COTA Team Member Spotlight: Irfan Shah

For this month’s Team Member Spotlight, we are excited to introduce you to Irfan Shah! Irfan joined COTA in 2016 and is the company’s Director of Strategy and Business Development for life sciences.

Irfan was born and raised in Austin and studied finance at the University of Texas at Austin. When he’s not working, his favorite hobbies include traveling the world with his wife, investing, cooking, and learning about food history and trends.

If you want to learn more about Irfan, why he likes working for COTA and what he’s most excited about in 2020, keep reading…

Why did you decide to join the COTA team?

It has been a wonderful opportunity to join a growing company as an impact player, where the founder, leadership team, and employee base are strongly committed to the mission and achieving our objectives. When I joined, I was incredibly excited to be part of a company that I knew was going to make a fundamental difference in cancer care.

 Why do you like working for COTA?

We have to tackle each new problem and opportunity with the point of view that resources in healthcare are scarce. Doctors are already being asked to do so much, so any product we develop has to increase efficiencies while also improving care. In life sciences, COTA has the potential to accelerate clinical trials; ultimately getting the best drugs to patients faster and at a lower cost.

There is a great spirit of teamwork and collaboration across all departments at COTA and a collective belief that if we continue to achieve our goals, and successfully deliver to our clients, that we are on a trajectory of explosive growth and industry disruption. Having previously spent many years at one of the largest banks in the world, I truly relish the opportunity to be an influential member of a growing team.

‍What would you like to tell someone who is considering a job in the oncology space? Why is your job important to you?

Cancer is a disease that has impacted the lives of nearly every person on earth. While no silver bullet will ever exist, modern advances with data and technology provide us with new and innovative methods of advancing drug development and improving patient outcomes.

What are you most excited about for COTA in 2020?

This year will mark the first time COTA’s data will be leveraged in the FDA’s consideration of a drug approval decision (there are several actually, and the list continues to grow). Even one instance of COTA’s real-world evidence contributing to cancer patients receiving newer, better treatments would be a remarkable achievement.