At Imperial Brands Science our focus on Next Generation Products fosters a dynamic culture. It’s underpinned by science and innovation, and inspired by our commitment to offering the world’s adult smokers a range of potentially harm reduced alternatives to combustible tobacco.
As our plans expand, we continue to welcome a diverse range of scientists, engineers, developers, statisticians, communicators and corporate affairs professionals who aren’t afraid to challenge both themselves and their preconceptions to help engender genuine change in tobacco, nicotine and beyond.
Interesting in becoming part of our exciting journey? Browse careers on our corporate website, apply to be part of our graduate programme or read about the varied experiences of some of our employees below.
My core focus is on the broad range of products in our NGP portfolio. This involves implementing and coordinating scientific testing for regulatory submissions to support market launches, as well as driving research to support evidence-based scientific and regulatory messaging and positioning. I also represent Imperial at national and international forums, including standardisation bodies.
My role is a varied one, and involves working with specialists across a range of scientific disciplines and other business functions like Corporate and Legal Affairs. There’s always something new to learn and the whole team are great fun to work with.
During my time with Imperial, I’ve seen the business shift its focus from combustible tobacco to investing – but most importantly believing – in tobacco harm reduction and the science underpinning our NGP. This is an exciting time for the company and an important moment for global public health, and I’m fascinated to see what the future holds.
I joined the business in 2020 as a Technical Regulatory Information Specialist. With a degree in Forensic Science and a background in plastics and cosmetics, Imperial offered an exciting new learning opportunity.
My role requires me to identify any global legislation that’s applicable to our products, interpret (with the help of subject matter experts) said legislation and inform the business to ensure our product portfolio is compliant and we’re prepared for any upcoming regulatory changes.
Tobacco harm reduction is an exciting public health concept and focusing on heated tobacco during my time here has enabled me to learn more about both THR and one of the innovative product categories helping bring it to life.
I’m proud to work for Imperial; it’s a diverse and welcoming company and allows me to bring my authentic self to work in a supportive environment.
My decade at Imperial has been an interesting journey – I am a trained lawyer and teacher but began my career here in the cigar supply chain, before proceeding to product development, ingredient reporting, working in the Assessment, Guidance and Permissions (AGP) Group and now within regulatory compliance.
My current role involves monitoring legislative developments across the globe, meaning we’re in daily close contact with many markets as well as Imperial’s Corporate and Legal Affairs community. We also offer regulatory support to other functions around aspects ranging from ingredients to chemical management. Making sure our products comply with legislation is lots more exciting than it may sound, and certainly keeps me on my toes!
My team is a small one; we work closely together and pride ourselves on our transparency and approachability – elements I believe are key when it comes to succeeding in our remit.
My role focuses on the toxicological testing of our NGP, and the development of our respective portfolio of in-vitro laboratory methodologies. We’ve come a long way from the standard battery of assays for the toxicological assessment of combustible tobacco products.
The exciting evolution of our testing capabilities now allows us to adopt, implement and validate methodologies focusing on the toxicological assessment of various NGP platforms through our TT21C (Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century) program. This wouldn’t be possible without close collaboration between our various scientific teams across the world, and the dedication and motivation of my colleagues in the Hamburg laboratory team.
As a scientist, it’s exciting to be integrally involved in such dynamic, innovative processes and environments, developing human biological testing systems of ever-increasing complexity and relevance that – crucially – don’t require any testing on animals.
I’ve joined Imperial in 2012, after graduating with an MSc in Toxicology from University of Birmingham. I currently manage a team of 6 toxicologists safeguarding our Pre-Market Stewardship activities.
A day in the life of my team is rarely the same – whether we’re supporting research around innovation concepts, assessing a product’s safety in time for launch or supporting the evaluation of health-related consumer complaints. There’s something new to learn all the time, and when you have a proactive team that enjoys a challenge, it’s hard not to be engaged and excited about each fresh project.
Having joined the company directly after graduation, I developed most of my skills ‘on the job’. The safe learning environment I found myself immersed in had a enormous impact on my subsequent career path. I personally feel that kind of support and empathy make a huge difference in today’s uncertain world, and I’m grateful for having found this within Imperial Brands.
I have been with Imperial for over 10 years, starting as a Toxicologist, and moving into various roles centred around product stewardship toxicology. Prior to joining Imperial I worked at the National Poisons Information Service, advising medical health professionals on how to treat poisoned patients.
I have a broad experience in toxicology, and Imperial has been instrumental with my continuing development within this field, and in 2021 I was made a member of the Society of Toxicology.
My current role as the Investigative & Mechanistic Toxicology Senior Manager sees me overseeing commissioning and analysing in vitro toxicology data for regulatory submissions, and also as part of the TT21C method development programme (see this Q&A for more on TT21C).
I’m strongly passionate about our work developing alternatives to animal testing and applying these new assays to Next Generation Product assessment.
Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn