original article here: https://roivantsv.org/news/diversity-in-pharma-spotlight-naomi-aduroja

Roivant Social Ventures (RSV) and Calla Lily Clinical Care have partnered to host the Global Access Fellowship Program, providing real-world drug development experience to talented PharmD students who are passionate about leveraging their career development to expand healthcare access to underserved patient groups.

Calla Lily Clinical Care is transforming drug delivery for women through the development of their novel vaginal platform technology that improves both clinical outcomes and patient experience in women’s health. The patented leak-free design allows for cleaner, more comfortable delivery of medicines and hormones, while also preventing drug wastage. Initial target indications are in fertility and pregnancy, where the company (a certified B Corp) seeks to offer the world’s first drug-device combination product for both threatened miscarriage and IVF luteal phase support. The platform’s versatility also makes it suitable for delivering a wide range of existing and upcoming vaginal therapeutics, including treatments for gynecological cancers, live biotherapeutic products (LBPs) to restore and maintain a healthy vaginal microbiome, and reducing the growth of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

This summer Naomi Aduroja is serving as a Pharmaceutical R&D Intern for Calla Lily Clinical Care, where she has:

• Designed and implemented experimental protocols to evaluate the feasibility of various pharmaceutical dosage forms using the Callavid® vaginal drug delivery platform.

• Conducted laboratory experiments and maintained detailed documentation, reporting findings directly to CLCC’s Principal Scientist and Management Team.

• Contributed to the assessment of formulation constraints and proposed optimization strategies for intravaginal drug delivery, leveraging both experimental data and literature-based analysis.

• Reviewed clinical literature to assess pharmacokinetics and patient-centric considerations of intravaginal progesterone therapies.

• Investigated real-world gaps in vaginal drug delivery products, including historical disparities in user preferences and differences in terminology between the US and UK markets.

• Identified opportunities for strategic collaborations in gynecology, particularly among researchers lacking access to advanced vaginal drug delivery systems.

We sat down with Naomi to learn more about what drives her work and how her summer fellowship with Calla Lily Clinical Care will impact her career development.

What makes you passionate about increasing access to medicine for vulnerable patient groups?

“Growing up, I always felt a desire to help others, though I wasn’t sure where that passion would lead me. That changed during my freshman year of high school when I traveled to Nigeria and witnessed a medical missions clinic run by my family members at my uncle’s clinic. It was a transformative experience that exposed me to the realities of healthcare disparities on a large scale. I watched in admiration as my father and uncle, both physicians, and my mother, a pharmacist, provided care that extended far beyond diagnostics and medications. Their empathy, dedication, and ability to meet patients where they were left a lasting impression on me.

Now, as a pharmacy student, I find myself drawn to continuing that legacy and helping underserved individuals access life-saving medications that I once took for granted. My passion for this cause was reignited during the Making Medicines course, particularly when Mr. Clifford Samuel spoke to our class. Learning how his former company leveraged its influence to expand access to treatments for hepatitis C and HIV was eye-opening. It reinforced the power of the pharmaceutical industry to drive large-scale change and made me consider how I can use my PharmD to make a meaningful impact in this space.”

Clifford Samuel, RSV Advisory Board member, has over 30+ years of commercial leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. From 2007 to 2020, Samuel served at Gilead Sciences, culminating with SVP, Global Patient Solutions, with responsibility for more than 140 countries. His successful initiatives drove both access to medicines and ROI in geographies spanning Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, South/Southeast Asia Pacific, and Eastern Europe. He spearheaded Gilead’s entry into generic licensing agreements with companies in Pakistan, India, and South Africa that created a competitive market for generic HIV and hepatitis B & C medicines, and most recently, Remdesivir to treat COVID-19. His efforts have resulted in the provision of medicines to more than 19 million people living with HIV/AIDS in these resource-limited countries.

What drew you to applying for the Access to Medicines Fellowship Program this year?

“My main goal for the summer was to really gain experience in different areas of patient care and drug development outside of the clinical knowledge that we specialize in at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Getting to experience a hands-on opportunity like this is totally different from what I do in my day-to-day life in classes and rotations, and I was really looking forward to seeing and understanding how I can apply the skillsets I’ve been developing to this professional work. I’ve been able to see myself grow through this role in being able to utilize my PharmD skillset to find and apply the correct information to meaningfully help out in the lab and with research.”

What type of impact do you hope to create with your work?

“Ultimately, increasing access to medicine isn’t just about providing medications—it’s about breaking down barriers, advocating for equitable healthcare, and ensuring that no patient is left behind due to systemic limitations. As I progress in my career, I hope to merge my clinical knowledge with broader healthcare initiatives that address medication accessibility on a national and global scale. Whether through pharmaceutical industry leadership, public health advocacy, or innovative healthcare solutions, I want to be part of efforts that create sustainable, long-term improvements for underserved populations by leveraging the skills gained from my pharmacy background.

Access to medicine should never be a privilege dictated by geography, socioeconomic status, or insurance coverage. It should be a fundamental right. My experiences have solidified my commitment to this cause, and I am eager to develop the skills, partnerships, and strategies necessary to drive meaningful change. With a PharmD, I see endless opportunities to make a difference—whether by working on medication affordability programs, shaping pharmaceutical policies, or developing new ways to bring essential treatments to those who need them most. My goal is not just to be a pharmacist but to be an advocate for the patients whose voices are often unheard and whose healthcare needs remain unmet.”

The idea for Calla Lily Clinical Care was borne from personal experience. Dr. Lara Zibners, a board-certified pediatrician and emergency medicine specialist, had gone through seven rounds of IVF– all of which had failed. Each cycle involved either painful intramuscular injections or leaky vaginal pessaries that caused anxiety, inconvenience, and uncertainty. “Every single woman who goes through this process, when opening the progesterone needle or pessary, thinks ‘there HAS to be a better way,’” Zibners said. “Well, we have that better way.” Zibners, also a UNC Kenan–Flagler Business School alumna partnered with Thang Vo-Ta, a former Goldman Sachs private equity investor and serial entrepreneur, who first developed an earlier version of Callavid as an FDA-cleared treatment device. The realization that their technology could transform drug delivery for critical women’s health conditions led them to establish Calla Lily Clinical Care, combining Zibners’ medical expertise with Vo-Ta’s business acumen to create a company dedicated to revolutionizing women’s health.