We Are Norstella

Anabel Costa-Ferreira

Reporter | Citeline

Anabel Costa-Ferreira is a reporter, working across all six Citeline publications. She was part of the 2024 intern program and has now joined Citeline permanently.

Tell us a little bit more about your role.

I joined the company as part of the summer 2024 intern cohort, working as an editorial and data journalism intern for In Vivo. Since then, I have also written for Scrip and Pink Sheet as well.

How did you join the company? What in your background brought you to pharma?

Joining Norstella was my first introduction to anything pharma-related. Despite being a recent English graduate, I did always take an interest in science. When I was running the student paper at Exeter, I often ended up writing for the science section, and retrospectively I’m quite glad I did. I think that the internship really helped develop that interest. Since becoming a permanent employee, I feel like I’ve continued to learn a lot in such a short space of time.

What does your day-to-day usually look like?

On a day-to-day basis, tasks can really vary, but I always start with a written ‘to do’ list, just to make sure I’m on top of my workload. For instance, this week I’ve had two articles published, so I’ve spent a lot of time writing and editing pieces following suggestions from senior editors. I also interview people on quite a regular basis, which is a particular favorite of mine, especially because there are so many interesting people to talk to in the industry. Behind this comes a lot of communication and organization work with PR, whether it’s asking to organize interviews or requesting comments. I’ve also done a bit of podcast editing and have been using Infogram to make some infographics for the Pink Sheet recently.

What are some of the larger projects that you’re working on at the moment?

I have had some articles published recently. One of them was a profile for Skye Biosciences and another was an interview with the CEO of Crossject. I have had quite a few opportunities to speak with people and one of these discussions was for a podcast episode, which was the second episode I created from start to finish. It was about a needle-free injector called Neffy, which is the first nasal spray with epinephrine for severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. That was really great to work on, not least because I use an EpiPen myself. It was really interesting to talk to someone about how they’d get people who currently rely on EpiPen to feel comfortable about making that switch. I’ll be moving over to work with Pink Sheet soon so I’m looking forward to making a start on some regulatory news content.

What are some of the common challenges of your role?

I would probably say staying on top of everything. Journalism is quite a balancing act, because you’re constantly active arranging interviews or editing pieces and you always have multiple things on the go. Life happens, things can get rescheduled, and it’s quite important with all of that to be flexible and to be ready to move around and update things as and when new press releases come in. It is quite busy, but that’s also the beauty of it as well.

What has been your career highlight to date?

I would probably have to say getting the permanent role. I have only just graduated, so I haven’t had lots of career moments quite yet, but I think I had such great opportunities during the internship and as you know, I was very happy to be able to stay, especially because my role isn’t within one publication. It’s quite nice to be able to work across different teams and I’ll be able to build that experience and knowledge through working with the different publications.

Which company principle most resonates with you?

I’d have to choose ‘Humility, Gratitude and Learning’. I think it is very important, especially with journalism, to be quite bold with your work and take pride in what you do, but you always must remember that you are part of a team, and you really benefit from seeing yourself as part of a collective whole. While people outside the editorial department might think the work is very specific and individual, there’s quite a lot of collaboration. This might be proofing each other’s work, helping brainstorm ideas, putting drafts together or simply sharing ideas you won’t have time to write yourself.

What would you tell someone just starting their career with Norstella?

Talk to people. It’s good to book desks in different parts of the office when you come in, just to meet new people in different departments. Norstella is such a huge company and there are always going to be people you don’t know, so reach out and ask questions if there are other departments you’re interested in or want to learn more about.

Where do you see Norstella in two years?

In the short while I’ve been with the company, I have heard a lot about the impressive growth experienced over the past year, whether that’s launching new projects like ARC XP or Fusion or expanding the office in India. I’d expect the company will continue to maintain this growth mindset across next two years.

What do you like most about working at Norstella?

It’s really the teams and the people. Starting in a corporate environment can be quite overwhelming, especially when you are coming straight out of university. While it has understandably been an adjustment, everyone’s been so welcoming and approachable. You can like the work you do, but if you’re not in a team where you feel supported and encouraged to build on your strengths, that hinders the overall enjoyment of a job.

What do you do like to do outside of work?

Mainly socializing with friends. I’m quite extroverted and enjoy having a good catch up over a coffee, or simply visiting new spots in London- you can never see everything! Finally, although it’s a cliché for an English graduate, I do love reading as well.

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