I was guilty again. Prior to this visit, I did not have any idea what GSK is and what it produces. I would say this trip is indeed an eye-opener. GlaxoSmithKline produces so many products that we consume every single day. From the common panadol to the Kidney cancer tablets, GSK specialises in a wide spectrum of medicinal products and drugs. I was surprised that the nose inhaler, which my mother uses every single day, is also a product by GSK!
During this trip to GSK, we visited the manufacturing plants (with the big machineries) as well as the research facilities. I have never seen so many complicated machineries in my entire life, and the sheer sight of the numerous pipes and tunnels make me feel a little 'dizzy'. However at the research sector, I can spot many of the usual apparatus we use in school. These include: HPLC, conical flasks and test tubes. Basically, what the research scientists here do is very similar to our project work in school. We hypothesize (based on our contextual knowledge), and then we formulate a series of steps for a chemical reaction before obtaining the product. But at GSK, the job scope of the research scientists are much wider than ours, as they have to optimize the series of steps to ensure the highest percentage yield of a product with the shortest possible duration.
And yes, the scientists will encounter failures during this process. Instead of searching for an answer on google, they have to try to explain the bizarre phenomenons through their scientific knowledge. But they never give up. I admire them for their perseverance because I have personally experienced the intense frustration and the feeling of hopelessness when the chemical reaction failed to yield the expected amount of product. I really have much to learn from these scientists.
I have also realised that laboratory safety rules are strictly adhered to. When there is a shortage of safety goggles, we were not allowed to wander off into the laboratories even though we were not going to touch any harmful chemicals. Whereas in our Science Research Centre, more than half of the students would not be even wearing any safety cloaks! I think perhaps when we students choose to go to the pharmaceuticals industry, we will be handling extremely hazardous substances and hence we must observe safety rules at all times. I think for now, it is better for me to observe lab safety rules whenever I enter the laboratory because if ignorance of the safety rules becomes a habit and gets ingrained in my mind, it may be hard to change when I enter the workforce. And that may prove to be a liability that may compromise my safety while doing experiments. Its always good to start early.
In all, I have benefited much from this visit. Thank you GSK for investing so much time and effort to improve the lives of the people, and I wish you good luck for your future endeavours.
