Anatomy of an Internal Entrepreneur: Ellen Scharaga

We know the entrepreneur who builds a business where none existed, seeing a need and filling it, but there’s another kind of entrepreneur, the one who works from within an organization. Ellen Scharaga earned a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacology at St. John’s University in New York and then set out to make the profession better. Her early positions included Director of Pharmacy at Baxter Healthcare and Director of Pharmacy and Quality Assurance at ABEL Health Management Services, Inc. Subsequently, Ellen Scharaga served as General Manager of the New York branches of Health Infusion, Inc.; and National Medical Care, Inc., and as District Infusion Manager of the New York branch of Homedco Infusion.

In 1997, she joined Group Health Incorporated as Director of Pharmacy, later earning a promotion to Vice President of Pharmacy. In her 10-year tenure at the company, much like an external entrepreneur, she handled strategic planning, devised marketing and sales strategies, and increased service speed. She also reduced program and contract administration fees and saved the company more than $25 million. Next, as Director of Pharmacy for Advanced Care Incorporated, Ellen Scharaga oversaw pharmacy, specialty injectable, and infusion HMO, PPO, Medicare Part D, and government programs. In addition, the pharmacy executive handled specialty and vendor contract negotiations, advisory functions on pharmacology-related matters, and key-account presentations.

Today, the entrepreneurial executive serves as Senior Vice President of OncoMed Pharmaceutical, Inc., in Great Neck, New York, a company she joined in 2009. In this role, Ellen Scharaga directs the pharmacy dispensing operation and call center, manages inventory, and develops and implements policy. She has grown the operations staff by 50 percent and reduced prescription-processing turnaround by 30 percent. With a thirst for knowledge typical of entrepreneurs, Ms. Scharaga remains current in her profession through memberships in several professional groups, including the Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association, the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the Pharmaceutical Society of New York.