Bad Pharma centers around a pharmaceutical professional and a medical monitor navigating the consequences of Big Pharma prioritizing of profits over patient safety. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

Bad Pharma is based on real-life experiences witnessed by me and other colleagues that were then embellished to make for an exciting reader experience. The basic premise of the novel – that a pharma company could decide not to give those infants who received their failed experimental vaccine a dose of the licensed vaccine shown to prevent the given disease – actually happened, and was likely the most disheartening experience of my pharma career.

What experience in your life has had the biggest impact on your writing?

My father was a very intelligent man, who did not harness his intellect to achieve career success and financial comfort. Watching him struggle due to poor decisions made during the college years made me extremely motivated to make the most out of any talent that I had. I was driven to make a difference with my life and chose a career in medicine as the best way to do that.

This is such a timely topic. What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?

As the basis of this story are events that occurred in real life, it was very easy to craft the story in a way that was realistic. Many of the scenes in the book were scenes that I lived.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

This novel was my primary passion, as I wanted to pull back the curtain and educate the public on how Big Pharma makes decisions that may impact their lives. The book took four years to put together – mainly because writing is “not my day job.” I am therefore unsure I will write another one soon. I have considered a few topics, though. One would be an expose on the population of individuals who are hooked on gambling as a “Hail Mary” to transform their lives. I am interested in interviewing many of these individuals, understanding their motives, and getting a sense of how realistic or unrealistic their goals are. The title of the book would likely be called “Crapped Out.”

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