. I am part of the Analytical Research and Development team, where I focus on injectables medicines – everything from validation and development work to the day-to-day routine analysis. 

2. Could you tell us about your day-to-day activities?

My days are pretty hands-on - I'm always working with different analytical instruments like HPLC, UPLC, GC, and UV spectroscopy to develop and validate testing methods for our drug products and drug substances. I also run chemical analyses - assay testing, degradation studies, pH measurements, that sort of thing. And of course, there's the documentation side where I write up validation protocols and reports. It's a nice mix of lab work and technical writing that keeps things interesting.

3. What are the key challenges and opportunities in your role?

One of the key challenges in my role is definitely developing and optimising methods for complex molecules like nanomaterials. They are present in such low concentrations that you have completely different approaches and really precise instrument calibration.  Plus juggling multiple methods and instruments, while meeting tight deadlines can be pretty intense. But that's also what makes it exciting - I get to work with cutting-edge technologies in such an important field.

4. How would you describe working at Hikma?
 
Hikma is such a professional environment that really encourages creativity and collaboration. I have learned so much in the analytical field here, and honestly the team is just incredible and so supportive. The company genuinely invests in our learning and development, and I always feel backed by both my management and colleagues. I love that every day brings something new to learn and there are always opportunities to share knowledge with others too.