Profile Name: Dr. Lee Ori
Job Title: Owner
For: Specialty Pharmacy of St. Louis
Years Experience: 6
Growing up in Alabama, Dr. Lee Ori, excelled in mathematics, science and chemistry, but he was unsure of what he wanted to study after high school. He initially planned to attend medical school, but during his second quarter at Auburn University while pursuing a chemical engineering degree, he fell in love with pharmacy and dumped his medical school aspirations.
“I had earned a two-year scholarship to a junior college, and intended to transfer to Auburn University to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering before attending medical school. I was on track to graduate in four years,” Ori says. “I hated the first quarter, but thought maybe it was because I was attending a new school and it was a new experience. I tried a second quarter and hated it just as much as the first. As I began to learn more about chemical engineering, I discovered that I detested the monotony of sitting behind a desk and crunching numbers all day.”
Ori researched other degrees that could serve as a pre-requisite to medical school and discovered pharmacy. He was delighted with his new pharmacy career pursuit and soon lost interest in medical school.
While attending Auburn, Ori participated in several civic, professional and social activities. He served as student government president and as vice president of the Phi Lambda Sigma or Pharmacy Leadership Society. He was a founding member of the Auburn School of Pharmacy Leadership Forum and was an active member of the Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. Ori also worked for East Alabama Medical Center as a pharmacy technician, and later at Indian Health Services as a pharmacist. Ori graduated magna cum laude with his doctorate in pharmacy from the Auburn School of Pharmacy and moved to Missouri in 2000.
Today, Ori is owner of one of the top compounding pharmacies in the St. Louis area, filling over 1,000 prescriptions a month and earning praise from Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA), the world’s premier compounding organization.
“The field of pharmacy allows me to do the things that drew me to medical school such as interacting with patients and utilizing my knowledge of the sciences,” Ori explains. “Pharmacy school was a better fit for me than medical school. I have discovered what an awful industry the medical profession can be. The cost of malpractice insurance and the other negative aspects of practicing medicine encouraged me to choose the path of pharmacy instead.”
Ori was the first student at Auburn University to do a rotation in the business industry rather than in the medical or pharmacy field. He successfully completed a rotation with Eli Lilly and Company and was soon hired by the drug manufacturer as a sales representative and clinical liaison to physicians in Creve Coeur, MO.
“One of the drawbacks of pharmacy school is that there is little to no focus on the business side of the profession, so I decided to do an unusual rotation to learn more.” Ori adds, “I recommend that pharmacy students participate in a variety of rotations, not just in hospitals or in retail pharmacy settings. Students need to expose themselves to as many practice areas as possible.”
While working for Eli Lilly, Ori called on physicians and developed friendships with the doctors and staff members. When a nurse practitioner asked Ori if he knew of any good compounding pharmacists in the area, he was unable to find anyone in the hospital’s vicinity who was qualified to do the type of work that the doctor required. It was then that Ori recognized the distinct need for customized medications and alternative dosage forms in West St. Louis County.
“I decided to open a compounding pharmacy in the West County area, where there is a high population of physicians and residents,” Ori says. “I rented an office off of Ballas Road near the hospitals and started working seven days a week to make my dream a reality.”
Ori worked on weekends for Schnucks Pharmacy and Express Scripts to earn enough money to establish his compounding pharmacy. On Jan. 20, 2003, with the assistance of PCCA, Ori opened Specialty Pharmacy of St. Louis. He later moved the pharmacy to its current location on Craigshire Road South of Westport.
Ori reveals a key step in his success when describing his former employer: “Working for Eli Lilly was a good move for me. I built relationships with local doctors, who later supported my business by prescribing or referring others. My experience with Eli Lilly was a launching pad for my pharmacy, because I learned valuable marketing skills that I later used to grow my business.”
Specialty Pharmacy of St. Louis is one of approximately six compounding pharmacies in the St. Louis area. Ori employs one other pharmacist, two full-time technicians, a full-time director of operations, a couple of part-time employees and a pharmacy student intern. His business is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Ori’s pharmacy has grown to be one of the top compounding pharmacies in the United States. PCCA has recognized both Dr. Ori and Specialty Pharmacy of St. Louis in recent years for compounding excellence.
“I enjoy the variability of my career, and also the patient interaction that is unique to compounding,” Ori explains. “I am a problem solver and a cook of sorts. I have to find the right recipe that works for each individual patient and situation. I am consistently challenged by novel circumstances surrounding the treatment of my patients. As a result, I am constantly learning and experimenting with new formulations. Compounding pharmacy is a lot more hands-on than ‘traditional’ pharmacy. We are almost like researchers for the pharmaceutical companies.”
Ori predicts a difficult future for the compounding industry; one that will continue to be under attack from the large drug manufacturers, but will also transform into a mini-drug manufacturer for segmented markets.
“There is going to be a push toward individualized care,” he said. “There will be more specific targeted therapies and compounders will eventually be able to license technologies and begin making specific formulas for small populations. Drug formulations will become more narrowed.”
Ori is active with the St. Louis College of Pharmacy. He gives lectures and provides learning opportunities to the students. He has also given lectures for the State Podiatry Association, the American Society of Pain Management Nurses, the Philippine Nurses Association of America, the St. Louis Pediatric Society and various other community groups. When not running the pharmacy, Ori and his wife try to keep up with their two young children and attend many types of sporting events including St. Louis Cardinals baseball and Auburn Tiger football games.
For more information about Ori and his pharmacy, visit www.spstl.com.