People at Sartorius: Hovery Yin
From Technical Expert to Project Manager
Hovery Yin, Manager of Project Management for Filtration & Single-Use System at the Sartorius Confidence® Validation Services China
Hovery Yin planned to pursue a technical career until an opportunity in project management at Sartorius arose. Today, he is Manager of Project Management for Filtration & Single-Use System at the Sartorius Confidence® Validation Services China. His time at Sartorius allowed him to grow, both personally and professionally, and helped him find his professional calling.
This article is posted on Sartorius Blog.
After graduating with a master's degree in Analytical Chemistry from the East China University of Science and Technology, Hovery Yin started his career in the pharmaceutical industry. He worked for several years as an analytical scientist for the U.S. Pharmacopeia Convention, developing analytical methods for pharmacopoeia standards, before joining Sartorius.
Taking the First Steps in Project Management
“I had initially envisioned myself pursuing a technical career path,” he says. Until 2019, when an opportunity arose that he couldn't pass up: Sartorius was looking for a project manager to set-up the Extractables and Leachables testing in China and to introduce the Extractables Simulator to the local market.
“The importance of Extractables and Leachables testing has grown with increased utilization of single-use systems. Biopharma and food manufacturers must ensure that plastic contaminants used in production don't exceed safe levels in the final product for patients,” he explains. “It was the prospect of taking on this new challenge while advancing my career that convinced me to take a turn in my career path.”
It was the prospect of taking on this new challenge while advancing my career that convinced me to take a turn in my career path.
Hovery Yin, Project Management for Filtration & Single-Use System China
Learn More About Assessing the Risk of Extractables and Leachables on Biopharmaceutical Processes
Hovery's transition from technical expert to project manager gave him the chance to learn and grow as a professional. As he carried out feasibility studies, cost analyses and coordinated with various stakeholders, he came to realize that a mindset change was a crucial part of succeeding in his new role. “As a project manager you need to be able to consider multiples perspectives, collaborate and negotiate effectively, and anticipate potential challenges,” he tells.
Part of the Solution: Ensuring Patient Safety in Vaccine Production
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that he truly felt the impact of his work. In September 2020, a local vaccine producer needed to urgently manufacture a batch of COVID-19 vaccines for their overseas business partner.
The challenge: The destination country had no previous record of importing COVID-19 vaccines, resulting in a demanding and time-consuming approval process. To meet the tight deadline, the Sartorius team used the Extractables Simulator - a software platform which Hovery and the team had just introduced to the Chinese market.
The software platform predicts the potential substances, known as extractables, that can be released from single-use components used in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, such as vaccine production. This significantly reduces the timeframe for extractables studies from 8-10 weeks to just one week.
“The team provided the client with a bilingual extractables assessment report, meeting all regulatory requirements, in less than seven days. The report helped the vaccine producer to successfully pass the audit and enabled timely production of the vaccines”, Hovery recalls.
Personally, I felt really proud that I was able to contribute to accelerating COVID-19 vaccine production.
Hovery Yin, Project Management for Filtration & Single-Use System China
Driving Industry Development
After more than two years as a project manager, Hovery took the next step and moved into a leadership role. Today, he manages a team of project coordinators and managers for filter and single-use system validation.
With our work, we ensure that our customers can develop and produce safe drugs and therapies for patients worldwide. This makes my work meaningful, and I can say that I’ve found my professional calling in this.
Hovery Yin, Project Management for Filtration & Single-Use System China
