by Seth Humble, Digital Content Specialist

Maria Carvalho is the Manager of PCCA Science, a division of PCCA’s Research and Development (R&D) department. She grew up in Vila Real, Portugal, as the daughter of a civil engineer and a pharmacist, and if things had gone a different way, she might have been a European karate champion. A two-time Shotokan karate vice-champion in her youth, Maria brandishes an unashamed smile when she talks about her love of the sport, jokingly saying, “Maybe I could have been a UFC champion.” Laughing, she waves the idea out of existence.

Maria attributes much of her mental toughness and discipline to her time spent in sports. “It makes me want to be better all the time, give 100% of my effort. Karate helped me to learn that there are no limits to what you can do when you apply yourself fully. Sports taught me how to overcome adversity.” It’s that mental fortitude, along with her fond memories of spending time in her mother’s pharmacy, that helped her attain her PhD in pharmacy and develop a remarkable career in the industry. Her journey to becoming a key part of PCCA’s R&D efforts started in 2002 as a student.

“I went to one of PCCA’s introductory boot camps and was completely amazed,” she says. “I had never seen anything like that. It was clear to me right then that PCCA was innovating, coming up with ideas no one else was even considering, especially in Europe. Even though I was still finishing my degree then, I knew that I wanted to be a part of that. I joined PCCA’s staff in 2011, and in 2013, I worked with Daniel Banov and Fabiana Vieira-Banov to develop PCCA Science. It was clear how much PCCA valued R&D, innovating to help pharmacies help their patients. And since I have been a part of the company, so many of those people have become my work family.”

Maria, along with the rest of the R&D team, worked hard to ensure that PCCA’s work was published by peer-reviewed and well-respected scientific journals.

“We were producing our own technical reports, but getting journals to validate our findings was very important in increasing the company’s authority in product development,” she says. “We trusted our science, but getting those reviews helps the rest of the world see what we are doing and that we do it right. With over 100 studies reviewed, we’ve vastly improved our reputation and scientific value. My job is writing these studies, submitting them to journals, and making sure they are published by well-respected magazines and journals. I love the intellectual challenge they provide.”

I ask Maria to give me a recent example.

She doesn’t hesitate. “PCCA Ellage,” she says, referring to our newest base, Ellage^™ Anhydrous Vaginal. “There is a very specific need for vaginal API delivery. Ellage is a very special anhydrous base with carefully developed characteristics. We took things into account like its ability to self-emulsify, to maintain the vaginal pH, to minimize leakage upon application, and to provide extended BUDs. These characteristics took the needs of both pharmacists and patients into account.”

She says these things with great pride, so I ask her to explain why they are so important to her.

“Every year, we put products on the market that change people’s lives. Save people’s lives,” she says. “Compounding pharmacies do this work, and knowing they do it with our incomparable products and services makes me feel very proud of what we do — pushing the market forward so that patients get the most benefit.”

“You’ve been with PCCA for a decade now. Where would you like us to be in the next?” I ask.

“Leading.”

She says this word with absolute confidence.

“More specifically, continue leading the science behind pharmacy compounding in the best scientific journals. Bringing the best compounding products to the market,” she adds. “I see us continuing to stand alone as the top compounding provider in the world. We have a team that is so knowledgeable — a team dedicated to giving the very best of themselves. That’s how we all feel, that pharmacies and patients deserve our best. All the time.”

This is Maria Carvalho.

A woman whose love of science began while watching her mother develop customized medicine in a small pharmacy lab. Who fell in love with the idea of medical innovation over 20 years ago, only to bring an unbreakable mental fortitude to PCCA, helping to engineer one of the company’s most unique divisions: PCCA Science. A woman who strives to ensure that pharmacy compounding is respected as an important, ever-growing industry that positively impacts lives all around the world.