Career Opportunity Of Pharmacy Professional In The Pharmaceutical Industry [1,2]

Pharmacy professional has excellent career opportunity in the following areas of Pharmaceutical Industry.
• Manufacturing /Production
• Pharmaceutical Production Management
• Quality Control
• Quality Assurance
• Research and Development
• Clinical Research
• Contract Research Organization
• Regulatory Affairs and IPR
• Sales and Marketing
• Product Management
• Bio-Informatics
• Medical Transcription

Manufacturing and Production
Pharmacy professional also works in the production department of:
Degree required: B. Pharm., M. Pharm.
• Biological and Biotechnological products
• Ayurvedic Product
• Homeopathic Medicines
• Unani System of Medicines
• Surgical dressings
• Medical Devices and Equipment
• Veterinary medicine
• Perfumery
• Pharmaceutical Flavors and Fragrances
• Nutraceuticals
• Cosmetics, Soaps, Toiletries segment
• Blood and Plasma Products - Blood of various groups, production of blood bags, Haemoglobin, plasma, serum, clotting factors Antigens, antibodies etc.
• Dental Medicines and dental products - tooth paste, mouthwashes, dental cavity fillers etc.

Pharmaceutical Production Management
Degree required: B. Pharm., MBA (Production Management)
Although this is related to production, Industrial Production Management is mainly concerned with the organization of Raw Material, machinery and labour to produce desired product taking care of Quality and Quantity.

Production Manager is responsible for production schedule, staffing, procurement and maintenance of equipment and coordination of production activities among different departments. They also take care of economic efficiency and in-time delivery of the products.

Quality Control

Prerequisite for personnel work in Quality Control
Degree required: B. Pharm., M. Pharm.

Quality Assurance
Prerequisite for personnel work in Quality Assurance
Degree required: B. Pharm., M. Pharm.

Research and Development

R and D is the heart of Pharma industry, as it is the key to growth and sustenance of the industry.
In R and D Pharmacy professional works in the following areas :
§New Drug Discovery Research (NDDR)
§Process Development (P &D) of API - development of viable processes for the manufacture of drugs and intermediates for their commercial production
§Formulation and Development ( F and D) of Conventional and Novel Drug Delivery Systems

Prerequisite for personnel work in Research and Development
Degree required: M. Pharm., Ph.D.


Clinical Research

Pharmacy professionals have high demand in the areas of
§Clinical trials
§Bioequivalence Study
§Pharmacokinetics study and
§Toxicological Studies

These are the some of the areas of clinical research, which are in high demand as they are involved in the systematic evaluation of potential drug substances prior to getting them approved by the regulatory authorities.

Prerequisite for personnel work in Clinical Research
Degree required: M. Pharm., Ph.D

Contract Research Organization (CRO)
Various Contract Research Organization are already established in different parts of India who are doing research for the big national and international pharmaceutical companies in the areas of New Drug Discovery, Process Development, Formulation and Development and Clinical Research.
There are lots of job opportunities for the Pharmacy professionals in this CRO at different level.

Regulatory Affairs (RA) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)
Every Pharmaceutical Industry has now set up Regulatory Affairs Department. Pharmacy Professionals are the pivotal people in this department at different level and position. Regulatory Affairs offer a lot of job opportunities.
Prerequisite for personnel work in Regulatory Affairs and IPR
Degree required: M. Pharm., Ph.D.

Knowledge and skill required :
§Important aspects of Indian Drug Rules and Act
§GMP requirements
§International Regulatory Affairs and Harmonization and ICH Guidelines
§WHO Guidelines on Good Manufacturing Practices and WHO Certification
§Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)& Pharma Patents
§Preparation of Drug master files, New Drug Submission (NDS)/ Abbreviated New Drug Submission (ANDS)/Common Technical Document (CTD)

Sales and Marketing

Medical sales representatives, are a key link between pharmaceutical companies and medical and healthcare professionals. They work strategically to increase the awareness and usage of a company's pharmaceutical and medical products.
They also promote products to the different organizations, and Government as well.
Prerequisite for personnel work in Sales and Marketing
Degree required: B. Pharm.

Product Management

B. Pharm. with MBA (Marketing) after few years of experience in sales and marketing can works as a member of the Product Management Team (PMT).
Prerequisite for personnel work in Product Management
Degree required: B. Pharm., MBA (Marketing)

Bioinformatics

Bioinformatics is the application of information technology to the field of molecular biology. The primary goal of Bioinformatics is to increase our understanding of biological processes.
Prerequisite for personnel work in Bioinformatics
Degree required: B.Pharm., M. Pharm., Ph.D.

Medical Transcription
Medical transcription, also known as MT, is an allied health profession, which deals in the process of transcription, or converting voice-recorded reports as dictated by physicians and/or other healthcare professionals, into electronic format. A medical transcriptionist is the person responsible for converting the patient's medical records into electronic format.
Due to the increasing demand to document medical records, countries particularly USA started to outsource the services of medical transcription. Since India is several hours ahead of America and Europe, Indian medical transcription industries can offer the natural advantage of quicker turn around time. That is why India is chosen as the one of the best source of outsourcing in MT.
Prerequisite for personnel work in medical transcription.

Degree required: B. Pharm
..... and many more opportunities are there for Pharmacy professionals in industry.

About Author / Additional Info:
Reference:
1.Indian Pharmacy Reference Guide 2007-2008. Sec - I, 3 -6.
2.Saigal N, Baboota S, Ahuja A, Ali J. USFDA generic approval process, IJPER 2009, 43 (3), 232-240.
3.Kulkarni S K. D. Pharm. or Pharm. D.: A professional chirality?, IJPER 2009, 43 (2), 114-116.
4.Singh B, Katare O P. Need of quality education for changing pharma world