Career Prospects for M.Pharm Students

Pharmacy field has always been considered as the evergreen field. It's quite natural that every human being falls sick and medicines play a crucial role in curing the sickness. The pharmacy is mainly associated with the research and development of drugs. Everyday new diseases are being identified and also new drugs are being developed to cure those diseases.

The M.Pharm students are considered as experts and are basically hired in top positions in pharmaceutical companies. The present article discusses some of the important and crucial roles available in the pharmaceutical companies for M.Pharm students.

Here is the list of important job roles available after M.Pharm:

1. Pharmacologist

As a pharmacologist one is responsible to understand how medicines and other drugs work and how it is processed by the body.

Role

As a pharmacologist one is required to investigate how the drugs interact with biological systems. He/she is responsible to carry out in-vitro research or in vivo research to predict what effect certain drugs might have on humans.

Duties of Pharmacologist

As a pharmacologist one is needed to:

• Design, plan and conduct controlled experiments and clinical trials to improve understanding of drug’s activity
• Use computers, high technology measuring systems and other sophisticated equipment to collect, analyse and interpret data
• Apply and develop the results of research to work through a variety of applications
• Draw up proposals for future developmental tests
• Organise and oversee tests of new drugs and medicines, ensure quality control and secure approval for their use from respective authorities
• Coordinate with regulatory authorities to ensure compliance with local, national and international regulations
• Plan, coordinate and supervise the duties of other technical staff and train mentor early- career pharmaceuticals

Earning Potential

• The average fresh M.Pharm students will be earning about 6 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum as a Pharmacologist
• The experienced professionals will be earning about 10 lakhs to 15 lakhs per annum

2. Product Process Development Scientist

As a Product Process Development Scientist, one should be concerned about improving the efficiency and profitability of the manufactured medicines that we use every day.

Role

Product Process Development Scientist’s main aim is to optimise the performance of manufacturing systems. As a product process development scientist, one is supposed to identify and develop new processes for product manufacture and implement process controls to ensure the products are of high quality and produced in a way that can be accurately replicated.

Duties of Product Process Development Scientist

As a Product Process Development Scientist, one is needed to:

• Device new processes or refine existing ones to optimise the manufacturing processes
• Plan, carry out and supervise process trials in laboratories pilot plants or factories
• Scale up production process via plant trails, making changes to raw materials or components and process parameters to ensure quality is maintained during large scale production
• Improve yields by reducing costs or new machinery to improve efficiency and quality in bottleneck areas
• Device test methods to assess the production process
• Validate new processes and show that they are an improvement
• Work with product pipelines at various stages of development
• Develop formulas, specifications and label declarations and ensure compliance with the finished product specifications
• Read and write technical reports and specifications
• Initiate and generate ideas based on reading and research

Earning Potential

• A fresh M.Pharm student will be earning around 6 lakhs to 8 lakhs per annum as a Product Process Development Scientist
• Experienced M.Pharma professionals will be earning around 10 lakhs to 12 lakhs per annum

3. Regulatory Affairs officer

As a regulatory Affairs officer one should ensure the preproperate licensing, marketing and legal compliance of a range of pharmaceutical and medical products in order to control their safety and efficacy.

Role

As a regulatory Affairs Officer one will act as a crucial link between the company and regulatory authorities. As a Regulatory Affairs officer one is required to combine his/her knowledge of scientific, legal and business issues to ensure that the products developed, manufactured or distributed by a range of companies meet the required legislations.

Duties of a Regulatory Affairs Officer

As a Regulatory Affairs Officer one is needed to:

• Ensure that a company’s products comply with the regulations of the regions where they want to distribute them
• Keep up to date with national and international legislation guidelines and customer practices
• Collect, collate and evaluate scientific data from a range of sources
• Develop and write clear arguments and explanations for a new product licences and licence renewals
• Prepare submissions of licence variations and renewals to strict deadline
• Monitor and set timelines for licence variations and renewal approvals
• Work with specialised computer software and resources
• Write clear, accessible product labels and patient information leaflets
• Plan and develop product trails and interpret the trial data
• Advice fellow scientists and manufactures on regulatory requirements
• Provide strategic advice to senior management throughout the development of new product
• Review company practices and provide advice on changes to systems

Earning Potential

• Fresh M.Pharm professional will earn about 6 lakhs to 10 lakhs per annum as a Regulatory Affairs Officer
• Experienced professionals will be earning around 10 lakhs 15 lakhs per annum

4. Medical Science Liaison

A Medical Science Liaison is considered as a scientific expert for specific drugs. As a Medical Science Liaison, one will act as a key link between clinicians, research and the pharmaceutical industry.

Role

As a Medical Science Liaison, one has to provide clinicians with accurate and balanced information about a specific drug and relevant data from drug trials, so that they can make decisions on how to use that drug. Medical Science Liaisons are assigned a specific geographical area to cover and will be given specialised training on specific drug, medical device or therapeutic area.

Duties of a Medical Science Liaison

As a Medical Science Liaison, one is needed to:

• Identify leading influential experts in fields of medicine or research relevant to the product
• Build peer to peer relationships with key opinion leaders
• Provide medical and scientific information to respond to key opinion leaders’ technical questions about the drug or medical device
• Lead meetings with key opinion leaders to discuss relevant scientific literature and address their scientific enquiries
• Make educational presentations to senior doctors and researchers about clinical trial data
• Respond to scientific enquiries from distributors and internal colleagues
• Gather information from key opinion leaders as to how they are using the drugs
• Transfer the information obtained from key opinion leaders to marketing and sales team to help them develop marketing materials and commercial strategy
• Develop and deliver scientific training courses to other staff members and international distributors
• Provide information to clinicians with an interest in studying the drug in different context
• Coordinate trials to test the drug in different contexts and patients

Earning Potential

• Fresh M.Pharma student will be earning about 10 lakhs to 15 lakhs per annum as a Medical Science Liaison
• The experienced professionals will be earning about 12 lakhs to 20 lakhs per annum

Final Lines

The demand for M.Pharm students is never ending and it is predicted to stay at high rates for next several years. The increased number of patients suffering from various diseases has forced many pharmaceutical companies to produce more drugs and also invest in development of new age drugs so that they can cure many life-threatening drugs. So, the demand is always there for the pharma students.

The eligible students who feel that they need to expertise in the pharmaceutical area can choose to join M.Pharm course and increase their skill set to earn more money by joining top positions in pharmaceutical companies.