Master in Pharmaceutical Technology: Discovery, Development and Production
Lund University
Key Information
Campus location
Lund, Sweden
Languages
English
Study format
On-Campus
Duration
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Pace
Full time
Tuition fees
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Application deadline
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Earliest start date
Sep 2024
Introduction
Programme overview
The Master’s programme in Pharmaceutical Technology will prepare you for an exciting career in pharmaceuticals, no matter if you aim for working in the pharmaceutical industry, regulatory authorities or for future PhD studies. The programme is one of few with a broad approach that includes the entire pharmaceutical process; from discovery and identification of the active substance to the development and production of the final drug, covering both biomolecules and small organic pharmaceutical molecules. The programme aims to expose students to as authentic industrial development scenarios as possible, with a strong emphasis on laboratory practice and project-based learning.
The Master’s programme in Pharmaceutical Technology focuses on three main areas:
- Small organic molecule drug discovery including pharmacology
- Biological drug discovery including pharmacology
- Product development, production and quality assurance
The Master’s programme in Pharmaceutical Technology engages teachers from several strong interdisciplinary research departments at Lund University. It builds on well-established collaborations with the pharmaceutical industry as well as with other national and international, highly ranked, universities. For the final Master’s thesis project, these collaborations will provide excellent opportunities for research beyond Lund University within a wide range of pharmacy-related research areas, in either academia or industry. Students in this programme will become part of a strong international research environment with access to excellent lab facilities and key equipment utilised within the pharma industry.
Curriculum
Programme structure
Compulsory courses:
- Medicinal Chemistry (7.5 credits)
- Pharmaceutical Formulation and Production (7.5 credits)
- Biopharmaceuticals (7.5 credits)
- Project in Pharmaceuticals, Materials or Chemistry (15 credits)
- Project in Life Science including Formulation (15 credits)
Elective Mandatory:
(at least 15)
- Advanced Analytical Chemistry (7.5 credits)
- Organic Chemistry (7.5 credits)
- Biophysical Chemistry (7.5 credits)
- Surface and Colloid Chemistry (7.5 credits)
- Quality and Product Safety (7.5 credits)
- Immunotechnology (7.5 credits)
Electives:
- Intro to Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-chip Systems (7.5 credits)
- Chemometrics, DoE and Multivariate analysis (7.5 credits)
- Protein Engineering (7.5 credits)
- Human Physiology (7.5 credits)
- Downstream Processing in Biotechnology (7.5 credits)
- Bioanalytical Chemistry (7.5 credits)
- Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging (7.5 credits)
Career Opportunities
Career prospects
The pharmaceutical industry experiences a continuing and growing demand for the recruitment of highly skilled employees with insight and knowledge covering the entire development process leading to a drug. Graduates of the programme will be well-prepared to meet future challenges in an international, multidisciplinary pharmaceutic environment.
The programme is closely connected to one of northern Europe’s strongest biotech regions, the Medicon Valley, hosting at least 200 international pharmaceutical companies and affiliates. Globally, the trend of small companies delivering lead compounds, analytical methods, and advanced formulation solutions to large pharmaceutical companies is widely spreading. This is a rapidly growing industry in need of qualified employees.
A likely first position for a student from this programme would be as an organic or analytical chemist, as biochemist developing new biological pharmaceutical substances, as formulators of new drug products, at a position in the quality assurance field or within a regulatory authority. Alternatively, graduates could aim for further specialised studies as a PhD student.